News 2013
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ELNA NEST OF TABLES AND COFFEE TABLE THOMAS SANDELL What kind of setting are these tables meant for? TS: Primarily they are intended as coffee tables or small sideboard tables for the home, though personally I think they work just as well in public places. How did your thoughts run in the designing process? TS: When I was a child, my grandmother, whose name was Elna, used to take me to the market in Jakobstad/Pietarsaari, in Finland. The market stalls had piles of semicircular chip baskets with plaited withy handles. The tables get their shape from my recollection of the baskets pilled up...

FLAKE CHAIR NINA JOBS What’s so special about Flake? NJ: Its simplicity, the thin shell and the strong base. What’s so great about it? NJ: Comfort, combined with a slender seat pan, hence the name Flake, coupled with a sturdy ash base. Flake was first launched as a swivel chair and is now also appearing on four legs. The swivel base and foot are made of durable ash, with a choice between natural and stained black or white. The seat pan is compatible with most materials, both textile and leather. What kind of setting is Flake intended for? NJ: I’m not in the habit of designing demarcated...

ORBIT PENDANT LIGHT FITTING JOHAN LINDSTÉN Your Orbit floor lamp has now gone pendant. How come? JL: After the Orbit floor lamp had been launched at last year’s furniture fair, turning it into a pendant lamp seemed a natural second step. As a designer you tend to think up siblings for your creations, and from the very outset, as a rule, you have further applications at the back of your mind. Orbit as a pendant lamp was definitely a natural follow-on from my earlier floor lamp. What are Orbit’s advantages? JL: Its strength lies in a renewal of classical form. The original inspiration came...

EMMA ARMCHAIR FREDRIK FÄRG OCH EMMA MARGA BLANCHE What made it an Emma? EMB/FF: Gärsnäs asked us to design a modern Emma armchair, and we had a really exciting time doing it! You get such a kick out of working towards a solution and, what’s more, spotting a need. And the Emma just came naturally, this being a latter-day version of a firmly rooted tradition. Had this kind of seating furniture occurred to you previously? EMB: The funny thing is that, despite being French, I’ve always had a special relationship to Emma armchairs. I was already keen on design as a child, and my Swedish paternal...

LINNEA STACKABLE CHAIR AND SEATING FURNITURE RIO ÅKE AXELSSON The Linnea chair harks back to Thonet’s classic Vienna chair (with sales exceeding 50 million). What are your thoughts on that subject? ÅA: I first made Linnea for Gemla’s 125th anniversary in 1985, and it is to be seen as a tribute to Michael Thonet. As with the original, its bentwood parts are made of solid steambent beech. I added the extra touch of making it stackable by placing the front legs outside the frame. Linnea is made of beech and is available in a range of different colours. How would you characterise the seating...

CAMELOT TABLE DAY CHAIR PIERRE SINDRE How did your new table set come to be called Camelot? PS: It comes from the Celtic tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, the idea being that everyone present should feel equal and no one should need to feel inferior to anyone else. I share that view, even though my tables aren’t round ones. What is the strong point about the Camelot table? PS: Only too often, as an interior architect, I’ve had to wrestle with the problem of a spaghetti jungle of wiring under and between the conference tables. And so Camelot has a hollow beam for...

MARIA GAENGER DESIGN FOTO LENNART DUREHED TEXT SOFIA SILFVERSTOLPE TRANSLATION ROGER TANNER/ORDVÄXLINGEN