Kaare Klint may not be a name we hear much of these days, but in Denmark, at least, he remains revered. ‘He was the father of Danish furniture design,’ says Niels Strøyer Christophersen, creative director and founder of multi-disciplinary design brand, Frama. ‘As a furniture designer and professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, he was crucial to Danish design and shaped an entire generation of famous designers who, in the 1940s, put Denmark on the world map.’
According to Christophersen, one of Klint’s enduring contributions to the oeuvre was to introduce simplified editions of historical pieces. Frama’s new Atelier Collection is, on every metric, a homage to both that creative process and to one of Klint’s very early works – a box couch designed in 1916.
The new collection – comprising a couch, a chair and shelving, all handmade in spruce by a Lithuanian cabinet maker – is Frama’s first foray into a couch and easy chair series. Taking cues from Klint’s original unornamented design, Frama created a semi-encapsulated form whose otherwise severe silhouette is balanced by rounder, softer edges. Each piece features visible joints, a Frama MO, and is finished with a natural oil.
The cushions, meanwhile, are swathed in customised merino wool called Éire, a tribute to the Irish spinners and weavers who handmake the fabric in natural hues ‘inspired by the natural greys of the Nordic landscape’.
By creating simplified editions of historical pieces, Klint embraced the past without being shackled by it. For Christophersen and his studio designers, the Atelier Collection is just a millennial iteration of that approach. ‘Frama is essentially based on a constant evolution of ideas and interventions. We embrace what history offers us as an archive of functions and forms which we, as Klint once did, then re-interpret within a modern context in which simplicity and longevity of each piece is foundational.’
INFORMATION
-
Marylebone restaurant Nina turns up the volume on Italian diningAt Nina, don’t expect a view of the Amalfi Coast. Do expect pasta, leopard print and industrial chic
-
Tour the wonderful homes of ‘Casa Mexicana’, an ode to residential architecture in Mexico‘Casa Mexicana’ is a new book celebrating the country’s residential architecture, highlighting its influence across the world
-
Jonathan Anderson is heading to Dior MenAfter months of speculation, it has been confirmed this morning that Jonathan Anderson, who left Loewe earlier this year, is the successor to Kim Jones at Dior Men
-
Six Montana Furniture classics get a colourful makeover by KimpopDanish designers and TV personalities Kimpop give Montana Furniture's classic designs a colourful new look: ‘People will either love it or find it outside their comfort zone’
-
Danish Architecture Center celebrates trailblazing 20th-century designer Nanna DitzelA new exhibition dedicated to the groundbreaking work of Nanna Ditzel opens in Copenhagen
-
Fritz Hansen marks its 150th anniversary with new collectionFritz Hansen’s ‘Anniversary Collection’ features reissues of iconic pieces by Arne Jacobsen and Poul Kjærholm, presented during 3 Days of Design 2022 (15 – 17 June)
-
Best of Danish design (and more) from Copenhagen’s 3 Days of DesignA selection of the best new spaces and furniture launches from Danish and international brands and designers, shown at Copenhagen’s 3 Days of Design 2021
-
Iconic Arne Jacobsen dining chairs get a new colour paletteFritz Hansen enlists Italian curator Carla Sozzani to devise a new chromatic palette for Arne Jacobsen's iconic dining chairs
-
Copper feel: Lumière Bricoleur turns scrap metal into sculptural lampsThe duo’s first collection, mostly rendered in copper, is sourced on Copenhagen's streets and scrapyards
-
Kvadrat’s blind collection plays with transparency and toneRonan & Erwan Bouroullec design the Kvadrat Shade range with window covering specialist, Coulisse
-
Muuto unveils debut outdoor furniture range with clean metal lines and timeless details
