NEWSPRINT
#1
elcome to the first Skandium newsprint.
What I do... Music has always been very important in my life. It has spun around me and influenced decisions since my early teens. I didn’t want to be the longhaired, ice hockey playing type I found myself surrounded by. Instead, I went to second hand stores, found old mohair suits and tracked down original Motown singles. Some friends started a band and I became their manager, taking them on tour across Europe. With the launch of a music fanzine I had the privilege of interviewing singer Steve Marriot of the Small Faces, jazz man Georgie Fame, Swedish pop sensation Tages and the British cult group Pretty Things, all who influenced my taste profoundly. In my twenties, I started a clothes shop in the old town of Stockholm, Nitty Gritty, with two teenage friends. The name gives away what we sold. We soon became the most popular clothing outfitter of the vibrant Stockholm music scene, winning awards as the best independent fashion store in Sweden. Nitty Gritty is still there and looking good, almost 25 years later, but I’m no longer involved. My move to London in 1995 was determined by that I wanted to be at the epicentre of both music and fashion. But a visit to Finland in 1998 changed all that. I was intrigued by the strong presence of design and the centenary celebrations of legendary architect Alvar Aalto. The Finnish glassworks Iittala had just launched their collection ‘Iittala Relations’ which was amazingly crisp, clean and uncompromising. Back in London my then partner Chrystina and I decided to start a small store celebrating Scandinavian modernist product design. Our working title was to create a sweet shop for Scandinavian design, because we wanted it accessible and colourful. We opened in Wigmore Street in September 1999, a year after our Finnish visit. I will never forget the opening party, holding so many people that we thought the stairway would give way (it didn’t). We were thrilled by the level of interest from the start, topped by Sir Norman Foster and Robin & Lucienne Day visiting in the first weeks. During the years of selling, nurturing and promoting Scandinavian design and its masters, we have been supported by very loyal customers and press, which we are intensely grateful for. Chrystina and I wrote a book called Scandinavian Modern in 2003, published by Ryland Peters & Small, which was translated into 11 languages and sold over 100,000 copies. A few years later, we followed this up with the book, ‘Scandinavian Country’. To our delight, the first book has now been reprinted again. Through the work with the books, I have been able to explore modernism through writing, which has added another dimension to the shopkeeper business. In 2013 I moved into the architect Wells Coates famous Grade I listed Isokon building in Belsize Park, into the penthouse of the founders of the Isokon furniture company, Jack & Molly Pritchard. Learning about their strong connections with Aalto, Bauhaus and Scandinavian Modernism has made life come full circle. Magnus Englund, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Skandium
For over 35 years, Oiva Toikka has created the Birds collection. His limitless imagination and knowledge of glass has made it possible to create small miracles of life, sought after by collectors globally. Each bird is individually mouth blown and thus unique, a gift that keeps on giving forever.
iittala.com
THE DESIGNER : POUL KJÆRHOLM (1929-1980)
“I am trying to express the very language of the materials themselves.” Poul Kjærholm was a trained carpenter continuing his studies at the Danish School of Arts and Crafts, becoming the most timeless designer Denmark has ever produced. A trademark of Kjærholm was his love of steel, brushed steel, which he considered a natural material with the same artistic fineness as other natural materials. His cut down design, with all details requiring the highest standard of production and craftsmanship, where meticulously planned. The clarity of Kjærholm’s structures was matched and reinforced by the choice and quality of the materials. The always matt, plated steel frames where clothed in layers of vegetable tanned leather, either natural or aniline dyed in a narrow range of earth tones and canvases, mostly natural and untreated cane. All selected for their intrinsic characters and tactile qualities. The manner in witch these materials where joined or seamed was considered an integral part of the experience. Kjærholm explained many of the principles behind his use of materials: “Steel’s constructive potentials are not the only thing that interests me, the reflection of light on its surface is an important part of my artistic work. I consider steel a natural material with the same artistic merit as wood or leather. I work deliberately with steel and stone as these ages beautifully, just like wood and leather do. Some of the furniture exhibited at he Danish Museum of Decorative Art has been used for many years and develops in time more beautiful than new pieces are…. I use canvas, but otherwise I know no fabric that ages beautifully, which is why I rarely use any … I use materials’ natural colours, as far as I possibly can. It is no secret that deep down inside, I am against dyed leather, especially black. But since people do not like spots, we are forced to use dye and varnish.” Each detail in construction of a furniture piece was examined and resolved with an ideal solution so that the interruptions in material would not weaken the effect of the complete final. This meticulous care about every
detail extended also to the hidden parts and undersides of the pieces. The absolute consistency of construction was Kjærholm’s ideal, and he attained it by working closely with traditional craftsmen. Kjærholm was adamant in including the craftsman’s skill to his pieces, and noted: “My furniture, like most furniture at the Copenhagen Cabinetmaker’s Guild Exhibition, is 50% handmade and 50% industrially made. I would not accept 100% industrial manufacture, unless its results where technically better than the work of the hand. I will not accept a surface or material treated of the kind found in mass produced furniture.” For Kjærholm, only perfection counted, and this could be found only by working with the best craftsmen in their field, most notably Herluf Poulsen, the blacksmith, Ivan Schlechter, the upholsterer and Ejnar Pedersen, the cabinet maker. Poulsen and Schlechter were two of Kold Christiansen’s original subcontractors, conrtacted in 1956, to make the PK22 easy chair. Pedersen, the founder of PP Møbler workshop, joined the team in 1963, making the maple leaves for the round dining table PK54. Only masters of their trade where used for production by Kjærholm and their standards are still kept for production today. Kjærholm was an enthusiastic connoisseur of hand woven baskets and carpets, items in which structure and surface are combined in a single material, applying this principle to his own designs in seating. The final refinement of the PK22 chair in 1957 replaced sewn coverings by woven cane that was braided at the top and along the bottom edges to strengthen the seat and protect the ends. Cane was one of Kjærholm’s favourite materials, which he employed on a variety of seating, including the adjustable chaise lounge, PK24, and the large cantilevered chair, PK20, developed in the 1960s. Like the flag line used in the early 1950s, PK25 chair, the cane provided the l inear structure and geometric repetition that where central to Kjærholm’s formal language.
Kjærholm would develop his crisp, geometric language even further in the 1970s and return to wood f rame constructions with a trio of maple chairs that combined basket woven panels with the assembly techniques that he had developed in steel. The most important example of these woven seats was the Louisiana chair designed in 1976 for the concert hall at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Kjærholm’s 1:1 drawings were always complete and fully detailed. But he relied heavily on Ivan Schlechter’s ingenuity to develop the technical solutions that could meet his aesthetic demands. These demands extended to the selection of the materials and Schlechter was well supplied with the finest vegetable-tanned hides from Dominion Belting, Denmark’s finest tannery. This level of quality allowed for example the mattress for the daybed, PK80, to be covered in a single, flawless sheet of leather so the mattress would appear as a solid element. The width of the welting was proportioned according to the area of the panels and the corners where joined in a concealed blind welt. The two men generally worked together by trial and error, using novel solutions as well as typical upholstery practices. The synthesis of material properties and ingenious techniques typified the collaboration between Kjærholm and Schlechter and had been developed through years of challenging work. The greatest of these challenges had been developing the leather covering of the PK9 dining chair in 1960.
While the outer cover was glued to the fiberglass base, the inner cover was padded with felt and needed to remain loose to react to the shifting weight of the occupant. In fact, the final solution to the problem of fitting the leather cover was found in traditional saddle making. The modern upholstery trade originated with makers of saddle and tack, and Schlechter adapted the traditional, double seamed edge of a saddle to Kjærholm’s complex requirements. Many years later, Schlechter described the process: “ That was tough! I first saw it and realized how to move forward one day when I had accidentally stopped by Kold’s office where Kjærholm had showed up with the first sample model made of fiberglass. It was really quite stylish, but then this thing had to be fitted. As you know, it’s a cover, which is stretch mounted over a frame. Besides the small piece at the back, there was no gluing and it could not be done without getting it wet. We made wooden models to scale, pulling the leather over these, letting it dry, taking it off and finally mounting it on the fiber glass frame. One can probably imagine how it can easily be removed, like a shell, when it’s been stretched overnight to dry. That is what we did with the external cover. The inside was not to be fastened to the leather cover. I had not worked with anything like this before. Once the leather was molded over the frame it has to be edged. That’s when we came up with the border at the back. It was by far the hardest to figure out of all Kjærholm’s pieces…”
The furniture that Kjærholm designed are complete and self contained, but when arranged in a room, they transcend their status as objects and enter into a relationship with the surrounding space. While most furniture merely occupies space, the transparency of Kjærholm’s structure has the opposite effect. The steel and wood frames sit lightly on the floor and allow space to flow through. As a result, the furnishings become embedded in the room and through their scale and light shapes, create the architectural presence of the space. Above all it is a matter of scale. He understood that furniture is the most important factor in determining the size of a room, so most of the furniture is relatively low, creating a lower horizon in the room, lifting the ceiling height. The relationship between furniture and interior space was one of Kjærholm’s obsessions. Just as he was an architect of furniture, he was also an architect of interior space , and his profound sensitivity to the handling of space and arrangement of objects was expressed in all its designs created over the course of his entire career. Poul Kjærholm was first employed at Fritz Hansen, for about a year, where he designed a number of noteworthy chair prototypes. In 1955 Poul Kjærholm initiated his collaboration with manufacturer Ejvind Kold Christensen, which lasted until Poul Kjærholm’s death in 1980. In 1982, Fritz Hansen took over the production and sales of “The Kjærholm Collection”, developed from 1951 to 1967. All designs are logical with to the minute detail and an aura of exclusivity. In 2007 Fritz Hansen added two new pieces to the Kjærholm Collection. Pieces that were never in production before, the PK8™ side chair and PK58™ dining table. Fritz Hansen have now acquired the rights to the entire PK collection and Skandium are proud to be one of 3 exclusive retailers for the collection in the UK. “The new products are the PK11, PK51/PK55, PK62 and PK63/PK65. Each of them is a unique piece of furniture design that lends our existing collection additional character and distinction. The Poul Kjærholm Collection is much stronger when it includes all the pieces, because that offers more opportunities to combine products. Furthermore, the furniture will be made of the best materials and held to the same high and uncompromising quality standards, which is a crucial feature of the Poul Kjærholm Collection,” says Christian Grosen Rasmussen, Head of Design, Fritz Hansen Kjærholm created furniture that transcended time, in style, material choice and quality of all aspects, created in the 20th century to be relevant forever, entering the historical record.
L
iving dreams
Born in the small Lancashire town of Kirkham, not far from the coast, I spent my childhood baking with my mother and wearing dungarees. My father, a carpenter, has always been an inspiration to me. His eye for detail and enthusiasm for all things well made had a very profound impact on me in my very early years. High standards and respect for quality and craftsmanship are necessities in the Lonsdale household. I studied art throughout my education, including an art and design foundation in Blackpool, then Textiles at Manchester Metropolitan. I recently moved from Manchester to Cheshire where my husband and I have taken on a 1930s ‘house project’. The lovely thing has been untouched for 60 years and in need of a complete makeover. The house has great character with original features that we intend to keep and renovate sympathetically. My favorite feature is the hallway and landing with its beautiful stained glass window, looking gleamingly gorgeous when natural light beams through.
As a child, I dreamt of becoming an artist and to have a creative career. I remember my first paintbrush set, given by my parents whilst holidaying in Bournemouth. It set the tone for my life and I am intensely grateful, I am able to do what I dreamt of doing already in my early years. It became a special treat to visit the Daler-Rowney stores, to be allowed to indulge in the vast array of brushes and colourful tubes of paint, the handcrafted papers and professional equipment all got me hooked. Beside art, my other love and passion in life is dogs. I adore them, all of them in their variety, size and shape. Ruby, my miniature Labradoodle is a great companion, always there, always attentive, always happy. A brisk walk in the fresh air with him inspires me to get motivated and focused to spread my imaginary wings. Our adventures together and observing other dog owners is what inspired the Sunday Walk fabric, created for Skandium. Dog owners and dogs have such a likeness, it is weird‌ Walking my dog inspired me to create dog-walking characters, capture their relationship and the too often humorous similarities. The fabric organically developed with the characters interacting to form a repeat, eventually becoming a conversational pattern until it had the right ease and flow. My friends and I often dream about our fantasy dinner party and the guests we would invite. On my list would be an eclectic assortment of individuals, Sonia Delaunay, as I am a huge fan of her fashion illustrations, her use of colour and pattern, Graham Norton as I love his frankness and humour, Kevin McCloud for his passion for design and personality on the Grand Designs shows, Lucienne and Robin Day so I could quiz them about their careers and creative partnership. The list does go on, enjoying my imaginary companions and our possible dialogues to no end‌
I appreciate people to be honest and upfront. I enjoy a good giggle as it makes me feel good inside and out. Humour plays an important role in my life and artwork. I try not to take myself too seriously, however, I can be a bit of a stickler for attention to detail, pushing myself to achieve high standards, never settling for second best solutions. Being committed and dedicated, and having interests and passion, are key qualities I look for in people, hence my enjoyment in having collaborated with Skandium. I enjoy listening and observing and can often be found sipping a hot chocolate watching the world go by. Chocolate dreaming is an important motor for bringing out the best in you. I am not a collector but if I was, paintings would be my thing and chairs, oh, I do love them! Chairs tend to have so much personality‌ And experience, having watched lives go by, they could tell us stories! My husband (a fine art photographer) is the magpie in the relationship and our loft is full of old Polaroid’s and camera memorabilia, symbolising our joint attention to detail and endlessly enjoying observing. I also like to have a beehive and become a trained beekeeper. Preserving our natural surroundings and protecting the species (I am obsessed with honey) is always and will be top on my list. Since becoming a homeowner and the prospect of parenthood, travel and holidays have become fewer, however I love to read and plan for future adventures, baby in rucksack and all. France is a place I adore. The culture, food, fashion, accent, the lifestyle, is what I truly miss. I used to work and live in Paris for a while. Maybe one day I will own a bijou apartment there. Let’s dream!
carlhansen.com
every piece comes with a story
| CH445 |
Wing Chair hans j. Wegner, 1960
The Wing Chair - one of Wegners most famous works - is a lounge chair that isn’t just beautiful to look at. With its light and elegant design, the chair also promotes fantastic seating comfort thanks to a solid beech wood frame with wings that provides excellent support for the back - regardless of one’s sitting position. A true masterpiece!
EATING AL FRESCO
EASY RYE BREAD by Anna Tietze
75g Rye flour 110g Whole rye flour 150g Spelt flour 110g Whole-wheat flour 300g Buttermilk 200g Water 60g Cracked rye 30g Sesame seeds 30g Sunflower seeds 10g Salt 10g Baking powder
Mix all ingredients thoroughly, however there is no need to spend much time kneading the dough as the gluten structure of the rye dough wont change much (which is the reason for kneading other doughs). Pour the dough into a greased baking tin (the mixture should be wetter than you expect) and put it straight into a preheated oven (180C) and bake for 1 hour and 30 mins. As you take the bread out of the oven remove it from the tin and let it cool before slicing. Store in a plastic bag in a cool place.
I grew up on a small island in the archipelago outside Stockholm. There were no cars, just a lot of old wooden summerhouses and a forest in the middle of the island. Everyday I took a boat to go to school. So of course, my whole life revolved around the sea and the weather. Was it going to be sunny, rainy, windy, icy? Many of my product designs are somehow relating to the battle between objects and the elements.
As most kids who spend a lot of time on their own, I created my own world of imagination. The way you are both perceptive towards your inner self and the world around you is the starting point for any creative process. An inner connection creates the basic platform for the ability to be perceptive to outside influences and I t hink my father inspired me to work with converting my viewpoint into creating objects. This made me choose a design education and become what I am today. My father was a surgeon. Living in the country on an island meant, it was important being practical and self sufficient, as it has always been for all island communities throughout the centuries. Through generations island folks needed to be able to live off the land, the sea, build boats and houses including the vessels used for daily needs and the fabrics made into clothes. One wrote poetry and played instruments to entertain during long winter evenings or light long summer nights. This was a way to live, deeply rooted and more important than earning a lot of money or running after a career. Living the way we did, a bit away from ordinary suburban life, fundamentally formed me. My life today is living in the centre of Stockholm, with my family and an Australian Shepherd dog. Besides designing objects and furniture, I have a passion for colours in a nerdy way. I love mixing wall colours in numerous versions, blending and blending until they fall into place for the purpose intended, until the colour fits the concept, the language of the room, building, interior. In the end it will have to tie all aspects together, embracing them, making them a whole. To start with, one thinks there are endless choices, but soon most are eliminated, coming down to only very few, the ones reflecting the character of the building and its purpose. I love building conservation, the way to restore old buildings is upheld, forced to learn old craft techniques. Natural materials and clever craft, reflecting who we are through time. It focuses on knowledge and quality in execution, unbeatable, if one wants to be sustainable and long lasting.
I also have a passion for landscape design. My job seems pretty simple compared to designing a garden. There one has to consider so many more aspects with so many more parameters, such as the constant growth, the changing seasons, the change of light during the day from cool to warm, shadow to light. The timeline of nature may be a lifetime or more…. those things are fascinating… I don’t read so many books, there is so much to do…. and I always drink tea and never coffee. I love Tokyo, I have lived and worked there for years. It too has shaped me profoundly and I found many things in that far away culture, many similarities in values, which I cherish. I loved my experiences in Japan. When I stepped out from the train at Shibuya station on a warm November evening, a wall of new impressions, powerful visual explosion, met me. This visual sound screen took me by storm and I knew I would love Tokyo forever! My first visit was to participate at a design exhibition. Soon thereafter, I came to work and live in this magical city. There are many things to say about Tokyo, as there are about any city, but Tokyo is special, at least for me. I watch and wonder how it is possible, this huge city feels at the same time often like a small town as soon as one ventures off the main streets into the sideways and back streets. It becomes so personal, away from the main shopping centers; it touches you in its simplicity. The way people “flow” on the walkways, never bumping into one another… is like a river. Their gentleness and all the small details that are different from what one is used to, and possibly will never understand. The tiny, tiny dimly lit restaurants with their limited space for food preparation, still able to serve delicious dishes. The lace covers on the taxi drivers seats, the doll like figures, young girls, just standing absolutely still in their imaginative fairy outfits, the incredible neon, the unfamiliar signage, and much, much more. The design brief in an unfamiliar culture can be so different from what one is used to. I was asked to design an umbrella stand, taking 50 umbrellas. I thought they meant five, but soon realized, a stand taking five was a small version and much bigger stands where often used, much needed during rainy season. Such experiences are cherished memories. It’s my birthday soon and I am thinking about making veal and lemon risotto for dinner, for my family and friends.
Eva Schildt for Skandium Grace One - Grace Two - Grace Three
marimekko.com
STIG
LINDBERG Stig Lindberg was born in Umeå, northern Sweden in 1916 as the youngest child of five. He described his home as being lower middleclass and much marked by the difficult times of scarcity. There was no money to let him go to school or take final exams, which was something that caused insecurity in his life, despite of his huge success. Lindberg attended the general school in Umeå and his classmates remember him as being so skinny, they would call him ‘Stickan’ (the stick). For his own children, Lindberg stressed the importance of a good education. All the Lindberg children where very gifted, Stig Lindberg’s older brother, Folke, became an engineer at Sandviken, his sister Barbro was a ballet dancer. Stig was musically talented but was insecure about his career choice. In his fathers view there were only two choices for him: art teacher or music director at a military base in Västerbotten, northern Sweden. Stig chose with some reluctance the art teacher route since the musical career had been jeopardized by an accident whereby, as a young man, trying to cut wood, he had cut off his left thumb. He was rushed to hospital where the doctors looking at the disaster chose to speak German, hooping to prevent the young man from understanding what they were saying as they thought of the accident as being unrepairable. The youngster on the operation table understood and replied in broken school German: “But I am playing the piano!” So the thumb was put into place without any guarantees that it would ever function again. Remarkably, through the years his thumb made a good recovery and served well in piano playing, as everyone witnessed whilst always having a good party time in the company of Stig Lindberg. He could play the piano forever…
(1916 - 1982)
After the thumb accident, Lindberg started to paint and draw with determination. Despite the damage, he could still hold a pen and brush. His biggest inspiration was the artist Helmer Osslund who had worked as an artist at Gustavsberg for a number of years during the 1890s. Osslund was the one to tell Stig Lindberg about the large porcelain manufacturer outside of Stockholm. Lindberg sketched and drew relentlessly and his creative ability seemed to know no boundaries as he transformed anything in front of him into a visual story. He took his mid school exam in 1935 and started the same year at the Technical High School in Stockholm. He met his future wife Gunnel and they got married shortly after in 1939. Stig and Gunnel had three children; Vibeke, Marita and Lars. He called his daughters ‘Vanilla and Chocolate’, since one was blond and the other brunette. He was terribly proud of his family and he often told entertaining stories about his children. Vibeke remembers: “It was not always easy to be Stig Lindberg’s child as we were often not allowed to do as other children did, such as reading comic magazines, we were to read proper books, only beautiful illustrated ones, or not wearing puffer jackets or any leisure clothes that where ill fitting or otherwise ugly. No, we had to look neat and tidy at all time s as good taste in every aspect was the number one rule with both my parents. The funny thing though was, we did not have any full china sets at home but only odd bits and pieces of everything from plates to cups and saucers. We where constantly testing all the various new products from the factory father brought home.”
After his studies at the technical high school, Lindberg started planning for an artistic career. Remembering Helmer Osslund’s stories about Gustavsberg, he went to find a job with the manufacturer, now aged 20 it would be a summer job only. He had already produced a number of stoneware pieces at school and planned to apply to the Arts and Crafts school in Vienna for autumn the same year. So a few months of summer work at Gustavsberg would suite his plans well. There is a well-known story of the meeting between Hjalmar Olson, the director of Gustavsberg at the time, and Stig Lindberg. Olson recalls: “When I came out of my office one morning in mid summer 1937, I spotted a long, thin, young man, looking like a thin bottle with long neck and no shoulders, standing in the factory yard. I went up to him, asking what he was looking for. He replied, I am pondering over the possibility of starting work here. I replied, these are difficult times, there is no work. He insisted that he would be of good use and that he had just gone through the first part of his pottery and art education. He said, if you employ me, I will make sure there will be work in the factory! Where upon I sent him to the artistic director Wilhelm Kåge. Kåge put him to work at the wheel to see what he was made of and there he stayed. The young man was Stig Lindberg.” As the summer months passed and Stig was about to say goodbye to the factory and be on his way to Vienna to continue his education, Olson and Kåge understood, this self assured young man was a big talent and swiftly offered him fulltime employment and paid education in Paris. He now had become the great Wilhelm Kåge’s pupil and Stig’s long career started. He had to train his hand and eye, decorating Kåge’s tabletop sets. He studied intensely, not leaving out any art gallery and museum visits, including travelling to Paris and Vienna.
Later, in 1942 Stig Lindberg made himself a name amongst the Arts and Crafts community in Sweden when his exhibition ‘Faience in spring’ was held at Gustavsberg’s own shop in central Stockholm. The exhibition was a huge success with enthusiastic reviews, hailing the new talent. Lindberg with his vivid imagination and light-hearted playfulness had created a new ‘ceramic language’ for Sweden; even the National Museum bought a few pieces for their collection. All this happened in the midst of a war, which seemed to destruct the rest of Europe. Lindberg’s ceramic was the antidote of this madness, possibly a strong factor, why his light, charming designs were embraced so openheartedly, signalling hope in blistering times. The works were divided in two categories, the pieces painted by skilled decorators according to the sketches provided by the artist, whilst those pained by the artist himself where marked with a signature by Stig Lindberg. Lindberg replaced Kåge as Gustavsberg’s’ artistic director from 1949 to 1957 and again from 1972 to 1980. Stig Lindberg put colour into the homes of ordinary people and was vital in influencing the movement, building ‘The Peoples Home’, redefining what beautiful everyday products were to be.
The idea was to build good homes at a reasonable price, a movement started during the early 1930s, partly initiated by the Swedish Arts and Crafts Society. Stig Lindberg was not a member of a political party but was socially very engaged, hence his big interest in putting forward good everyday tabletop ware and ceramics, which would brighten up a space. With his light hand and plenty of originality and humour, he won the hearts and minds of the public and is still today regarded as one of the most influential and much loved designers in Swedish history. He designed anything from children’s books to pottery, public wall decoration and a TV set, and so much more. There are many anecdotes and documented material about Stig Lindberg as there are plenty of interviews in many archives from the time. They say a person’s way of being is the way the person drives a car and this was certainly true about Lindberg. He drove impatiently, changed lane often and happily barked at other drivers. He was very precise in choosing his cars, starting with a Volvo P1800 but soon switching to a Citroen DS, the fabulous classic with great character, saying: “It is as important to choose a car as it is to choose a wife, only the very best will do!” Stig Lindberg was a controversial and very colourful person who evoked strong positive but also negative reactions and still does to this today.
Epilogue: One of Sweden’s most important post-war designers, Stig Lindberg, created a huge portfolio of everlasting products. He started with whimsical studio ceramics and graceful tableware during a long career as creative director at the pottery factory Gustavsberg (founded 1825). For many Swedes, Stig Lindberg is representative of the playful design of the 1950s. Lindberg studied at the Swedish University College of Arts, Crafts and Design (Konstfack) in Stockholm, hoping to become a painter. His painting talent is very evident in all the different disciplines he has been working in. After graduating in 1937 he accepted an employment as a faience painter at Gustavsberg pottery for Wilhelm Kåge, then creative director. Kåge became a major influence on the young Lindberg, and in 1949 Lindberg was named his successor as art director of Gustavsberg. Stig Lindberg always experimented freely and worked in a range of styles and materials. His eye for sculpture and proportion is evident in his precarious ceramics from the 1950s and 1960s. His unique stoneware from this period is to be found in museum collections around the world. Beside the work for Gustavsberg, he worked in a number of different areas such as glass design, textile design, as an illustrator, painter, and industrial designer. He lectured at the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design (Konstfack) in Stockholm as a senior lecturer. Stig Lindberg achieved fame far beyond his countries borders for his eccentric forms and whimsical decorations. Humour was his trademark. It set him apart from everyone else both during his lifetime and beyond. Because of his playful nature, he loved working as a children’s book illustrator. It has never been granted to use the Stig Lindberg illustrations for any product other than what they where originally intended for. Skandium is therefore very proud to be the first company to be offered to use illustrations by Lindberg. We chose the illustrations from the ‘Daniel Doppsko’ book (‘Daniel Tip Your Toe’, never translated into English) for a series of mugs, which we hope, will be the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration with the Lindberg estate. Lindberg kept working for Gustavsberg´s studio until 1980, when he moved to Italy to establish his own studio. Through his work, he set a specific tone, unique to him. His work was and still is very particular, which marks him as one of the most influential and cherished Swedish designers. Skandium is very proud to revive a small part of his legacy. Stig Lindberg’s signature contained originality, humour and style, a true rarity, which is why we will always cherish his work.
Celebrate 75 years of iconic design, from pioneering modernist vision to bold contemporary designs for home and office. Always timeless. Always true. www.knolleurope.com
Knoll 91 Goswell Road, Clerkenwell London, EC1V 7EX
BLUES & HUES
1 UNIFORM WARES - 104 SERIES WATCH BY UNIFORM WARES 2 MARIMEKKO WEATHER DIARY PLATE AND MUG 3 GUBI - GRASSHOPPER PENDANT LAMP BY GRETA GROSSMAN 4 IITTALA - AALTO VASE BY ALVAR AALTO 5 LOUIS POULSEN - AJ TABLE LAMP BY ARNE JACOBSEN 6 CARL HANSEN CH24 WISHBONE CHAIR BY HANS J. WEGNER
BLUES AND HUES SEE US THROUGH THE SPRING AND SET US UP FOR THE SUMMER AHEAD!
“Functionalism has nothing to do with the art of forming silver” HENNING KOPPEL
HENNING KOPPEL (1914 - 1981)
Sculptor and designer, born in Copenhagen, Henning Koppel started his art education at the Arts Academy for sculpture in his hometown under professor Einar Utzon-Frank 1936-37 and thereafter continued at the Académie Ranson in Paris 1938. He though made his artistic debut already 1935 with a bust of Valdemar Koppel and a few years later of Jytte Koppel, both in black granite. Additionally he presented a bust of Tora Norström Bonnier and Karl Adam Bonnier in 1944. With these works in granite, Koppel knew how to capture emotion and inner content in solid matter, something that would be very evident throughout his life, in any material he chose to work with. Henning Koppel is the original mind behind what we today consider to be ”Danish design” with its soft, pleasing lines. He never understood very well the relationship the modern movement made between function, affordability and production friendly design. He was always openly critical toward functionalism and unmoved by those critics who encouraged him to design more affordable products. “Functionalism has nothing to do with the art of forming silver” was one of his favourite expressions. Of his most famous piece, the silver pitcher for Georg Jensen of 1952, only 500 were produced, which for Koppel was an exceptional high number. Koppel was an early pioneer for looking at design with fresh eyes, and his mission was to turn everyday objects into beautiful pieces. He began working with Georg Jensen in 1946, shortly after having returned from an unwilling break to Stockholm 1943-45, during the German occupation of Denmark. Like many Danish Jews, he fled to Sweden. This interception opened the door from the free arts to design, as he was encouraged to work on a number of jewellery assignments for Svenskt Tenn. It was here he developed skills in cast metal, making pieces which made quite a stir with their simple fluid lines, something which when returning back home to Denmark 1945, opened the doors a year later to the prestigious silversmith Georg Jensen. This relationship came to last throughout his life. In silver he found enormous enthusiasm for form, something that came timely when starting for Georg Jensen, as the Danish silver manufacture at the time was very traditional. This made Koppel’s creations stand out, boldly injecting a new direction of life into this art form and the brand. Henning Koppel, creator of masterpieces in 20th century silverwork, shared two characteristics with the founder of the world’s most renowned silversmith. Like Mr Jensen, he was a trained sculptor, and like ‘the old master’, he was constantly brimming with ideas, sketching out designs on anything that came to hand.
Koppel was constantly drawing as a child. Growing up in 1920s Copenhagen; always accompanied with pastels and paper and later, as a student of painting in the early 1930s, under the tutorship of his rigorous but inspiring teacher Bizzie Hoyer, ever drawing and sketching. He modelled all his objects first in clay, which gave them their sculptural quality. His superb drafting skills, developed as a child, helped him in his career to produce outstanding product renderings of his designs. Although his education was neither in design nor in jewellery, he joined Georg Jensen as a designer for jewellery, hollowware and cutlery. From the start his work was very organic, inspired by Calder, Arp and Brancusi. When Koppel began his career at Georg Jensen in 1946, the shift in the materials with which he worked could not have been more dramatic. He was already an exhibited sculptor, having developed particular skills in working in granite. As a designer in silver, his new medium was infinitely more malleable, though in post-war Copenhagen, in very short supply. He did win everyone over convincingly to pursue his i deas, presenting preparatory, fluid drawings, painstakingly detailed, helping in creating his iconic creations. In spite of restrictions in materials during the after war time, his first works, a series of linked bracelets and necklaces resembling whale vertebrae and microscopic organisms, were all small masterpieces in imaginative modelling. As with all of Koppel’s work, each piece was given a unique number. Such works as no 88A and no 89, enlivened by the asymmetrical vitality of the organic, these where jewellery quite unlike anything created at the silversmith at the time. A designer may be inspired by nature, but even in the early pieces, Koppel was already clearly something more. By merging the organic and the abstract, his pieces continued the explorations of the ‘biomorphic’ forms found in the sculptures of Jean Arp. Silver jewellery demonstrating such an intuitive and spontaneous idiom was genuinely ground-breaking, yet they were also very well received. They where first presented to customers in 1948, and are still enormously popular today. As he was creating his first pieces of jewellery, Koppel was struggling with the challenge of composing larger pieces that would express in silver a sculptor’s vision of form and movement. His first candelabrum (no 956), a startling experiment with three arms restlessly weaving in and out of each other, is the precursor to later more confident successes such as no 980A, a slender bowl which looks as though it has just come to rest on its sculptural foot.
By the 1950s, Koppel was focusing his innate sense of three-dimensional values on creating hollowware, each piece again to be a characterful sculpture. A pitcher can playfully imitate the form of a ‘pregnant duck’ (no 992), or hint at the sleek lines of a swan (no 1052). The handles of the covered fish platter (no 1062) resemble the softly rounded lips of the fish that the platter may contain. With their vivid, organic mode of expression, these large pieces of hollowware, deeply influenced by the studied serenity of Brancusi’s sculpture, belong to Koppel’s richest period of creativity. They are the perfectly integrated forms that only a master sculptor could achieve. Each expresses a combination that is quintessentially Koppel-soft, rounded forms counterbalanced with an extraordinary tautness, an intriguing paradox that continues to resonate over 60 years after their first appearance. Like many of Georg Jensen’s mold breaking artists, Koppel also designed cutlery s ets. ‘Caraval’ (no 111) from 1957, was conceived on the same principle as his hollowware: smooth and unencumbered by ornamentation and yet full of engaging character. The handles narrow elegantly towards the ends. The bowl of the spoon has an egg-shaped contour. The lines of the fork are pointed like shark’s teeth, and the blade of the knife is a flat, seamless continuation of the handle. The ‘New York’ cutlery in stainless steel was designed as a tribute to the World Exhibition in New York in 1963 and soon made history as a new departure in design. As early as 1966 the cutlery was awarded the ID Prize, the highest accolade for Danish design, for its clear-cut lines where the form itself is the decoration. ‘New York’ is produced in matte finish stainless steel and can be found in thousands of homes around the world. In 1977, Koppel designed the first men’s watch produced by Georg Jensen. Combining a restrained elegance with audacious simplicity, the face has hours and minutes marked only by dots. Followed by subtle variations on the design, including a pocket watch, which all result in a series of timepieces which are truly timeless. Today, their sophisticated understatement remains a must-have for customers worldwide. Working on the design of a desk set, or the composition of a serving dish, the key to all of Koppel’s design remains the same, a simplification of line, behind which lies intense preparation. The form is tightly controlled yet flexible, the result of repeated corrections of contours in Koppel’s preparatory charcoal drawings, which endow each object with a continual fluidity, always evolving, always resonating. Besides the work for Georg Jensen, Koppel also worked with porcelain, starting in 1961 on a number of series of tabletop ware for Bing & Grøndahl. In all Koppel’s work the usability forms the base of the piece, then an individual shape is added to brig it alive, making the pieces much more than just simple everyday objects. Koppel worked in many other materials not just silver and porcelain, amongst other he worked in glass both for Holmegaard and Orrefors, the later he was assigned to in 1971. Koppel’s works have been exhibited in every exhibition of importance for art and design in his native Denmark and internationally. Besides gold medals at the Milan Triennale, he received the Lunning Price (the Scandinavian Nobel price for decorative arts), Diamonds International Prize, ID Prize and many, many more. When Henning Koppel died in 1981 aged 63, he had filled his years of association with Georg Jensen with an astonishing range of work: from stainless steel cutlery such as ‘New York’, which found its way into the homes of so many, to magnificent one-off signature pieces such as the silver and crystal chandelier he designed to celebrate 75 years of Georg Jensen in 1979. His influence, as the greatest Danish silver craftsman of his generation, had been recognised by the many awards, but perhaps of greater significance is the fact that, more that 30 years after his death, people still want to wear a Henning Koppel watch or serve coffee from one of his pots. The integrity and appeal of his designs remain vital and undiminished. He stuck to his guns designing the way he felt was most appealing to him and it turns out, also to the world.
PH 3½-3 l i m i t e d
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P H 3 ½ -3 CO P P E R Design: Poul Henningsen
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Nordic design of sublime quality For more than three decades, Skagerak of Denmark has designed and developed garden furniture and now interior and home accessories for quality conscious, design dedicated customers all over the world. The wide range offers a fine combination of inspiring, innovative items that defy time. The repertoire contains pieces that have become classics with proud references to decades of Scandinavian design tradition and new innovative solutions for easy outdoor and indoor living. Since the launch of the iconic Drachmann bench in the early 1980s, Skagerak has created a wide range of sublime designs. The combination of quality and design is typical of Skagerak and its great love of authentic handicraft. ‘We like to add quality to everyday living, for our furniture to support peoples every day life and doing its best is a natural part of our striving.’ Yesterday, today and tomorrow Skagerak looks both backwards and forwards in time. Backwards to uphold traditions in good craftsmanship and forwards to capture future trends staying highly relevant. Skagerak’s wide range of items represents a fine combination of timeless, well-executed craftsmanship with designs that captivate, offering ‘small furniture’ with generous gestures. This applies to the beautiful design of amongst other Christina Liljenberg Halstrøm. The latest new addition The Danish-Swedish designer Christina Liljenberg Halstrøm has created Skagerak’s latest success, the ‘Georg’ series. The series comprises small items of furniture with a simple, yet strong expression, made of untreated oak, raw leather and mixed wool. Function is always Christina’s starting point, dictating the idioms of her pared down, beautiful work. Her new range named ‘Georg’, after her 3-year-old son, running around in the studio while the still unnamed furniture was photographed, so ‘George’ it was named… With ‘Georg’, Skagerak has started a new chapter in the history of the company. A combination of strong design talents and the uncompromising focus on quality, design and authentic handicraft ensure all Skagerak designs, new as well as classic, clearly signal that extra care and trouble have been taken down to every detail. ‘We believe in the purity of materials, let them ‘sing’ and they will ‘dance’ in your home, making your home an easy, supportive and comfortable environment with furniture that lasts a lifetime.’
A CUP OF TEA WITH
ILSE CRAWFORD How would you best describe your design ethos?
How does it work in the studio?
We talk about it as being a ‘frame for life’. For us that means making places where people feel good. It’s the idea of creating spaces that connect you to the world around you and make you feel present. In my teaching, as Head of Department at Man and Well-Being at the Design Academy Eindhoven, our whole energy goes into looking at design as something that can enhance human life. The ‘look’ is secondary. I believe that if you start with this perspective it will inevitably always be beautiful but beauty is not by any means the objective to start with.
We have lots of different disciplines in the studio; architects, interior designers, product designers, graphic designers and brand experts. We use different people at different stages although there is always somebody taking the thread through. I think it’s important to bring together different types of intelligence and to connect a mind-set through those different disciplines.
Human behaviour is at the heart of all your projects. How much does this focus influence your work? We start with understanding how people will use the space and then design in a way that allows the experiences that take place there to be the best possible. Design can improve how things work, help to reduce friction, or take away fear. For instance, one of the recent projects from a student at the Design Academy was to design a humanistic map of a radiotherapy centre. The design was centred on the experience of someone walking through the radiotherapy centre and being slightly nervous of what might be going on behind the closed doors. It was a very precise, but warm, illustrated map of a medical facility. It showed a different way of looking at the world, through the eyes of those who are actually using it. Do you think that your end user notices these differences on a conscious level or is it more that the user will come away with an enhanced experience but not necessarily realizing why? I’m sure they do know that our places feel very different but I’m sure they don’t notice how or why. It’s interesting because sometimes you see other projects trying to copy the aesthetic language but it doesn’t work because its never about that. It’s always part of an understanding; the use, the spirit, the mind-set behind it. We take all of this and translate it into the design. How do you approach a design brief? Do you have a particularly work process or does it vary? We have a very strict process that we follow with all of our work. That process starts with a thorough research study of the client, the context, and what will happen in that space. This becomes the brief for our design. It’s surprising that our projects – in the end – look so different, yet I think there’s a handwriting that people can see and feel as a result of this process.
For example, with Ett Hem (a private residence built in Stockholm in 1910 and converted into a hotel) we not only created the space but the idea behind what it was meant to be. The client had a strong vision; she wanted something very special in her house, so the parameters were set from the start. It was very much the idea of losing the distinction between front and back of house, we chose not to have a restaurant, or bar, instead really making it feel like a cultured home as opposed to a hotel. This notion was something we came up with as a studio – putting trust at the centre, rather than control - and elevating the ordinary. Whether on a work trip or honeymoon there’s nothing nicer than being able to go into the kitchen of a fantastic house and talking to the chef, whilst he cooks you sausages and you sip champagne. That freedom is a truly lovely thing to have. You don’t always want to sit in a restaurant and be served fine dining. Informality in great surroundings is something that I am interested in, because I think people are at their best in an informal context. Is it quite unusual to have a design studio with so many different design disciplines coming together? It’s increasingly common but it definitely wasn’t the norm when Studioilse was founded a decade ago. Design is not just about how something looks - it is a verb and not a noun. You are making new realities that make sense, everything is designed, everything is a construct, so it’s vital to do it well and in an integrated way. Historically there’s often been tension between architects and interior designers. It’s daft, because obviously the two should speak to each other. We look at how people use the building in an intimate way, throughout the day, throughout the year, and look at how the spaces and their requirements might evolve. So we work with architects to do something that truly enhances the building, but also makes it intuitive to use. Being asked to come in at the end, when these details concerning everyday needs haven’t been considered, can be messy. If for example, once the building is finished, you come in and say - I’d really love a bath looking out at that tree - and then you find the water is on the wrong side. Change at this stage cuts deep into ones pocket. It’s not easy.
What was the inspiration behind the range which you designed for Georg Jensen? For Georg Jensen we were asked to design storage items. We were very interested, as we always are when we do products, in the things that we felt were missing. From our experience doing residential projects and hotels, we’ve learnt that it is the invisible layer that makeslife special. We wanted to make a collection that frames daily life, upgrades ordinary things that you do every day, to make a habit of the very banal feel special. I love that human desire for repetition, like when you make coffee and you want it in that special cup in that special way. It’s one of the things that gives your life shape. We saw the vessels we designed for the Georg Jensen as objects that could hold the things that can be pretty ordinary but all of us have, for instance jewellery, a watch, credit cards, tablets – the stuff that you chuck on your bedside table or on a shelf in the bathroom cupboard gathering dust. They were specific dimensions to be able to fit a specific place but a softer, more human shape. The curves are very much a part of the Georg Jensen language and that sense of care and warmth that goes with ‘hygge’, a Danish word which I love – it’s not directly translatable but it means warmth or wellbeing or cosiness. Do you feel that your Danish roots have influenced you as a designer? Probably, but it’s hard to dissect oneself that way. I am who I am and it’s hard to know what I would have been like if I
didn’t have Danish roots. I think my mother was a lot more liberal than the parents of my peers and we had a warm inclusive table that I think is very characteristic of the Danish way of being. Also Denmark in the 60s and 70s was hip and open, London and the home county weren’t quite there yet. So yes, my Danish roots were an influence, but it wasn’t just that, other things kicked in as well. Do you feel you had a particularly creative childhood? Yes, my mum was educated at the Chelsea School of Art. In our house you would find such things as saucepans filled with dye and we were encouraged to take ownership of our own world. I was aware very young that it was nicer, and more meaningful to have something made for you. There wasn’t tons of money because we were five kids, so there was an element of that in there too, but probably the sharper edge of it all was my mother getting very ill. As a teenager I ended up hanging about in a hospital quite a lot and I think that really made an impression on me. It was pretty scary, you would be confronted by young doctors who would just read down a list and tell you momentous things as if they were talking about the weather. Space definitely creates alienation or the opposite. For instance if you go in to a big shiny supermarket you probably just think of people behind the counter as s taff whereas, if you go to a market you think of them as people. There are definitely ways of designing bigger spaces where you liberate people, to make the human experience a dominant one. Apple does it well for example.
Ett Hem Stockholm
Airports can often be a good example of changing human behaviour. Absolutely, we’re actually working on a lounge for one, which is really interesting. Their whole world is run by the excel sheet. It’s a function of industrialization and a need to quantify things. But you can’t quantify taste. You can’t quantify love, atmosphere or beauty yet they’re just as real. We have to find the balance. The problem is that a lot of our environment has been created by this agenda, rather than the need to create human, or beautiful or tangible spaces. That’s very interesting because I feel that people have grown accustomed to these types of experiences, if you are at an airport you expect to be herded around like sheep. It’s true and incredibly surprising when somebody does something that should be quite normal. I had a discussion recently about ‘what is innovation’. In many areas you get hooked on the idea of being innovative. Not everything that is new is good. That ‘Walkie Talkie’ building on the Thames is a horror, it looks like a frozen omputer game. Innovation can also be hanging onto what’s human, because so much of what is human is disappearing.Take David Chipperfield’s Museo Jumex in Mexico City. The innovation there was to hang onto ‘useless space’. People want everything to earn its way, but somehow he managed to persuade the client to have just two floors of
hard working gallery space and keep the first floor for nothing in particular. This floor has glass windows all the way round, in the middle of the city and has become THE thing that makes the museum so exciting. It now plays host to debates, events, theatre and you just see this building alive all the time. It’s totally eclectic, to be able to liberate yourself from the needs. I think (and hope) that innovation is going to get beyond the technocratic and return to the human. With such an extensive experience in the design world I have to ask, what in your eyes is the best invention to date and why? That’s a good question, but I think I will have to turn it around and say that design is the best invention to date. Obviously things have always been ‘designed’ but actually recognising design as a discipline is a young concept. It is now taught in schools with a proper career path and when you really think about it, it is an amazing discipline – it has everything. Influenced by culture and art, design can be used as a tool to incredible effect. It has the ability to create new realities that make sense of the way we live. Take the light bulb as an example; what is so amazing about this invention is not only the physical design but it changes how we live – and I think that is what’s so interesting about design. It has the ability to affect people. Recognition means that manufacturers, clients and politicians start to engage with it in a conscious way and this can only be a good thing.
I’m sure you know, Skandium is a big fan of Elle Decoration and have worked closely with them for many years. When you founded British Elle Decoration, what was your initial goal? Did you have a clear direction of how you felt British Elle Decoration should differ from existing Elle Magazines? My generation was growing up with punk, it was the late 80s, so that entire music scene and its influences was really strong. There was no way they were about to go in to Laura Ashley. So our intent with the magazine was partly a response to how our audience was going to do up their own homes. We tried to mirror our readers with first flats on limited budgets but big ideas. Modern and emotional space was already a tag line on the magazine - that was always my interest. We interviewed the people who had built the modern world from Torun Bülow-Hübe (amazing jeweller and character who worked for Georg Jensen) and Verner Panton (another charming character). As the magazine developed it became a success and I learnt a lot in the process. I must have visited four to five thousand interiors over the years. I became increasingly anxious about the way we thought about interiors. While the way things look is obviously very important, I think the way things feel has a more profound impact on our lives. It became a personal campaign to educate myself, learn, read and look at behavioural studies. It was an amazing journey and a great team. A lot of them are actually still working with me; some in the studio some in my extended world.
things. There’s a real consciousness that products have to be made, it doesn’t just get handed down from one generation to another. There’s always been a small elite group of designers in Britain but design has never been part of the bigger picture. Elle Decoration was the first consumer design magazine in 1989, whereas design was commonplace in Scandinavia decades before. My Danish granny had Danish glassware and modern sofas. An English granny wouldn’t have them now, well maybe just. Studioilse works closely with the Skandium contracts team and there are a few projects underway at the moment. Are you able to give us an insight into anything you’re currently working on? We work across disciplines. We do retail, residential, hospitality and product design. Currently we are working on a couple of big public spaces, one in Shanghai and one in Hong Kong. For some reason there seems to be an affinity with our work in Asia. I put it down to something I call the underground tunnel to Scandinavia, there’s definitely warmth between the two. We’re also doing a project with Vitra right now, at the VitraHaus in Basel. So yes, lots of very interesting things going forward. Do you have any recommendations for any London hotspots or hidden gems?
A huge congratulations on being included in the Queens New Year Honours list and becoming a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE).
My favourite spots are inevitably local. I’m mad about this area (Bermondsey / London Bridge). There are some really great little places, but my favourite spot is 40 Maltby Street, a fantastic little wine bar / restaurant under the railway arches, not far from the studio. They have a great cook and amazing artisanal wine. It’s literally done on two Bunsen burners, all on packing cases so it could be gone tomorrow. It has a great atmosphere. It’s bright-eyed, with intense people that really care about what they are doing. It’s perfect. On the visual side, I would say that the walk along the river from Bermondsey to the Tate is beautiful. All those greys in the morning and then in the night when it’s black with all the sparkling lights. It’s just one of those really beautiful quintessentially ‘London’ experiences.
It’s pretty extraordinary isn’t it?
Can you recommend any must see exhibitions?
It’s absolutely extraordinary.
The Sensing Spaces exhibition at the Royal Academy is great and there are two others that I really want to see; The Barber Osgerby exhibition at the Design Museum, I’ve heard great things. The Viking exhibition at the British Museum is meant to be very good too!
It s ounds like your time at Elle Decoration was a very influential part of your career. Well it was 10 years, so absolutely! The tools that you pick up in journalism teach you how to communicate design ideas. It’s been super helpful for me as a designer because we have projects sometimes that take ten years to build. Holding people’s trust during that period is so important, clear communication is vital.
I’m very chuffed but I’m also really embarrassed at the same time. It’s a funny one to get your head around as it’s not just me but also all of the people that I’ve worked with along the way. As somebody said to me, it stands for ‘Many Buggers’ Efforts’ and it’s absolutely true but it is great that the establishment is beginning to recognise design again. The British establishment hasn’t been the quickest in that respect. Design has such an important part to play in the making of the future and it’s great that it is being recognised. I think design as a discipline has been recognized a bit sooner in the Nordic countries. Totally, and I think that’s because life can be tough there, there’s a greater awareness of the practical needs of
Last but certainly not least. At Skandium we all enjoy a good cup of tea. If you were a cup of tea, what type of tea would you be? I’m a builders’ tea. We do have a lot of herbal in the cupboard and sometimes I’m a ginger but mostly I’m a builder’s.
Studio Ilse Materials Library
f a star comes loose and falls white through the air, then, it is said, she answers our prayers, that reach that short glimmering path. I wait and wait. It is April, a warm and sharp-eared night in April, when the grass grows and the stars listen - tonight they go so peacefully their way, and not one trips and falls! But if I fall asleep, it matters not at all: if a star tears itself loose tonight, then she must feel my prayer, where she descends, even though I sleep - for all the silent, silent night all of wide, wide space is completely full of my only wish. “Wish Night” Karin Boye (Sweden), 1922
Organic Chair, Softshell Chair & Table Solvay Developed by Vitra in Switzerland 30 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1M 5PG, T: +44 (0) 20 7608 6200
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SKANDIUM’S BEST KEPT SECRET Since Skandium opened, nearly 15 years ago, we have maintained a strong relationship with the architect and interior design (A&D) community. Our vast and ever-evolving product portfolio has established Skandium as the ‘go-to’ for all things interiors. The team are constantly working on a range of projects from residential homes to hotels, restaurants and office spaces. Over the past few years the Skandium contract department has grown from strength to strength. Linda Kristensson, Lina Olsson and their support team share a background in design but more importantly, a passion for furniture and interiors. Linda Kristensson started at Skandium in 2005 as Logistics Manager. With Linda’s extensive product knowledge, unwavering positivity and excellent customer service it was only natural that Linda took the contract sale department under her wing. Over the past six years Linda has built up a loyal client base and continues to work closely with key architects and designers on a range of innovative projects. With the growing interest from A&D to develop more interior projects with Skandium’s support, it was time to extend the contracts department. In 2013 Lina Olsson became a welcome addition to the sales team. A former Skandium concession manager in Manchester, Lina has since over eight years experience in the world of contract furniture. Lina has previously worked with Ralph Capper Interiors and Camira Fabrics and has worked with A&D on a wide range of projects. Skandium contracts are very fortunate to work with highly professional, creative clients such as Studio Ilse, Cloud Studio and V&A, who pay great attention to detail and value the Scandinavian design ethos. Last year the team completed the member’s suite at the V&A, where they worked closely with the V&A team to find the right mix of products for the space and ensure that all finishes and finer details were executed perfectly.
PIMLICO HOME by Cloud Design Studio Ltd Carl Hansen - CH24 Wishbone chair De La Espada - Light table Secto - Octo pendant Carl Hansen - CH56 bar stool Woodnotes - Open Sky blinds
Skandium Contracts doesn’t only supply large furniture pieces. The ever-popular Kivi tea light holders find their way in to bars and restaurants all over London. Look out for them next time you dine at China Tang at the Dorchester, Granger & Co, One Aldwych Hotel, Bluebird restaurant in Chelsea, or Kensington Place restaurant in Notting Hill … to name a few! Interior design company Cloud Design Studio Ltd have been a valued Skandium client for many years and we have supplied a number of design classics to a host of their projects. The ‘Pimlico home’ (previous page) features the perfect chair for the kitchen, Carl Hansen’s Wishbone chairs with matching stools along with a Secto pendant and blinds from Woodnotes. The Office meeting area (see right) features the Louis Poulsen Artichoke in brass finish and EJ205 chairs in black leather, which creates a stylish and elegant atmosphere. Cloud Studio share a few kind words: “Skandium supplies us with Scandinavian Modernism designs that are both elegant and beautifully made. For our interiors we include furniture and lighting from new designers along with the iconic designs from the 1950s and 1960s. The clean lines and longevity of the pieces result in interior design that is not trend driven. The style is relaxed, beautiful and timeless. We have worked with Linda Kristensson and Skandium Contracts for over eight years. Always a real pleasure to work with, they have an exceptional level of professionalism and attention to detail. The entire team is very knowledgeable on all the pieces they supply, are always responsive to requests for information and throughout the ordering process keeps us up to date with timings for delivery. They have never let us down and we will confidently continue to work with them as one of our key suppliers.” With a strong and reliable contract team, Skandium are very excited with the prospect of growing our interior portfolio and supplying even more beautiful furniture for new and exciting projects. If you have a contract enquiry please contact the contract team: Linda Kristensson linda@skandium.com
Lina Olsson lina@skandium.com V&A MEMBERS ROOM Fritz Hansen - Ant chair Swedese - Spin stool Modus - Multi table
OFFICE MEETING AREA by Cloud Design Studio Ltd Louis Poulsen - Artichoke pendant Erik Jørgensen - EJ205 chair Photo by Darren Chung
ALDO BAKKER Motivated by human rituals and a desire to re-think and reflect on the conventions of design, Dutch-born designer Aldo Bakker creates expressive and unique pieces that explore the boundaries between humanity and inhumanity. With each item adding its own unique sculptural presence to the dining table, the Aldo Bakker collection introduces a new way of thinking about design and the way it comes into play in our everyday lives.
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