Örsjö at Euroluce 2013

Euroluce comes but once every 2 years, and Örsjö were back for their 4th time to show the Italians how the Scandinavians do lighting. 

Showcasing the acclaimed new Vinge light by Note Design Studio launched in February, alongside a cross-section of other popular products, the stand showcased the versatility and functionality of the Örsjö collection. PJ wall lights, now with direct connection, the Lean double pendant and the black chrome version of Benjamin Hubert's Crane light all received healthy interest from visitors from as far afield as the USA, Asia and Australia.

Örsjö will return to the Farmiloe Building during Clerkenwell Design Week in May, exhibiting all of the new products. Be sure to visit, but in the meantime, if you would like a copy of the brand new brochure just send us a quick hello.

Tramshed 2011

A video from Tramshed 2011, with a cameo by Relay, Mitab and Ӧrsjӧ courtesy of De La Espada.
(Updated with HD Vimeo version)

London Design Festival 2011 - Our Highlights, Part 2

We're starting Part 2 in Covent Garden and then heading west.

  

In the piazza at Covent Garden, Sebastian Bergne created the world's first LEGO greenhouse. Yes, a fully functioning greenhouse made of transparent LEGO bricks. (LEGO also had their own pop-up in association with ICON at Central St. Giles).

Online design store Theo materialised in Monmouth Street with a week long pop up. A chance to play with products before purchasing, Theo's temporary store stocked the wonderful desktop accessories by Australian duo Daniel Emma and was the first UK stockist for Tattly temporary design tattoos from Swissmiss founder Tina Roth Eisenberg.

If we keep moving in a generally west direction, Outline Editions hosted an exhibition by graphic artist Noma Bar entitled "Cut It Out". An embossing machine disguised as a giant black dog allowed visitors to re-create their own Noma Bar work, all of which were signed and numbered by the artist.

Jumping over to Brompton Design District, Michael Anastassiades took over an old jewellery store and filled the original display cases with a beautiful selection of silver ware and lighting in brass and onyx. 

A couple of doors down, Skandium presented a comprehensive retrospective on Swedish architects and designers Claesson Koivisto Rune called "On Yellow". Furniture, lighting, rugs, jewellery and architectural models designed by the small but prolific studio were dotted across the store, like a treasure hunt and identifiable by the yellow perspex squares they all sat on. Again, Ӧrsjӧ were well represented with both Aria and Baklava by CKR included in the show. 

  
As always, Mint's show was unmissable. This year, "Mint Explores" brought together fashion and furniture, cellulose that felt like concrete, as well as lighting and textiles from as far afield as Mexico and Chile.  

However, we will end our highlights in the eye of the storm - at the V&A Museum. For the third year, the V&A became the hub (both physical and digital) for the Festival's activities. Exhibits were dotted liberally throughout the galleries, encouraging you to wander, often into rooms you weren't previously aware of. British-ish, curated by Giles Deacon, and Industrial Revolution 2.0, curated by Murray Moss, saw pieces scattered throughout the galleries. it was sometimes difficult to tell which installation a piece belonged to, but it hardly mattered. It was a pleasure to wander and discover.

 

(Further pieces, along with project and designers names can be found in our Facebook album)

Impossible to miss was the 10 metre high Timber Wave by Amanda Levete dominating the main entrance. A serious feat of engineering, construction was apparently completed with minutes to spare before the press launch.

Inside, the other major draw was Textile Field by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, in conjunction with Kvadrat in the Raphael Gallery. A 60 metre raised carpet, it became a giant bed for weary visitors to sit back, relax and contemplate the famous Cartoons.

Also open at the V&A with impeccable timing is the Power of Making. Open until 2nd January and free, its worth a visit.  

And so we come to the end of another LDF. What does LDF 2012 have in store for us? Watch this space!

Mitab and Ӧrsjӧ at Tramshed 2011

Mitab and Ӧrsjӧ joined forces last week for the London Design Festival 2011, coming together to exhibit at Tramshed. Here are a selection of photos. More photos from Tramshed can be seen in our Facebook album HERE.

 

Mitab and Ӧrsjӧ at Tramshed 2011

The 2011 London Design Festival is fast approaching and is bigger than ever. Back for its 9th year, design districts are springing up all over London and there is so much to do that unless you have a tardis or a will of steel you won't make it to everything. Our advice is to pick up a copy of the yellow ICON Design Trail distributed across the city to make best use of your time.

Having said that, can we recommend you make some time to visit the Tramshed in Shoreditch, where Mitab and Ӧrsjӧ have joined forces to present some of the hottest names in Swedish design. Furniture by Form Us With Love, Swedish Ninja and Jonas Wagell will sit alongside lighting by Claesson Koivisto Rune and Matti Klenell.

Form Us With Love have quickly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with on the Swedish design scene and look set to emulate the international success of Claesson Koivisto Rune. Matti Klenell is the master of quiet craftsmanship, preferring to let his work do the talking, while Jonas Wagell and Swedish Ninja bring a certain sense of joy and fun to their work.

The Tramshed debuted at last years LDF and has already become a "must see" show. New collections by Søren Rose and Benjamin Hubert for de la Espada, the ever-fresh Ercol and new British design from the likes of Plant & Moss and Reeves Design will all be complimented by a seminar series conducted by Sam Grawe, who until recently was Editor-In-Chief at American style bible, Dwell.

Our hotlist for the rest of the Festival includes the CKR retrospective at Skandium, Hemma at the Swedish Ambassador's Residence, Noma Bar's "Cut It Out" at Outline Editions, John Pawson with Swarovski in the stunning St. Paul's Cathedral, Viaduct's Show 3 and if all else fails, make sure you give yourself a couple of hours at the V&A. Acting as the festival hub, the V&A will play host to a myriad installations, displays, talks and workshops. The perfect one stop shop if you're pressed for time during LDF.

For more details on the events happening across London check out the LDF website and Twitter feed. If you are a Twitterer, use the hashtag #ldf11 to search for posts and promote your event. We'll be tweeting as we go - you can follow us HERE.

See you at the Tramshed!

Clerkenwell Design Week 2011

We've been very slow posting our thoughts on this years Clerkenwell Design Week. Suffice to say, since the show ended we've been busy catching up with enquiries generated by the show (actually, we've been pretty busy since we started putting the stand together).

The reaction to the Ӧrsjӧ collection was fantastic. For many visitors it was the first time they had seen the pieces in the flesh, so we tried to select a cross-section of pieces, new and old, that reflected the Ӧrsjӧ commitment to quality and innovation. From the new 2011 collection Baklava, Crane and Great White sat alongside the perennial favourite that is Lean and relative old-timers like Mushroom and Ginko. Our only regret was that we couldn't show more.


We have posted a few images here, but we have added an album to our Facebook page.

The Farmiloe Building is a wonderful venue for an exhibition. The old glass merchants lends a relaxed atmosphere to proceedings, and everyone certainly seemed to enjoy an after work stroll through the stands with a beer or wine in hand.

There was certainly a strong Scandinavian presence in the Farmiloe Building, with Swedese, Zero, bsweden, Bolon, Offecct, Magnus Olesen and Muuto all showing alongside big-hitters like Andreu World, Moooi and Ligne Roset. Note to self: brush up on basic Swedish for next year, because I think they'll all be back!
British brands also had a strong showing with new collections from Lee Broom for Deadgood, Hitch Mylius, Another Country, Pinch and Scene.
The one downside to being an exhibitor is that you tend to miss out on other events taking place around Clerkenwell, and there was certainly a lot to choose from. The House of Detention showcased younger designers and brands, the normally quiet showrooms hummed with activity, Lulu Guinness invited everyone to be a pin-up and then of course there were the parties..........

All in all, we're looking forward to Clerkenwell Design Week 2012.

Ӧrsjӧ to exhibit at Clerkenwell Design Week

Milan 2011 - Ӧrsjӧ at Euroluce

Euroluce takes place every second year as part of the Salone. Ӧrsjӧ were back in Milan this year with a confident monochrome presentation. Their 2011 collection, first shown in Stockholm in February looked resplendent almost entirely in black and white, with only some flashes of copper and brass as accents.

Crane by Benjamin Hubert, which garnered so much attention in Stockholm, was shown for the first time in black lacquer. A bright yellow finish will make an appearance soon!


The Great White by Claesson Koivisto Rune, designed for the Nobis hotel, made its premiere as part of the collection. Arched brass arms reached from the wall to present their unusual white shades.

CKR's other Nobis design, Baklava was shown in the small and medium table versions, but eagle-eyed observers would have noticed the new floor version on the Vitra stand over in Hall 20.



Joel Karlsson's Butler family looked almost unrecognisable in black and white. For the first time, the rough brass finish was replaced with white and black lacquer finishes, giving Butler an ultra-contemporary edge. It just goes to show that technically advanced products can work in modern and traditional settings, given the right finish.


Jenny Bӓck's Lean family continued to please and the new table version looks like it will be just as popular as it's floor standing big brother.



More images can be found on our Facebook page HERE.

Ӧrsjӧ in Milan

Ӧrsjӧ - The hotel designers choice

The new Nobis Hotel in one of central Stockholm's best locations was the talking point of the design week. With interiors by Claesson Koivisto Rune, the new 5-Star hotel opened its doors on 1st December to universal acclaim. CKR designed furniture and lighting was, as you can imagine, used extensively throughout but a significant number of new products (from furniture to textiles) were developed for the project. Key amongst them were Baklava and The Great White designed by CKR and produced by Ӧrsjӧ.

Baklava, as mentioned in our previous post was produced in both table and floor versions, and in the suites you will also find The Great White - a wall-mounted light light with an incredible 2 metre arch.

Also in the Nobis Hotel you will find Pin lights by Matti Klenell in the bathrooms and Aria lights by CKR in the restaurant.

A new book detailing the project, with photography by acclaimed architecture photographer Åke E:son Lindman was launched during the Fair and can be purchased from Konst-ig.

Should you find Nobis to be full, you can always check in at their sister hotel Hotel Skeppsholmen, next to the impressive Moderna Museet and with stunning water views. With interiors by CKR again, Aria graces both the public areas and the bedrooms.

However, we checked ourselves into the wonderful new Radisson Waterfront for more personal reasons. Next to the brand new Stockholm Waterfront conference centre designed by White Architects and only open 2 weeks, each of the 418 bedrooms feature lighting by Ӧrsjӧ. We worked closely with London hotel design specialists RPW Design on the specification of the bedroom lighting. They chose a combination of Minipoint, Puck and Aria along with a bespoke Aria wall light. Minor changes to the construction, such as removing the base from the Minipoint desklight and fixing it directly into the desktop to save space, were easily accommodated and designers, clients and guests (as we can now testify) are all happy!