15 Product Highlights from 3daysofdesign 2020
A tentative step into a post-Covid future, the first major design fair since the world screeched to a halt took place four months late in Copenhagen last week. From September 3-5, in showrooms across the Danish capital, the postponed 3daysofdesign 2020 proved with dozens of furniture launches that this is an industry that will fight back. After a short flight from Berlin, Interior Design was live on the scene to see many manufacturers reaching into the archives. And why not dust off an old gem? Following a Covid-19 test, this writer ponders the comfort of the familiar and an age not so long ago. From a freshly launched lighting company swapping plastic for mouth-blown glass to a turntable first introduced in 1972 and a fluffy lounge upholstered in spun sheep’s wool, here are 15 of our favorite finds.
1. Divan 2 by Simon P. Henningsen for Lyfa
Three wood cabins in a grassy field marked the rebirth of Lyfa, a Danish lighting company shuttered in the 1990s. With creative consultation from the husband-and-wife design duo behind Gam Fratesi, careful up-market changes (think plastic replaced by mouth-blown glass) were made to 50 different pendants, wall, floor, and table lamps from archives dating back to 1903. Divan 2, in carefully positioned trapezoids available in mirror and multi-color or brass, was designed by Simon P. Henningsen in 1962.
2. The Mask stool by Eva Harlou for Mater
Beer waste finds new life after extensive research by Mater uncovered a ground-breaking new production method. Designed by Eva Harlou, the height-adjustable Mask stool has a fiber-based seat incorporating spent grain from Danish brewer Carlsberg’s beer production. The grain, as well as other fibrous waste materials, is then mixed in with post-industrial plastic waste and press-moulded.
3. R.U.M. chair by Wehlers in collaboration with CF Møller Design
Upcycled ocean plastic sourced from used fish nets collected from around the globe makes up 98 percent of the plastic used for the R.U.M. (that’s short for ReUsed Materials) chair by Wehlers, created in collaboration with CF Møller Design. The steel is also recycled.
4. Knitting lounge chair by Ib Kofod-Larsen
At its hybrid headquarters and showroom-hotel The Audo, Menu unveiled a fluffy version of a classic lounge first introduced in 1951. Relaunched in 2018, but now available upholstered in sheep’s wool, this latest version of the Knitting lounge chair by Kofod-Larsen delivers plush comfort with its distinctive cut-outs for resting the elbows.
5. Beogram 4000 series from Bang & Olufsen
With a pilot project from consumer electronics company Bang & Olufsen, the hot trend to revisit Danish classics enters the world of electronics. Also presented at The Audo, the Beogram 4000 series turntable, designed by Jacob Jensen in 1972, is available once more touting the most current technology. Some might recognize this classic record player from the permanent collection at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
6. Montana Mega by Peter J. Lassen for Montana
Montana is known for its shelving, “but a lot of what we sell is actually sideboards,” admits Joakim Lassen, CEO and designer of the storage and furniture company.
Available in nine designs—three of which are sideboards with both open shelves and closed doors and drawers—Montana Mega shelving by Peter J. Lassen meets this demand in a rainbow of 40 water-based lacquered colors.
7. Crofton stool by Daniel Schofield for Please Wait to be Seated
Designer Daniel Schofield rendered the compact, space-saving Crofton stool for Please Wait to be Seated entirely in Nordic pine, a high quality, locally sourced material that ages gracefully.
8. Warm Nordic Expands Fried Egg collection by Hans Olsen
Not everyone takes their eggs the same way—or so thought Warm Nordic. With the brand’s newly expanded Fried Egg collection, Hans Olsen’s Fried Egg (1956) armchair is available in its mirror-image, with a new frame position. The line also now includes a sofa.
9. Tense Pendant Lamp by Panter & Tourron for New Works
A soft cloud discovered hovering over a seating area in a home installation presented in collaboration with Swedish bed company Hästens, the Tense pendant lamp by Panter & Tourron for New Works has a 100 percent recycled shade. Crafted from Tyvek, a brand of flash-spun, high-density polyethylene fibers, the shade ensures just the right defused glow for an LED bulb.
10. House of Finn Juhl
As a rare find at an auction house, a pair of FJ 53 armchairs designed by Finn Juhl in 1953 could set you back nearly $100,000. Today, the House of Finn Juhl holds the exclusive rights of production to Juhl’s illustrious design portfolio—but until recently, the FJ 53 series, produced by a Japanese manufacturer, was one exception. After new negotiations, the series is back in the fold, and the FJ 53 armchair and two-seater sofa returns from House of Finn Juhl with craftsmanship sensitive to the original design.
11. Tube lamp by KBH
While KBH Københavns Møbelsnedkeri is gaining recognition on a global scale for its custom furniture and interiors, the Copenhagen-based woodworking design studio also has a limited-edition collection of pieces that started out as one-offs. The brass KBH Tube wall lamp, as an example, has a dimmable LED tube with an integrated driver.
12. Islets table collection by Maria Bruun for Fredericia
A celebration of solid wood, the Islets table collection by Maria Bruun for Fredericia consists of three sculptural tables—a large coffee table, a side table, and a dining table—rendered in solid oak.
13. The B-Table by Marcel Gascoin for Gubi
First conceived for the compact homes of post-war France, the expandable B-Table (1950) by Marcel Gascoin for Gubi works just as well for dining and home office as it does for a game of bridge. Magnetic locks in the remastered version ease the transition from compact to spacious.
14. PH Septima by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen
With a premier as a prototype in an exhibition held in 1928, the PH Septima, a seven-shade glass lamp designed by Poul Henningsen, reemerges from the archives of Louis Poulsen with upgrades to suspension and glass.
15. Rely by Hee Welling for &Tradition
Post-industrial waste finds new beauty under the hands of Hee Welling for &Tradition’s newest sustainable chair. To fabricate Rely from 100% recycled plastic, the designer put in nearly a year of research towards a new production method which mixes color and crushed plastic.
