That the Stockholm Furniture Fair is the largest fair event in the Nordic countries doesn't really come as a surprise. From the minute you step out of the plane, design surrounds you. The city itself is a showpiece for good, solid product design, so it makes sense that it should have a trade show that reflects this.
At 60 years old though, this is also Sweden's oldest fair. But, luckily, with age it seems to have only grown in confidence rather than got stuck in its ways, launching a host of new endeavours this year including a Light Bar by Alexander Lervik and an inspirational exhibition by Uglycute about the Anatomy of Meetings.
There remained a distinct lack of international exhibitors, most keeping their new products under wraps for Milan, but the Nordic companies didn't let that stop them. Large 2011 collections by companies such as Offecct, Gubi, Asplund and Kallemö, were plenty to keep us entertained. And while the same Scandi big-name designers did tend to pop up again and again (Claesson Koivisto Rune launched products with 11 different companies and galleries this year), it was also nice to see some of the younger designers championed by Wallpaper*, such as Jens Fager and Broberg & Ridderstrale, sharing the spotlight.
The Greenhouse, a platform for independent designers, continued to inspire, with the Scandinavian design schools (Beckams, Carl Malmstens Furniture Studies, Oslo National Academy of Arts, Konsfack etc) showing off what is perhaps the finest, and most well-made undergraduate work around.
-
Jack White's Third Man Records opens a Paris pop-upJack White's immaculately-branded record store will set up shop in the 9th arrondissement this weekend
-
Designer Marta de la Rica’s elegant Madrid studio is full of perfectly-pitched contradictionsThe studio, or ‘the laboratory’ as de la Rica and her team call it, plays with colour, texture and scale in eminently rewarding ways
-
‘Nothing just because it’s beautiful’: Performance artist Marina Abramović on turning her hand to furniture designMarina Abramović has no qualms about describing her segue into design as a ‘domestication’. But, argues the ‘grandmother of performance art’ as she unveils a collection of chairs, something doesn’t have to be provocative to be meaningful
-
A postcard from Stockholm Design Week 2025Global design director, Hugo Macdonald, reports from the Scandinavian fair which, despite challenges, has much worth venturing into the Swedish winter for
-
Feminism, fantasy and furniture at Stockholm Design Week 2020We traversed the Swedish capital to unlock the unmissable events at Stockholm Design Week 2020 (3-9 February) that included responsible design at Stockholm Furniture Fair, pop-ups in restaurants and ex-military bases, plus a recreated artist’s atelier
-
A snowtopped landscape at Stockholm Design Week showcases the beauty of vinyl flooring -
A 19th-century former crispbread factory and residence showcases new designs at Stockholm Design Week -
Two’s company: Massproductions and Wästberg open Stockholm showroom -
Stockholm Furniture Fair 2014: new launches and artful collaborations -
Stockholm Furniture Fair 2013 -
Stockholm Furniture Fair 2012
