Diva

Diva is a new beautiful lamp from the Norwegian mood makers Northern Lighting. Visit the website for more information.

I like Northern Lighting a lot, and I have written about them before; big mama | Moo | bed light | Northern Lighting

Ugly Children's Clothing

While I'm on the topic of kids' stuff; I love kids' clothing with humor and edge. These are from Norwegian Ugly Children's Clothing.

Here is a little background (from Ugly's website):

It started with three men* and a baby. A really small boy. And with him came the need for very small clothing. Even though approximately one half of the babies in the world are boys, it seems all the baby clothes are made for girls by girls.

This is why Ugly™ Children’s Clothing was born some months after little Jesper. The first Ugly™ collection was launched autumn 2006. Then along came another baby boy. And with little Pelle came the need for even more very small clothing. So now, we proudly present our second collection.

The second Ugly™ Collection is a range of baby bodies for boys and girls with balls. Elegantly wrapped in our exclusive Ugly™ Body Bags™.

* André Jåtog, Aleksander Herresthal & Eivind Stoud Platou

Made in Bergen in London

If you are in London between September 24th and 27th, you should go to Tent London, T3 on Brick Lane to see the exhibition Made in Bergen. It showcases furniture design by Tveit & Tornøe, Hindenes & Vikøren, Knudsen and Geir Sætveit.

More info about the exhibition here.

Press release:

Made in Bergen is the title of an exhibition project organized by a constellation of 6 furniture designers located In Norway’s second largest city, Bergen. We all originate from the same school (Bergen National Academy of the Arts) and have studios at the same location, USF, a former sardine factory now functioning as a hub of creative design entrepreneurship and art.

The purpose of Made in Bergen is to join forces and demonstrate what Bergen as a growing design centre has to offer. High mountains surround this mediaeval Hanseatic city, and its busy North Sea harbor and humid climate creates a dramatic and fertile environment which may be seen as an influential force in our design.

The exhibition will contain several award winning and well established products, but also introduce fresh new prototypes for which we seek contact with manufacturers.

The designers work on a range of different projects, including interior architecture, exhibition design, lecturing, design of domestic and contract furniture and objects.

The participants in Made in Bergen work individually as well as in different cooperative constellations with each other.

The longest working relationship is Circus design established in 1992 by Steinar Hindenes and Dave Vikøren. They where joined in 2007 by Atle Tveit and Lars Tornøe fresh out as the first Masters of design from Bergen National Academy of the Arts. Their newly established design group, Tveit & Tornøe, have achieved a lot of international attention in very few years. In addition, Geir Sætveit and Petter Knudsen are joining the group as important members of the design community in Bergen.

The exhibition is created in collaboration with the up and coming graphic design firm in Bergen, Luftmensch. They are working on the visual expression of this project linking the City of Bergen, the designers and their work together.

Norwegian design

Beautiful Norwegian design, photographed by Siren Lauvdal and styled by Kråkvik & D'Orazio, via Elle Interiør.

big mama

Great news from the Norwegian mood makers Northern Lighting; Big Mama. Visit the website for more information.

I like Northern Lighting a lot, and I have written about them before; Moo | bed light | Northern Lighting

Made in Norway Now

I like this blog: Made in Norway Now (via Norsk stil)

The photos are from my friend's family's seaside cabin.

See more photos from inside other people's houses in my Flickr set here and in this Flickr group here. My friend the 10 cent designer started it all. Take a look at her fabulous photos here. She has a beautiful home and makes beautiful interiors.

GC Bergen: the designers

Remember I told you about this new magazine that is out in Bergen? I promised to tell you a little more about the articles I wrote. I'm not going to say much, because you should rather get the magazine and read the articles (in Norwegian) ;-) I might upload the article to my work website at some point - I'll let you know when I do. Those of you who don't read Norwegian can at least have a look at the photos.

The first article is about the design duo Tveit & Tornøe. I have written about them before, in this guest blog post over at Bloesem, and in this post. See the photos from the interview here.

Norway Says no more

Photo: Mette Møller/Dagbladet

If you know just a little bit about Norwegian design, I'm sure you have heard the name Norway Says. Norway Says is the design studio that has been named the most successful in Norway ever, and they have had the honour of putting Norwegian design on the world map. So, it's sad to read the news that the trio - Andreas Engesvik, Espen Voll and Torbjørn Anderssen - are now finishing their fruitful collaboration.

Here are a few news stories about this (in Norwegian):
Prisbelønnet norsk designtrio oppløses (read the comments below the article too) / Designstjerne slukkes

View the slideshow of Norway Says' work over at D2: Ten years with Norway Says

I have mentioned Norway Says a couple of times before; here and here. I've also done a mini interview with them for an article about Scandinavian design in NO magazine.

even more guest blogging

- over at Bloesem. Thanks so much for having me, Irene!

Photo: Scandinavian Surface

cured meat

The Norwegian producer Tind makes cured meat based on old traditions with a modern twist. They also have a beautiful visual profile (by Panorama Design), that recieved The Award for Design Excellence by The Norwegian Design Council in 2007.

A group of Slow Food people in Oslo blind test cured hams, and they found that some Norwegian ones - like the one from Tind - are as good as the famous serrano ham from Spain and parma ham from Italy. Read more about the test (in Norwegian) here. Here is another test, also in Norwegian.

Talking about cured ham - I'm off to Parma for a few days to enjoy some of that delicious Prosciutto di Parma. Ciao!

bits & pieces

This photo was taken at Grünerløkka in Oslo, Monday March 9th, outside the Probat shop (obviously!). Before I got on the plane to South Africa, I met my sister Mari in Oslo. We had coffee and scones at Kaffebrenneriet and soup at Cafe Sør. It was so nice.

Check out Probat, they have some really cool t-shirts. If you don't understand Norwegian, you should check out the sister site Norwegian tees. I love it!

Sometimes blogging and Flickr and keeping up with it all are a bit overwhelming. Shanna Murray recently wrote an excellent blog post about this, and it seems like I'm not the only one feeling that way. Sometimes I even consider deleting all my accounts. As I have told you before, I'm easily distracted, and there are days I don't get any work done because I waste the time surfing around on Flickr and blogs. It's fun for a while, but then I get bored yet I can't stop clicking. Why is that? I recommend you read her post and all the comments. I think its spot on.

I'm loving
- Jen11
- Ashley and Leah's new blog; the light collectors
- mav's new website
- 3191 Miles Apart (they did it again!)
- Brian's tunes for March 09 (song #1 makes me super happy)
- little miss twig (yay! she's back!)
- my friend Jakob's dog Hama
- my nieces

Tomorrow is already April. How did that happen?! Well, I think April will be good. Especially since it starts with a long Easter vacation at the mountain cabin.

Funkle

Cool new blankets from Norwegian design studio Funkle. You might remember that I've mentioned Funkle before.

Sheep, part II

Talking about sheep, what do you think about this little rocking sheep?

Via Pur Norsk

Permafrost rugs

The rug Silence by Permafrost is now available in rectangular shape, but I like the round one better.

The John Deere grass rug is pretty cool too. This one is also available in rectangular shape.

Fin

I was introduced to the Norwegian fashion brand FIN via Siggelicious the other day, and I fell in love with the SS09 photos. The clothes are really lovely as well.





Striking a balance between edgy and classic, The FIN SS 2009 Nasturtium collection appeals to the woman who value a tailored, yet slouchy look. Employing luxurious organic fabrics like wild hand spun silk, bamboo and organic Pima cotton; FIN explores an eclectic, whimsical look for summer. With a colour spectrum spanning from subtle shades to radiant orange, the collection by head designer Per Åge Sivertsen is worthy of it's name: Nasturtium - a beautiful orange flower.

Seduction becomes a totem with dresses in whimsical prints. Drapes in liquid folds and knits evoking the sensuality of dripping fresh paint. Inspiration from the time when sportswear had class can be spotted in pleated knee length shorts and sophisticated shirt dresses. Confident, edgy and slouchy – Nasturtium SS2009 takes FIN into the next level of distinct cuts, rare luxurious fabrics and vivid colours.


About FIN:

FIN – MORE THAN LUXURIOUS

FIN is exquisite, made with elegance and style. FIN is where design and awareness are combined into fashion. This is an invitation. An invitation into our dream.

On our path, towards unique results, every step is equally important. We carefully select our material, to achieve the finest expression. The use of organic cotton provides us the luxury of environmentally friendly textiles. Hand spun wild silk, gives us beautiful textures. Organic alpaca gives us the rarest and must precious fibre available. To recognize the hard labour that has gone into producing the fabric in our clothes, we Fairtrade certified cotton. To reduce CO2 levels worldwide, we invest in climate credits to reach the global goal of carbon neutrality. To seal it, we let our eminent designer Per Sivertsen add passion into his creations.

We are quite ambitious about the future, and we are proud to have notable persons such as, Keira Knightley and Kate Bosworth, among our FIN fans. We let all the levels of perfection define our style. That’s why FIN is more than luxurious.

Collection description and about text are from FIN's website.

Hedda X

This post over at Jeanette's beautiful Fryd + Design blog reminded me of my good friend Norhild and her fabulous collection of earrings (seen in the photo above, click on the photo to see it bigger). Several of her pairs are from Norwegian designer Hedda X.

Hedda X's products are made from vintage materials from the 1900- 1990's. All designs are very limited and some are unique. Take a look in her online store and see if you find something you like. I'm sure you will!

Amy Hunting

Photo: Marius W. Hansen, D2

This caught my eye over at Emma's designblogg the other day, and today, while doing research for an article I'm working on, I stumbled across an interview with her - the Norwegian designer Amy Hunting.

I like her room, and I love the idea of making something useful - and beautiful - from waste.

Read the interview (in Norwegian) here. And see more of Amy's work over at her website, found here.

NORA

NORA Lounge chair, design: Ivar Grødal

NORA Lounge table, design: Tore Borgersen & Michael Olofsson

Ivar Grødal from NORA, tells me that the firm was established last year, and that they so far mostly have focused on developing and making products ready for production.

NORA was represented at the 100 % Norway stand in connection to 100 % Design in London in September last year, and they will be at Stockholm Furniture Fair in February.

Our furniture and interior objects give you an experience beyond comfort and quality in materials.

We simply focus on exclusively selected design made by contemporary Norwegian designers and proudly manufactured by enthusiastic crafts people in Norway.

We develop long lasting objects for your home and environment - objects we hope you will love just as much as we do.

I'm excited to see what more goodies will come from these guys.

NORA

Lull

Lull is a lamp that opens and closes like a flower

As a bud during sunrise it stretches its petals to bloom. It opens carefully and dims up to give a powerful morning light. In the evening Lull acts the opposite. When it's time to go to bed, the flower slowly closes while the light is dimming down and it turns into a bud again.

Lull is an award winning lamp designed by the Norwegian designgroup Varmo / Kollstad / Buene. Lull is still a concept, but hopefully it will be put into production soon.

Text, image and film found the Lull website.

Norwegian Forest

Norwegian Forest is a beautiful lamp made of thin birch veneer by Cathrine Kullberg. Read more about her and her lamps on cathrinekullberg.com.

Norwegian Forest lights draw on a classic Scandinavian tradition of using thin birch strips for lighting. Norwegian Forest lights show a deep pine forest with animals in light and shade. An eagle registers movement on the ground. When lit, the blonde birch veneer shines with a warm glow, and the delicately cut forest motif lets white light to filter out between the highlights of the trees.