The 2008 International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) was just held in New York City, on May 17th to 20th, 2008. The Fair presented over 600 exhibitors from 38 different countries, and featured more Norwegian furniture designers than ever.
Sitting In The Snow
Scandinavian furniture design has made a respectable name for itself all over the world, but Norway may have been known as the little sister in this regard, in the shadow of hugely renown Danish and Swedish designers and producers. This is, however, about to change, and this year's ICFF shows clear signs of this.
Visitors at the fair were greeted by Innovation Norway's stand by the entrance. Here, you could check out furniture design by several of the Norwegian exhibitors. Mokasser presented their surprisingly comfortable Whole in One, a chair inspired by the pattern a body leaves when sitting in the snow. Aksel Hanssson, the company behind the Aksel chair, presented their functional, classic design; Fora Form was there with their round, pop arty Planet chair and the 3d-veneer produced Copenhagen chair.
Peeled Orange
Mokasser, Aksel Hansson, and Fora Form all exhibited their design together with Variér Furniture at the Innovation Norway booth. Variér's featured designs included the Peel chair, inspired by a peeled orange; and the comfortable, sculptural and organic formed Date chair.
Also present at the ICFF, was Designers Go Playground and their modular furniture system with a playful design and bright colors, that allow you to create your own composition, rearrange and add elements. Aase shares his booth at ICFF with the furniture producer KLOSS. Nina Edwards Ankers Nea Studio also exhibited new pieces from the Arctic Line. Three new items were displayed for the first time: the Twisted Sofa, the Cantilever Table in acrylic, and VanityTable.
Simplicity and Functionality
Traditionally, the Norwegian furniture producers found their inspiration in classic models, but from the 1930s they started cooperating with professional designers, and the 1960s are usually seen as the first golden era of Norwegian furniture design. During this time, an independent style was developed, focusing on simplicity, functionality and quality. Today, despite high wages and a lot of international competition, as much as 50 per cent of the furniture sold in Norway is made in Norway.
From the 1990’s we have seen the growth of a range of young designers with cutting edge furniture. Functionalism and the pioneers of the 60’s are still inspirations, Insidenorway.no explains on their website, but the designers are more and more open to impulses from the international market. The industry consists of about 400 companies, and more than 30 per cent of the production is exported. Internationally renown Norwegian furniture products include The Ekornes Stressless chair and The Stokke Tripp Trapp children chair.
For more information about Norwegian furniture design, visit Insidenorway.no. The site is a part of a greater project called Innovation Møbel (møbel means furniture), which promotes Norwegian furniture on the domesticc and international markets.