Posts Tagged Design
Norwegian Forest by Cathrine Kullberg
The lamp, the brainchild of Norwegian designer Cathrine Kullberg, was launched in the spring of 2007, and has since become a hit with interior designers and design-conscious customers. It has also received good editorial coverage in the press, both in Kullberg’s native Norway and abroad, and was featured at the 100%Norway exhibition in both Stockholm and London.
Norwegian Forest draws on a classic Scandinavian tradition of using thin wood veneer strips for lighting. It show a pine forest with animals in light and shade. When lit, the blonde birch veneer shines with a warm glow, and the delicately cut forest motif lets light to filter out between the trees. The veneer is laser cut by hand, and the shell is hand sewn onto a steel frame. The lamps are assembled by hand in Kullberg’s studio in Oslo. The high quality finish required means cutting is a minutious job, and production is therefore limited.
The lamp comes in three versions – large pendant, small pendant and table light. The large pendant will set you back $750. Order online at www.cathrinekullberg.com or from your local stockist. These include Huset www.huset-shop.com in the US and www.ourshowhome.com in the UK.
Want to see more? Cathrine Kullberg created a 10m-long ceiling-wall installation at the Emil & Samuel restaurant in Oslo’s Steen & Strøm department store. Check it out next time you’re in town.
Grete Prytz Kittelsen (1917-2010)
Posted by admin in Art, culture and literature on October 4, 2010
The grande dame of Norwegian design, Grete Prytz Kittelsen, died last month in Oslo, aged 93. But her legacy endures.
Educated at the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry (where her dad, Jakob Tostrup Prytz, worked as rector) and at the Institute of Design in Chicago, Kittelsen went on to become one of the most talented designers of her generation. Maybe it was in her genes. She was the fifth generation of goldsmith in the J. Tostrup family firm. Famed for her silver and enamel work, particularly her kitchenware, she was one of the best-known Norwegians in the Scandinavian Design movement.
Kittelsen wanted to bring good design to the masses by making jewellery and everyday objects people could afford, and she pioneered the use of large-scale manufacturing methods later used by industrial designers. She was also known to improvise and make her own tools, using for example a dentist bore to draw on silver, and to create works so big she had to use ovens designed to fire bathtubs.
Kittelsen studied in the US, and her work kept taking her back to the States. Unsurprisingly maybe, her designs were often inspired by American art, characterized by clear, plain colours and simple shapes. Her Lotus enamel bowls, produced in Cathrineholm in Halden, Østfold, in the 1960s, sold in their millions. Today they are collectors’ items. From the factory in Halden hundreds of thousands of her pieces were exported to Sweden, Denmark, Germany, England, the US and Canada, but also to countries as far away as New Zealand, Venezuela and South Africa. Such was her reputation.
A Norwegian invention: The cheese slicer
Posted by admin in Uncategorized on August 14, 2010
The cheese slicer, the brainchild of Thor Bjørklund, a carpenter from Lillehammer, turns 85 this year. Bjørklund came upon the idea on a hot summer day back in 1925, when he found out the cheese in his packed lunch had all but melted. He took a sheet of steel, bent it and cut it, and bingo – the cheese slicer was invented. Soon friends and family, who could see a good use for this new kitchen utensil, were demanding their own too, and later that year Bjørklund got his invention patented. Mass production started in 1927, and the rest, as they say, is history. Well, at least in Scandinavia, where the cheese slicer can be found in every kitchen drawer. Norwegians eat a lot of cheese, particularly hard cheese, hence the popularity of Bjørklund’s invention, which over the years has become a bit of a national icon. The appeal of its sleek design has not been confined to Norway though – the ubiquitous cheese slicer has become a popular souvenir to take home with foreign tourists. It is also sold in 20 countries in Scandinavia and Europe. Thor Bjørklund & Sønner AS in Lillehammer was until last year Norway’s only producer of cheese slicers. It had manufactured 50 million of them. The company was taken over by GIAX in 2009. More info at www.bjorklund-1925.no
The turkopp
I was given one of those for Christmas last year, and I love it. It’s both beautiful and practical, in a very Scandinavian kind of way. Cups vary in size (8-9cm in diameter and 5-6cm high is about the norm), but all are very light – they weigh around 100g. Made of oiled wood, usually birch, the cups are cut out from one single piece, and can easily be washed with a bit of water (no detergent). They originally came from Lapland, where they are known as kuksa, although most Norwegians refer to them as turkopp (tour cup) or trekopp (wooden cup). Some have two, instead of one (or no), finger holes, and/or a leather string so that they can be tied onto a rucksack. Cheap they ain’t – expect to pay up to 200Kr in a specialist shop, although I’ve seen some on sale on the internet for less than half that price. So shop around.
See www.eagleproducts.no/hXGXzohdLG4h.16.idium (Norwegian only) to see a sample of cups – their articles are available in many sports shops.
Or (why not indeed if you have a bit of time on your hands) – make your own!… Follow the step-by-step instructions at www.bushcraft.ridgeonnet.com/Kuksa%20tutorial.htm