Raw, Unique and Local: What’s Trending in Nordic Design
Houzz visits Helsinki Design Week in the Finnish capital for a peek into the present and future of Nordic design
Every September, Helsinki Design Week fills the Finnish capital with exhibitions, pop-up events, markets and debates on design, fashion and urban culture. It aims to create a conversation around the trends dominating the current Nordic design agenda and to hint at what’s coming in the future.
“Nordic design is not a desert island: We’re influenced by impressions from around the world, and vice versa,” founder and director Kari Korkman says. “Nevertheless, there are some clear features [that characterize Nordic design]. The connection to nature and the past plays a role even for the modern urban population. This is reflected in, among other things, quality craftsmanship and the use of natural materials. Nordic design represents some good basic values in a number of contexts, and there is extra demand for such values in the current time of uncertainty and conflict.”
“Nordic design is not a desert island: We’re influenced by impressions from around the world, and vice versa,” founder and director Kari Korkman says. “Nevertheless, there are some clear features [that characterize Nordic design]. The connection to nature and the past plays a role even for the modern urban population. This is reflected in, among other things, quality craftsmanship and the use of natural materials. Nordic design represents some good basic values in a number of contexts, and there is extra demand for such values in the current time of uncertainty and conflict.”
Local design. Unique, handmade and locally produced items are highly sought-after in Finnish design, according to Minni Soverila, executive director of the Helsinki Design District. Now that you can buy design from around the globe with just a few clicks, it feels special to have something a local craftsman has made in his or her workshop around the corner.
Lokal is one gallery and store located in the Design District, a cluster of over 200 designers and design stores in the Finnish capital that plays a central role in Design Week activities. The shop’s name really says it all: Lokal offers furniture and handicrafts by both up-and-coming and renowned Finnish designers.
Lokal is one gallery and store located in the Design District, a cluster of over 200 designers and design stores in the Finnish capital that plays a central role in Design Week activities. The shop’s name really says it all: Lokal offers furniture and handicrafts by both up-and-coming and renowned Finnish designers.
Handcrafted items. An annual highlight of Helsinki Design Week is Design Forum Finland’s presentation of the award for best young designer of the year. This time they honored 26-year-old master carpenter Antrei Hartikainen, whose airy Bastone cabinet is made up of wood strips that leave its contents both concealed and visible at once.
“Antrei is an impressively skilled and patient craftsman with a great knowledge of wood,” says project manager Laila Alanen of Design Forum Finland. “His design leans toward the artistic and has roots in the traditions of Finland, Japan and Mexico.”
“Antrei is an impressively skilled and patient craftsman with a great knowledge of wood,” says project manager Laila Alanen of Design Forum Finland. “His design leans toward the artistic and has roots in the traditions of Finland, Japan and Mexico.”
Raw is hot. Raw wood is neither polished nor lacquered, so there is good reason to watch your nylon stockings if you take a seat on one of the pieces of raw-wood furniture that jump out at you in design stores in the Finnish capital.
Raw and heavy wood is popular, as are good-quality light and airy wooden pieces, while anything in between gets relegated to the back bench. Muubs’ Dakota chair in teak is pictured here, from the display at the MIA Design shop in Design District Helsinki.
Raw and heavy wood is popular, as are good-quality light and airy wooden pieces, while anything in between gets relegated to the back bench. Muubs’ Dakota chair in teak is pictured here, from the display at the MIA Design shop in Design District Helsinki.
Modest and imperfect. Wood from a Finnish forest met Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetics at Helsinki Design Week’s Raw / Rawka exhibition.
Wabi-sabi is a Japanese aesthetic that celebrates the beauty of the imperfect, humble, temporary and authentic. Natural materials like raw wood provide the ideally imperfect surface, offering variations in shape, color and texture. The emphasis on imperfection also means pieces can continue to be used once they’ve accumulated scratches or developed a patina — when they might otherwise have been thrown out.
Side table: Studio Ville Auvinen, exhibited at “Raw / Rawka”
Wabi-sabi is a Japanese aesthetic that celebrates the beauty of the imperfect, humble, temporary and authentic. Natural materials like raw wood provide the ideally imperfect surface, offering variations in shape, color and texture. The emphasis on imperfection also means pieces can continue to be used once they’ve accumulated scratches or developed a patina — when they might otherwise have been thrown out.
Side table: Studio Ville Auvinen, exhibited at “Raw / Rawka”
Flat-packed furniture. Most of us are familiar with Ikea’s self-assembly furniture. For a few of the furniture designers who exhibited at Helsinki Design Week, however, flat-packed furniture is not just about saving space in transport and storage, but is also about sustainability and flexibility.
These pieces are designed to be assembled without Allen wrenches, nails or screws. They are also easy to take apart again, so broken components can be repaired or replaced individually. Some designers have drawn attention to this with colored straps, as in the Combine stool pictured here, from the joint exhibition by designers Antti Tuomi and Sakari Hartikainen in the Casuarina furniture store.
These pieces are designed to be assembled without Allen wrenches, nails or screws. They are also easy to take apart again, so broken components can be repaired or replaced individually. Some designers have drawn attention to this with colored straps, as in the Combine stool pictured here, from the joint exhibition by designers Antti Tuomi and Sakari Hartikainen in the Casuarina furniture store.
Others have chosen more discrete assembly solutions, as in this table by Fészek Részek. It was part of a sustainability-focused exhibition by Hungarian designers.
Rugs as wall decor. Rugs in natural and recycled materials were not a rare sight at this year’s design week. But don’t expect to feel their soft and inviting textures under your feet: These rugs were hung on walls as decorative elements. The wool blanket pictured here is made of a manufacturer’s surplus material. It is another example of Hungarian sustainable design.
A touch of humor. Cute figurines and design with a hint of humor and play are not uncommon in the homeland of the Moomin. These pieces, on display at Lokal, are by Helsinki-based Japanese artist Yasushi Koyama.
Design as collectors’ pieces. Vases reissued in trendy new colors and special, limited-edition versions of well-known classics were just some of the temptations for collectors who just have to have the season’s new color or a model that’s bigger than their neighbor’s. Pictured is an extra-tall version of the classic Finnish Aalto vase, seen at Iittala.
Multifunctional decor. Aino Aalto’s classic Riihitie pottery set, featured at Artek, works as a planter, serving dish, storage bowl and much more — the more functions, the better.
Whether you live in a compact space or just prefer a minimalist lifestyle, there are clear advantages to multifunctional, multipurpose designs. Several of the experts we met in Helsinki emphasized that there is no longer a need for huge dish sets in all sizes and for all purposes.
Whether you live in a compact space or just prefer a minimalist lifestyle, there are clear advantages to multifunctional, multipurpose designs. Several of the experts we met in Helsinki emphasized that there is no longer a need for huge dish sets in all sizes and for all purposes.
Have a seat on a piece of art. Artek 2nd Cycle is an initiative to give the company’s iconic furniture a second life. Popular among these are Aalto’s famous stool, which also appears as a bedside table and side table in many homes. At Design Week, street artist Ines Sederholm left her mark on a series of these design icons.
Speaking of recycling. What happens now that Helsinki Design Week has ended and its many exhibits are being taken down?
Designer Jonatan Varon has a great idea: He designs lamps like this one using parts of discarded exhibition stands, among other things. This light was part of the Design Week exhibition Rubbish Philosophy.
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Designer Jonatan Varon has a great idea: He designs lamps like this one using parts of discarded exhibition stands, among other things. This light was part of the Design Week exhibition Rubbish Philosophy.
More
8 Trends From Salone del Mobile 2018 in Milan
2018 Design Calendar: Where to Go and What to See This Year
Find a designer