NORDIC g in Liv ISSUE NO.2 | FEBRUARY 2017
Hygge for all
Winter is upon us, the number one season to really endulge in hygge - so we’re doing an issue full of hygge for all! The cold weather is the perfect excuse to focus on the coziness of your home, and enjoy the smaller things in life. Invite friends over for a evening with candelight, cheese and snacks, or curl up in bed with a nice cup of coffee and a good book. To get your own piece of hygge, just click on the images and we’ll link you directly to our store to order the featured products. As always, we want to bring you the stories behind the products. In this issue, we’re bringing you behind the scenes to the textile workshop of designduo Butler/Lindgård in a very inspiring interview. Thank you for reading, following and supporting us! We wish you happy reading, and lots of hygge moments.
Maria Richardsson Founder and CEO of Nordic Design Collective Ps. As always, we love to hear your what you think about our work! Tell us through social media or send us an e-mail. We want to hear it all - the good, the bad and the ugly.
CONTENT Welcome Home
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Presenting: Nordiska Textilfabriken Love Your Hands
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Meet the designer: Butler/LindgĂĽrd 14 Trend: Hygge
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Trend: Cold Shades of Blue Presenting: Peytil
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A day in the life of: E.Leijon
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Nordic Living is a magazine created by Nordic Design Collective, all rights reserved. www.nordicdesigncollective.com | info@nordicdesigncollective.com
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WELCOME HOME Styling and photo: Maria Richardsson and Elin Karlsson
Nordic winters means more time to spend at home and indoors. Light a few candles, serve some cheese and snacks, and hang out with your friends.
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Posters Sigtuna Landscape No.2 by Wintherland and Järven Jäällä by Viiva Design, Parad Candlelight and Vase by Wis Collection, Coffeemugs and plates by E.Leijon, Herbpots Black and White by Camilla Engdahl, Fläsk Chef’s towel by Nordiska Textilfabriken.
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Find all featured products in our online store.
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For our magazine readers only
10% OFF As a special gift to you, we want to offer a 10% discount on your next order. Add the coupon code nordicliving at the check out, and enjoy your piece of handpicked Nordic design. Visit our online store with world-wide shipping at www.nordicdesigncollective.com
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Presenting
NORDISKA TEXTILFABRIKEN With a big mission to change the textile industry, Julia started the brand Nordiska Textilfabriken. Her first products were inspired by her background in the restaurant business, and during her studies in textile product development she decided to design and develop products to enhance everyday life. Tell us about your background! It all started when I was a student at The Swedish School of Textiles. During the last year of my education we had a course where we were going to form a brand, develop a textile product and eventually sell it. That was when I created Nordiska Textilfabriken and the Chef’s Towel (Kockhandduken). It went really well so I soon decided to take the brand outside school, and since I graduated this spring Nordiska Textilfabriken has been my focus. Before I entered the wonderful world of textiles I worked several years in the restaurant business, and it was what chef’s call as ”Släng” that inspired me to create the Chef’s Towel. A ”släng” is as basic kitchen towel that is a chef’s right hand when working in a professional kitchen, they use it for everything – to dry, to wipe and to protect their hands when working with hot pots and oven sheets. As a textile product developer, I knew this product could be developed into something better. So the Chef’s Towel was born, with a unique double weave with unbleached linen and cotton that provided a better heat isolation, that dries faster and with a more aesthetic appeal.
What’s the story behind your brand? When you study textiles and fashion you learn a lot about the harsh conditions in the textile industry, the horrific impact it has on the environment and the people working with producing the textile products that you use in your everyday life. Low wages, inferior working conditions and low safety is common. How this can be changed is a frequent subject of discussion, and the conclusion often comes to that you need the change the industry in it’s roots. It doesn’t work to just write documents about your goals and to use environment and people as a form of marketing. The big differences can be made in the design stage and in the formation of new brands, where the foundation is formed to create a better textile industry. So that is what I do. I can’t change the textile industry alone, but I can run Nordiska Textilfabriken.
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Trend
LOVE YOUR HANDS During cold days, it is of extra importance to take good care of your hands and keep them warm. Treat yourself to a lovely hand cream, a new colour nail polish and then top it all off with a couple of new rings.
From top left: Datni bracelet by Sara Björne Accessories, Vit Eld bracelet by Sägen, Romb bracelet by Saga Melina, Little Ball ring by Lilooks, Mouj Ring by Pargo Jewelry, Silverrings by Maro design. Right: Silverrings by Maro Design, Precious Pebbles rings by Jenny Kåberg Metalldesign.
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Meet the designer BUTLER/LINDGÅRD
“THE PROCESS IS A BIG PART OF THE PRODUCT” For design duo Butler/Lindgård, the process in creating new pieces is essential. Having worked together since 2009, they are well in sync and have created a process that allows them to explore different topics in new ways. The result is stunning, thought provoking and all handmade. Text and photo: Maria Richardsson
But let’s start at the beginning. Hanna Butler and Karin Lindgård both lives in Malmö, and met when studying textile design at Danish School of Design in Copenhagen. “We started in different years, but upon returning from our maternity leave, we ended up in the same class. As we were both in the same phase in our lives, and also commuted from Malmö to Copenhagen together, we got to know each other well. We did a few group projects together
and learned that we also worked well together. Not only did we share the same views on the process, we complemented and challenged one another in a way that makes the end result so much better than if we had done it by our selves” they tell us. The first products they created together was handprinted scarves for the Christmas market at school, and soon after that they did their Bachelor project together.
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Both of them have grown up in homes with a lot of creativity. “My grandmother, and my mother, has always been very creative” Karin explains. “My grandmother totally lacked respect for the arts, if she thought a painting she had at home was a bit boring, she pulled out the brushes and added some gold or colour. That has really inspired me in my creative thinking”. Hanna continues: “it was the same for me, my mother has always been very creative and my stepfather is a painter so creativity has always been there”. In 2012 they won The Almedahl Award, and soon decided that they wanted to move on from school and start their own business. “At a certain point, you realise that all the projects and assignments in school are just made up. They are great for learning the process, but we wanted to create things for real customers” they tell us.
The skill and craftmanship required for handprinted textiles is impressive. Hanna and Karin enjoys working in bigger formats, like when they are printing their new pattern Traces. It really takes two to manage the size of the tools and print.
They have worked together ever since, but their joint projects are not their only occupation. “We like to mix our business with other project. This spring Hanna will be working as a handicraft teacher part-time, and I’m working with costumes for a film project” Karin tells us. “In part it is about the money, but it is also a great way to get new influences and ideas, so I think we’ll continue to mix our projects like this” Karin says. When starting their business, they got the opportunity to join a communal textile society in Malmö. The group consists of about 50 members and with the support of the city, they share a big workshop for textile printing. “This is really essential for us, we would never be able to do the work we like to do by ourselves. In the workshop, the biggest bench for printing is 11 metres long and we have all the tools and space we need. We really like to work in a bigger scale, so this is perfect for us. We still would like to explore other textile techniques as well, but for now we are focusing on printing”. Their work is a way for them to express themselves in different questions, and they don’t mind getting political. The creative process is a very important part for the duo, and when we touch on the subject you can see the sparkle in their eyes. “We have developed a certain process over the years, and it works really well for us. We decide on a topic, and then discuss it and research it thoroughly. When starting the sketching, we work with quantity and make a lot of different sketches quickly, both independently and together. After that, we take bits and pieces of the different ideas and continue to evolve it from there. Our starting point is always form, and we add different techniques and colours later
in the process”. Even though they like to use their art to express a political view, it is equally important for them that the result stands on its own. “You shouldn’t need to understand our thoughts to enjoy it, it should just add an extra dimension,” they add. Their latest project, which they are best known for, is called Tits ‘n Ass. “We want to explore how the human body is used in the public arena. It all started when I had my youngest kid and were denied to breast feed in a museum. We noticed that the climate and discussions changed a lot from the time when we had our oldest kids, it has become a lot more about the perception of a perfect body. This is an on-going debate for women, but it goes for the male body as well” Hanna tells us. The project consists of different parts and one is the pattern Nipple, used on paper,
textile and wood. “We got in touch with the management of Malmöfestivalen, the yearly city festival here in Malmö, and ended up printing the pattern on a 50 metre long plywood wall. We did some workshops as well, and loved the discussions we had with the visitors. It was very well received, and it was fun to hear that so many could see different things in the pattern, we heard everything from breasts and waves, to dogs!”. Their new pattern Traces is also part of the Tits ‘n Ass project. “We really wanted to work with a choreographer, so we created a piece where we use our full bodies to create the pattern. On the actual day when we did the performance, the atmosphere in the studio was really something special, and we’d love to be able to do something similar again”.
During their time together, they’ve continued to follow the same phases of life. “We each have three kids, and our youngest are just a few months apart, soon three years old. It has been wonderful to be able to work together like this, and we’ve found a good balance between our joint projects, our other projects and our personal lives. Butler/Lindgård is most likely a lifelong project for us, we still have a lot of ideas and projects on our bucket list!” they tell us as we leave the workshop in Malmö, filled with inspiration and admiration.
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Trend
HYGGE The danish word “hygge” has become a worldwide phenomena, and is defined as “a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being”. However, all Scandinavians are pretty good at enjoying proper cosiness. Light a lot of candles, pour a good cup of coffee and get comfortable in your sofa with a blanket and a couple of cushions.
From top left: Napping Yelloy throw by Simon Key Bertman, cushion covers Flores velvet by Nadja Wedin Design, Björk by Magdalena Tyboni, Topsia Beige and Madhu Green by Aderelles, Mångfald Golden Ocher by Butler/ Lindgård, Kattvik Candlelight by KattvikDesign, Wine Bottle Candle by Återbrukshyttan, Coffemugs Skog by Patternplan, Tea- and coffeemugs by E.Leijon, Parad Candlelight and Vase by Wis Collection. Left: Nipples cushion cover by Butler/ Lindgård, Höst tray by Patternplan, Blue coffeemugs by E.Leijon.
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Trend
COLD SHADES OF BLUE One of the top trend colours this season is cold shades of blue. It adds a crisp and clear touch to any room, and these are just a few of our favourites. Click on the posters to find them all (and even more) in our store, ready for you to order.
From top left: Poses1 by Toril Baekmark, Breathe by Stefan Isaksson Photography, Huurre by Viiva Design, Blueprint No.1 and Blueprint No.2 by Kristin ErsĂŠus, Family Trees by Havsglas Sverige, Write Your Own Story and Forever Grey by Sofie Rolfsdotter.
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From top left: Weather by Jenny Wallmark Designstudio, Nature by Magdalena Tyboni, Home by Jenny Wallmark Designstudio, Grow Grey by Cecilia Lood, Ink Seven by Vagnelind, Järven Jäällä by Viiva Design, Beach Walks by Airpixels, Silent Silver by By Vogt, Hometown Getaway by Airpixels, U Down by Vagnelind.
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Presenting
PEYTIL Growing up with two artistic parents, there is no wonder that Eitil Thorén Due chose a creative career path. After 10 years of experience as a fashion designer, he discovered the joy of creating art for peoples homes. Tell us about your background. Both my parents are working as artists, my mother as a sculptor and father as a painter, so I grew up in a creative home, and this formed me at an early age. My approach to esthetics and design have always been something natural and fun. What’s the story behind your brand? I started Peytil a couple of years ago as a small art project, initially just helping some friends with various illustrations. I noticed people like to hang fashion on their walls, not only on their bodies, so I thought I’ll try to give them that. And for me painting and drawing always been more like therapy, never considered it work, so I think that explains why I can produce a lot without any pressure.
afraid of doing their own thing. Every time I get back from Berlin or any other major city I feel inspired. What made you decide to start your own company, and what do you like most about it? I always worked with my own companies so I don’t really know anything else. But I guess I like the freedom of it. What are your plans and dreams for the future? I think in the future I will focus more on the moving image. I would like to learn more about animation. I love movies, and I love art so putting them together is definitely my plan for the future.
What inspires you to create? I’m inspired by all kinds of artistic people and places. I like big cities and people who aren’t
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A day in the life of
E.LEIJON Every Thursday, one of our designers are in charge of our Instagram. A few weeks back, Emelie of E.Leijon brought us along behind the scenes for a normal working day. FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM
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08.54: Good Morning lovely NDC followers! My name is Emelie Leijon and today you will follow me here!
09.45: This is what I do! I’m a graphic designer and last year I started my own business, focusing on home decor.
11.44: This week it’s a lot of preparation for Formex next week. Such as editing photos, product catalog, press releases etc.
12.34: A Pillow Case from my collection.
16.04: Late lunch at @speceriet where I have my little “showroom”.
18.09: When I decided to fulfill my dream of my own ceramic collection it was important that I got to design the shapes as well.
19.05: My first collection, Nordic Stories, the prints are made of photographs of leaves and flowers that are withered.
20.25: This blue tray is one of the news this spring And this is how the original file looks like.
Check out the work of E.Leijon in our store!
21.44: Time for me to say Good Night and Thank you all for today! I had so much fun, hope you enjoyed it too.
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