danish design fair 2011

Long-time hello from Copenhagen! I recently moved to the mother land, Copenhagen, (remember my delightful summer here from a couple years back?)  from Washington, DC after graduating and getting married (wahoo!) and was thrilled to be invited to attend the design fair here, Formland, with designer Maria Helgstrand of Wallnut design. Formland brings together the best of Scandinavian design so I was quite interested in getting a feel for the current design scene here. We spent the majority of our time at New Note, the curated section of more innovative interior, lighting and furniture products and I was in heaven gawking over the clean yet quirky features that typify the Scandinavian aesthetic. A few trends that I gravitated towards were the harlequin patterns and spots of fluorescents, which you’ll see sprinkled through the images. I hope you’ll enjoy these highlights from the event. –Brittany

Family Jewels (above left) offers a bright & humorous knack for hand-printed textiles like their teapot cosy collection and tablecloths and cheeky bedlinens. Their tablecloth shows some of the fluorescent accents. Phucisme (bottom right) salvages discarded porcelain and beautifully paints with gold leaf. I always love seeing the student section, but was disappointed that it was so small. A few of the ceramics students from the Danish Design School presented their teapots and I found this one so handy! I didn’t feel like I was going to break it with the easy to manage grip. The Pantone equivalent for Scandinavia is the color forecasting firm Pej Gruppen and they gave a presentation on the trends for the upcoming year. They left large rolls of thread so that you could take samples, a clever solution to printed swatches that never really grasp the true colors for textiles. Below, Lucky Boy Sunday blew my knitted socks away! I was so easily enchanted with Camilla & Camilla who create cute & quirky knitted children’s toys, graphic pillows, wooden wonders. Here Camilla sits knitting mini giveaways at their booth.

CLICK HERE for more images from the Danish Design Fair after the jump!

Even the food stations were decorated with graphic goodness.

I wanted to focus on a couple of spotlights from some of my favorite vendors. Maria asked what my favorite part of the show was and I had to say Lucky Boy Sunday. It was just a charming experience at their little booth with both owners, Camilla and Camilla, chatting and explaining their products with one Camilla crocheting little giveaways for visitors like the bunny ball I picked up below. I’m thinking I’ll use it as a necklace. Theirs is a sweet story, they both happen to be born in the same year with the same name and started Lucky Boy Sunday a few years back to share a “child’s reality.” Their dolls are fun and quirky, with a dash of melancholy without sadness. Below, a kid-size knitted house–a dream come true!

Another highlight of Formland was the Icelandic designer Thora Finnsdottir and her beautiful, textural ceramics. I was thrilled to see Finnsdottir because a) I’m already a huge fan based on their babushka series b) these vases and lamps are beautifully detailed c) the business cards (top and bottom photos) are perfection. (I’m a sucker for a good biz card). I had a charming time talking with the rep, which made the experience that much better. Thora Finnsdottir is from Iceland and studied at the Danish Design School and now practices ceramics here in Copenhagen. Now to get my hands on one of those lamps…