notes, reviews and photographs about current design, design shops, cafes and restaurants and exhibitions and galleries in Copenhagen
news, notes, photographs and thoughts about design, architecture, planning and townscape and exhibitions in Copenhagen
Next week … on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the 10th, 11th and 12th August … the annual craft market will be on Frue Plads with works from more than a hundred professional designers and makers who are members of Danske Kunsthåndværkere & Designere … the Danish association of artisans and designers.
Frue Plads is the square alongside Vor Frue Kirke - the square alongside the cathedral in Copenhagen.
Today was the first of the three days of the craft and design market on Frue Plads in Copenhagen …. the square on the north side of the cathedral.
It is an annual event of K&D … Danske Kunsthåndværkere & Designere … the association of art crafts makers and designers. This year there are 110 artists and designers showing their work. All are members of the association.
Dansk Kunsthåndværkere & Designere Markerd 2022
exhibitors for 2022 with background information and links
Thursday 11 August, 12 - 19
Friday 12 August, 10 - 19
Saturday 13 August, 10 - 16
This weekend saw the return of FindersKeepers to Copenhagen after a break of two years because of the pandemic.
FindersKeepers organise large design markets in Copenhagen and Aarhus to show the work of young artists, designers and makers and small new independent companies who present a wide range of ceramics and glass, jewellery, textiles and fashion with interesting indoor plants, household objects and some furniture.
This weekend, set out in the large and well-lit space of Øksnehallen in the old meat market, there were 200 designers and "creative entrepreneurs."
With such a wide range of work on show, it is difficult to make broad assessments or suggest more than a general overview although it was obvious that there was more pattern, more complex shapes - rather than designs being stripped down and simple - and there were darker colours and echoes of the 60s with more denim than I have seen for a couple of decades and even rag rugs and tie dye so, maybe, the hipsters are being edged out by new hippies!
This time, there was also a large area of second-hand and high-quality vintage clothing that indicates a significant and growing movement away from big-brand names and a clear move towards buying accountable and sustainable clothing.
The FindersKeepers market provides an opportunity to look at the work of a wide range of makers and designers. Here, I have focused on four very different designers or companies to illustrate the diversity of the works shown under that broad umbrella of Danish design but also show the huge amounts of talent, inspiration and dedication and focus that can be found across the board.
Sofie Østergaard Neble has taken the opportunity of maternity leave to develop a simple but very effective idea for mobiles that capture and reflect light through strips of film in a carefully-chosen range of colours. They were shown against fine linen and would be amazing suspended in a window reveal. Designers work with colour and texture but rarely seem to explore shadows and the potential of reflection in this way.
This is a brilliant (pun intended) example of the way young designers realise ideas and push forward to production. Sofie told me that she had received extremely positive feedback and so she is now trying to move her ideas forward.
Sofieneble@hotmail.com
I thought that these “jumping jacks” are brilliant.
They are laser cut from birch plywood and many are specific commissions to commemorate events or relationships.
The style is a comfortable merging of gentle cartoon impressions of individuals but with a strong element of the simple outlines and strong colours of illustrations from books for children.
One of the figures is from the book Sticky Monsters and is a collaboration with the author John Kenn Mortensen.
Thea Dam Søby is a textile designer and a teacher who uses a range of techniques including tie dye and resist.
There is a distinct Japanese quality to her choice of colours and to the techniques she uses that are inspired by Japanese shibori or tie dyeing and the practice of careful and appropriate repair and patching of cherished textiles with stitching and embroidery called Sashiko.
She finds and repairs and then dyes antique linens that have an amazing quality.
Thea organises demonstrations and sessions of teaching and from the 28 March through to the 10 April she will be be showing her work at MUJI in Illum’s department store in the centre of Copenhagen.
Astrid and Malene Søgaard come from a farming family in Jutland and they have set up Pure Dansk to promote and to market Danish dried peas, beans and lentils.
These are traditional Danish foods that have rather gone out of fashion so the company, as part of their marketing, has produced good and up-dated recipes to inspire cooks.
These recipes are printed as cards that can be found at events like this but they are all also available on the Pure Dansk web site.
Graphics for the web site and through the full range for packaging are good and shows how important it is, at all levels, to get the details right.
The current range includes:
Ingrid Ærter / Ingrid Peas
Anicia Linser / Anicia Lentils
Hestebønner / Broad Beans or Horse Beans
FindersKeepers are back in Copenhagen after a two-year break.
Their design market will be at Øksnehallen in the Meat Packing District on Saturday and Sunday the 5th and 6th of March opening at 11am on Saturday and 10-45 on Sunday and closing at 5pm on both days. Tickets can be purchased on line.
FindersKeepers
Øksnehallen
Halmtorvet 11
1700 København V
3daysofdesign is now the biggest and the most important design event of the year in Copenhagen.
This year it runs from Thursday 16 September through to Saturday 18 September with events throughout the city.
Design stores and design studios open their doors to visitors and there will be product launches, openings, talks and receptions.
There are so many events that, as usual, I advise people to look carefully at maps of the city and go through the programme of events and exhibitions to work out what to prioritise and to decide how best to zig zag backwards and forwards across the city to see as much as possible.
Above all, 3daysofdesign is when the design community here celebrate and it’s a good opportunity to find out what is happening and where and what is new and what is on it’s way.
Museums and galleries and embassies in the city also take part. There is always a large banner on the front of the French Embassy on Kongens Nytorv. Graphics for this banner and for the posters and so on for events has been designed this year by Ilse Crawford.
The flea market or antique market on Gammel Strand has been described as both “the most exclusive” and “the most beautiful” antique market in Copenhagen.
With first extensive construction work for the new Metro Station at Gammel Strand and then the rebuilding of the quay along the canal here and the resurfacing of the area with new cobbles, the market was moved across to the other side of the canal to the area at the front of Thorvaldsens Museum.
After several years the move seemed permanent and there were rumours that much of the space on the Gammel Strand side would now be needed for bike racks and that the City Council would no longer licence the antique stalls but now the market has been allowed to return to the sunny side of the canal and the stalls will be open here on Saturdays and Sundays through to October.
With the necessary government policies to contain the spread of Covid-19, galleries, museums and exhibitions throughout Copenhagen and the Capital Region have been closed but now events further ahead in the summer have been cancelled.
The most recent is the annual craft fair of the Danish Association of Craftsmen and Designers that was to have been held on Frue Plads, beside the cathedral, in August.
Professional designers and artists, who planned to show their work here, depend on the high profile of this event and the income from sales over the three days so, for them, this will be devastating.
Danske Kunsthåndvækere & Designere
On Saturday morning there was a long line to get into FINDERSKEEPERS … partly because it’s a popular event but also because, with the virus threat, total numbers were being controlled on a one out so one in system to stop the space becoming crowded. There were dispensers for hand wash and it was noticeable that most people cut out shaking hands as they introduced themselves or said goodbye.
The FINDERSKEEPERS design market is a good place to see good everyday design. That's not a snide put down but a way of saying that there is always a good mix of clothing, leather goods, watches, jewellery, smaller items of furniture, prints and posters and decorative design of a high quality from young and independent designers and makers. It's a good place for people watching and trend spotting ..… this is what young couples from Vesterbro are buying to wear and buying for their homes. This is the ‘stuff’ a Dane needs, along with the big-ticket pieces of furniture, to make a home.
There seemed to be more plants than before and there were some interesting food and drink stalls like Be Gin. Some designs, like storage boxes from Mulgeo, were aimed at those concerned about sustainability even if, perhaps, they were not as concerned about cutting back or weeding out what we own but neatly hiding it away.
As always there was a good selection of ceramics.
The central aisle had displays of storage solutions from Montana who have worked in partnership with FINDERSKEEPERS for this specific event.
FINDERSKEEPERS design market this Saturday and Sunday 7 and 8 March 2020 with Montana.
Øksnehallen, the large hall on the Meat Market in Copenhagen, is a pretty amazing venue. The design market is the place to see what is being produced by small independent designers and makers and covers fashion and design.
Interesting to see that this event is in partnership with the Danish design company Montana.
Now, of course, it couldn’t be easier to find your way to the Meat Market … take the Metro to the Central Station … take the steps up to head west and the market is a two blocks down on your left.
The annual craft market in Grønnegården - the great central courtyard at the design museum - this weekend and next - 70 makers selling their work with ceramicists, textile designers, glass makers.
Free entry to the courtyard and the market.
Designmuseum Danmark opening times
Friday and Saturday 29 and 30 November and Sunday 1 December
Friday, Saturday and Sunday 6, 7 and 8 December
stoneware from Tybo Art & Craft
Today - Saturday 24 August - was the first of the two days of the design market at Øksnehallen - the old market hall in the Meat Packing District of Copenhagen that is just to the south and west of the central railway station.
Finders Keepers is a celebration of small independent design companies in Denmark and includes clothing, household textiles, leather goods as well as ceramics and glass and furniture. There are play areas for children and food stalls on the forecourt.
Finders Keepers continues tomorrow 25 August 2019
at Oksnehallen in the Meat Packing District of Copenhagen
Finders Keepers - a major design fair - is back at Øksnehallen - the exhibition and events hall on the old meat market just to the west of the central railway station in Copenhagen.
Go out of the west end of the station and head for Halmtorvet - the old hay market at the city end of Sønder Boulevard - and the Meat Packing District is on your left.
The design fair will be on Saturday 24 August and Sunday 25 August from 11.00 through to 17.00
For three days at the end of the week, the annual craft market will be on Frue Plads - the square next to the cathedral in Copenhagen.
Organised by Danske Kunsthåndværkere & Designere - The Danish Association of Craft Workers and Designers - this is an opportunity to see and to buy some of the very best ceramics, glass and textiles made in Denmark.
Thursday 8 August 12 - 19
Friday 9 August 10 - 19
Saturday 10 August 10 - 16
Over the two days of the weekend for Design X Change 2019 at Designmuseum Danmark, there were lectures and demonstrations and a number of companies exhibited their products including the bicycle design company BIOMEGA with a display in the entrance court and, in Grønnegården - the great central courtyard of the museum - were, among many others, the new furniture company TAKT showing the first three chairs they have produced that were launched just a month ago; MATER; THE ORGANIC COMPANY; Signe Wenneberg with BIOTANISK KIOSK; sustainable bins from DROPBUCKET; planters from SQUARELY; jewellers from KEA - the Copenhagen Business Academy and COPENHAGEN SEEDS
DESIGN X CHANGE at Designmuseum Danmark
Saturday and Sunday 4 and 5 May 2019
This has to be one of the the biggest flea markets for mid-century furniture in Denmark.
In a huge hangar out on Refhaleøen and just across from Copenhagen Contemporary, there are traders and dealers here with a phenomenal stock of furniture and lighting and ornaments and tableware. Most is from the mid 20th century and is what my parents at the time called “contemporary design”.
There are classic pieces of furniture by the acknowledged names but there is also plenty of good furniture of the period, made by all those Danish furniture factories and sold by all those ordinary furniture shops where ordinary people bought good furniture.
It was an interesting mix of customers from students and young couples looking for a bargain to well healed older couples reminiscing ….. remembering when they or their parents “had one of those” or something “just like that”.
This is the place to see just how much the way we live has changed … how many people buy a full set of six or eight matching dining chairs now? And why are there so many chests of drawers? It’s one of the most useful pieces of storage furniture invented. Sadly too many book cases … there is a steady stream of posts and newspaper articles about people still buying books but the number of bookcases here suggest that might be wishful thinking. That, or people vertical floor stack.
the set of six three-legged chairs on an upper shelf are the Heart Chair from Fritz Hansen designed by Hans Wegner in 1952. Wegner experimented with several designs for small chairs that pushed in tightly under a table for a small apartment. Perhaps the ultimate design using three legs and a triangular seat with a round table is the design by Hans Olsen - shown here wth an Egg Chair balanced on the top. Olsen, like Wegner, studied under Kaare Klint. Note how the frame over each leg of the table and the chair back rests form a continuous line. The chair bottom left is the Sawbuck by Wegner from 1951.
FindersKeepers - the design, furniture and clothing market - at Øksnehallen in the Meat Market district of Copenhagen from 11.00 to 17.00 on Saturday 16 February and Sunday 17 February 2019.
This weekend there was another design market from FindersKeepers - this time in Axel Towers - the new building across the road from the entrance to Tivoli. The market was in two parts that have not yet been occupied so it was quite a good opportunity to see inside what has been a much-talked-about development. Given that this was a main shopping weekend before Christmas there was possibly rather less furniture and more clothes and jewellery and food … hardly surprising as most people must be looking for presents rather than looking to refurnish.
Recently received in a newsletter from Designmuseum Danmark … the dates for their Christmas market in the inner courtyard over two weekends.
Well worth putting in the diary or if you are thinking of visiting the city then a good time to be here.
Friday 30 November 2018 – 12:00 to 17:00
Saturday 1 December 2018 – 10.00 to 17:00
Sunday 2 December 2018 – 10.00 to 17:00
Friday 7 December 2018 – 12:00 to 17:00
Saturday 8 December 2018 – 10.00 to 17:00
Sunday 9 December 2018 – 10.00 to 17:00
This weekend - on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th August - the design market Finders Keepers is at Øksnehallen - the main building at the city end on the old Meat Market in Copenhagen. This is a great chance to see and to buy the work from some of the best small independent design companies.
There are food stalls on the square at the front of the market building.
This was another brilliant example of ingenuity on show at the market at Frue Plads.
Signe Bailey is a designer who works with ceramics and at the Frue Plads market she showed her tableware, ceramic jewellery and distinctive and very unusual designs including the Platters … a number of spines or spindles in fired clay held in holes in a flexible collar so the angles and spaces adapt to fruit placed on or within the spines.
But I was most taken by the Vue lamp because it illustrates all that is best about good design.
There are lots of pendant lamps on the market …. most in glass or in metal or plastic and some even in wood or basketwork. The Vue lamp is in thin, self-coloured stoneware and the lamp demonstrates all the best qualities of the material including the fact that it is matt making it seem less intrusive and warmer and much more friendly. It might seem counterintuitive but a hard material like fired clay can look soft.
Obviously it is not transparent - like glass - but here that is seen as an advantage for the primary function of this lamp is as a downlighter when it is set over a table or work surface or it can be hung lower over a side table or close to a chair as a reading lamp.
The shape is deceptively simple and beautifully elegant … in terms of geometry a cone but with gently-curved convex sides; with an open base but cut off at an angle across the top.
But the really clever part is a simple slot that is cut running out from the centre of the top to the highest point of the truncated cone and then half way down the side and this takes the flex for the bulb holder inside the lamp. A retaining ring inside keeps the lamp in position at whichever point it passes through the slot. This means that the lamp can be adjusted - spun along line of the slot - to any position from pointing straight outwards horizontally and through any angle to pointing vertically straight down.
Signe Bailey has her own company - Clayform - but she was also a founding member of Den Danske Keramikfabrik - the ceramic factory on Bornholm - established recently by a co-operative of ceramicists to make available flexible production - in terms of the range of technical production methods and the ability to produce larger quantities - that are not always available to an independent ceramicist working in a small studio.
The lamp is produced in a soft grey or off white but the close link between the designer and the ceramic factory means that lamps in other colours can be commissioned.
The design could hardly be more minimal or hardly more sophisticated and that is an important point that has to be made. The very best of minimalist design is not simple. A designer cannot go straight to simple without going through an incredible and often lengthy process of trial and adaptation and adjustment to take an idea and realise it in terms of what might actually be a complicated or variable function with a form and style that is appropriate to the material and its qualities and then reduce that design to what is essential or rather to take it back to the essence of the idea. A minimalist design of this quality is not simple or quick or easy.
On a very busy afternoon at the market Signe very kindly demonstrated how the Vue lamp can be set at different angles and let me film her. Many thanks for your patience. The Clayform Facebook page has a good video that shows the Vue lamp being made in the factory.
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