IDS 2012: Norwegian design in progress

Norwegian products are generally acknowledged as holding high quality, but most products exported from Norway are raw material; fish, oil, elec-tric power, or industrial products and parts for vehicles or in ships – less consumer goods. The last decade Norwegian furniture manufacturers and designers of interior products have created what international observers see as something of a design miracle. A new generation of designers has been present on the international scene and the manufacturers in Norway have been looking outside small country to find markets to grow.

The aim of the project Insidenorway is to promote this new initiative and to improve the knowledge and reputation of Norwegian Furniture and Design abroad.

The history of the modern Norwegian furniture industry is more than a hundred years old. The industry played an important role in the Scandinavian Design movement in the 50’s and 60’s, though a little overshadowed by their fellow Scandinavian – mainly the Swedes and the Danes. From the 70’s and onward the Norwegian Furniture Industry delivered well known products and brands like The Ekornes Stressless chair and The Stokke Tripp Trapp children chair to the international market.

Norwegian furniture is still a part of the Scandinavian Design tradition. Norwe-gian furniture design distinguishes itself through the functionality, ergonomics and the comfort in its products. This is very much the case with the manufacturers present in insidenorway.no booth at IDS; Hjellegjerde, Spinnaker by Hødnebø, VAD, SO-Ro and Oleana.

Hjellegjerde is among the largest manufacturers / suppliers of furniture in Norway. Making a wide range of living room furniture for the European market, Hjellegjerde is particularly marketing the collection of contemporary chairs in US and Canada. The brand has been present in these markets for a couple of generations, now exhibiting chairs designed by some of Norway's most distinguished designers.

Pictures:

Hjellegjerde - Tinde, Hjellegjerde Baloo, Fjords
 
Spinnaker by Hødnebø is the traditional handcraft company turned design driven manufacturer of contemporary chairs and classic mid-century design icons like the Scandia chairs and the relax chair. The company is located in a small southern town by the sea. This location has always been an inspiration for the designers working with the company. And the inspiration has never been stronger than the case is with the Spinnaker chair. The design is inspired by the spinnaker sail on sailboats – one can find the shape of the sail in the shape of the chair and in addition to that the back is in fact made at the local sail-loft, by old sails if you like. The material both in the back and the pillows can be chosen individually and can make every chair individual. Spinnaker is designed by Scenario design – Linda Steen and Lena Axelsson.
Scandia and Relax are two representative examples of great design from the fifties and sixties era of Scandinavian Design. The designer of Relax was Olav Hødnebø – son of the founder of the parent company; Hødnebø. Scandia chair was first shown as part as a student task by the designer Hans Bratterud – at the time a student at Oslo design School – trying to solve the task; alternative use of barrel sticks. The Scandia chair found its way to overseas markets during the sixties and seventies, and then it was out of the market for a period before it was re-launched in 2005.         

VAD chair Convita is a contemporary designed recliner serving the purpose of comfort – and beauty. Unlike many recliners it is elegant and slick. It gives the body support in all positions but is designed to make the seated be able to rest with her leg higher up than the head – a position that is good for blood circula-tion – and for great comfort. VAD is both "Value Added Design" – and the family name of the owners. The furniture is made in the bottom of a Norwegian fjord landscape at a place where there are no reason to make anything unless it is excellent. The quality lies in the design, the hand craft skills and in the raw material.

Oleana is making knittings – clothing and blankets – with the heart, the soul and the head. Its products are based on the best of hand craft skills and of patterns inspired by Norwegian traditions. The company was founded under the "Olympic spirit" in the 90's when Lillehammer was about to have all the fo-cus from sports interested public all over the (cold parts of) world. In Solveig Hisdals design the Oleana clothes are distinct and unique – and very feminine. The Oleana company is remarkable in many ways. Not only is it a successful player in the textile industry, where such industry is not likely to survive, but it is also a company driven by other principles than the average business. To make the workers happy, interested, motivated and highly skilled the company takes all employees on an annual study trip somewhere where something can be learned, and part of the profit is split every year equally among all em-ployees. The general idea of Oleana is to create products that last for a long time, and in a style that last longer than the average fashion trend.

So-Ro is a small specialized company designing, producing and selling cradles in many markets. Based on an idea and the design by Ane Tveit – an Oslo-based ergoterapeut. The cradle distinguishes itself by rocking forward instead of sideways like conventional cradles. This is the most comfortable motion for a baby.  When swinging in a normal rhythm, the brain registers this linear, forward motion as soothing.  Traditional cradles utilize lateral motion, which stimulates the circular-motion portion of the brain and can lead to dizziness.

Norwegian Furniture Industry counts about 100 companies which produce furniture of totally a value of $ 3 billions. More than 30 percent of the total production is exported. The companies are in general small- and medium sized, with some larger companies that are present on the international furniture scene. The Industry is highly advanced and among the most modern in the world.

More about the exhibitors