Image Caption: Daniel Rybakken’s daylight project in Stockholm. © Daniel Rybakken
Previously overshadowed by its Nordic neighbours, Norway is slowly turning itself into a buzzing design nation where homegrown talent is springing up with an increasingly rapid speed. Here are a few names set to have an impact in the next few years…
Although Norway has produced several successful designers in the past decades (Peter Opsvik, Hans Brattrud and Olav Eldøy to name a few), the majority of its designers have not enjoyed the red carpets and glowing limelight that other Scandinavian design supermodels have.
However, the international success of design trio Norway Says, set up a decade ago by Espen Voll, Torbjørn Anderssen and Espen Voll, has paved way for a new generation of young designers. Recent years have seen rising stars StokkeAustad, Frost Produkt and Tveit&Tornøe making an impact on both the international and domestic design scene, and now there are scores of new designers following in their footsteps, hungry for challenges and recognition. A few names to make a note of, include:
Vibeke Skar
Image Caption: Industrial Impact, Arctic Collection by Vibeke Skar and Jens Praet. Photo: Peder Torget
Not many had heard of Oslo-born Vibeke Skar until she exhibited in Milan Design Weeks’ new district Ventura Lambrate this past April. Her series of tables in corian, designed together with Belgian Jens Praet, was an instant hit. The series, based on the theme of industrial impact and inspired by the melting glaciers of the Arctic, aims to be a reflection on the industrial revolution’s major after-effect, global warming. “We’re trying to get people’s attention by creating everyday objects with a subtle environmental message,” says Skar.
Skar, who studied design in Florence, Italy, before completing a masters degree at Oslo’s School of Architecture and Design, says she has always had a passion for creating things; “It started with an interest for fashion and clothes that developed into a wish of making products.” After working for Frost Produkt in Oslo, Skar has now set up her own studio and finds her inspiration in Norwegian traditional patterns, nature and fairytales. www.vibekeskar.com
Daniel Rybakken
A lighting designer with a difference, the much praised Daniel Rybakken attempts to replicate the feeling of natural, direct sunshine through his products. Especially relevant in a country such as Norway where short daylight hours in winter can be problematic for many people, the products could also be used by those suffering from Seasonally Adjusted Depression (SAD).
Rybakken studied at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design and the School of Design and at the HDK School of Design and Craft at Gothenburg University before completing an internship with Norway Says in 2007. He now lives in Sweden, and will be exhibiting at both 100% Norway and Norwegian Prototypes in London this September. www.danielrybakken.com
Hallgeir Homstvedt
Image Caption:Hallgeir Homstvedt with his OHH mirror bowls
“I am fascinated by the simple beauty of mirrors and how they reflect our reality,” says 32-year-old product and furniture designer Hallgeir Homstvedt. “When we look into a mirror we expect to see a picture of this “truth” looking back at us.” At this year’s 100% Norway exhibition during London Design Festival, Homstvedt will show brand new versions of his OHH mirror bowls, which questions this truth by reflecting another colour than seen on the bowls’ inside frame at first glance.
Homstvedt is based in Oslo and after completing his degree in 2006 he worked at the design studio of Norway Says for three years. During this period Homstvedt specialised in 3D modeling and computer renderings, and was involved in projects ranging from upholstered furniture, domestic/public lighting, to bone china and consumer electronics. He has now set up his own consultancy. www.hallgeirhomstvedt.com
Amy Hunting
Image Caption: Blockshelf by Amy Hunting. Photo: Trine Stephensen
Amy Hunting, a designer and illustrator now living in London, was first picked up by the international press and design blogs after launching her Patchwork series in 2008 where she built furniture of wood waste and off-cuts collected from factories in Denmark. She later launched Blockshelf, a shelf based on a similar idea as the Patchwork series: “The dogma behind this product is probably quite obvious: what can you do with blocks of wood and cotton rope? Using a knot traditionally used for sailing and fishing, you can pull the strings and the shelf will disassemble. It can easily be put together again. The wood is collected from a local timber importers waste bin in London and consists of over 20 sorts of untreated wood. This is the first result of the rope and wood experiments.”
After studying furniture design at Denmark’s Design School in Copenhagen, Hunting subsequently joined Established & Sons, first as an intern and then as part of the production and product development department. She has now set up her own studio in East London from where she’s masterminding the exhibition Norwegian Prototypes which will feature 12 designers and take place in Shoreditch during the London Design Festival. www.amyhunting.com
Petter Skogstad
Image Caption: Petter Skogstad with some of his designs.
Oslo-based designer Petter Skogstad, only 25 and a recent uni graduate, is one young Norwegian to watch. Having already wowed several big manufacturers with his concept designs at the Salone Satellite exhibition in Milan both in 2009 and this year, he was also rewarded with his own dedicated area at 100% Norway exhibition in London last year.
Skogstad’s mission statement is simple: “I want to make beautiful products to use in everyday situations.” According to design editor with Wallpaper*, Henrietta Thompson, says his products combine a Scandinavian sensibility – a clarity of concept and purity of form – with quite a Japanese approach to development, which is most likely why they seem more grown-up than student designs. www.petterskogstad.com
A few of the many other names to keep an eye out for include; Øyvind Wyller (www.oyvindwyller.no), Simen Aarseth (www.simenaarseth.com), Christoffer Angell (www.christofferangell.com), SHE (www.shedesign.no), Sarah Wright Polmar (www.sarapolmar.no), Kim Thome (www.kimthome.com) and Bjørn Blikstad (www.imeuble.no), many of whom will be exhibiting during the London Design Festival in 2010
