Designer

Arne Hovmand-Olsen had the world in mind, both before and after the 1950s, when he became one of Denmark’s renowned furniture designers. The son of a farmer and an aesthete by nature, he started as an apprentice cabinetmaker, before studying furniture design and pursuing his passion for visual composition and furniture design. In 1944, Arne Hovmand-Olsen opened his own design practice, where he united the details of classic craftsmanship with innovative, modern design. He was a pioneer, not only in the field of architecture, but also in the field of exporting designer furniture to accommodate the large interest abroad. In consultation with Arne Hovmand-Olsen’s family, Warm Nordic is upholding the legacy of this great furniture designer and will regularly launch more House of Arne Hovmand-Olsen classics.

The Danish designer, Sabine Stougaard sets out to surprise and please the eye. When designing, she goes into great detail with materials and techniques, exploring options and perfecting each and every design. The result is an aesthetic, graphic style, which is rooted in craftsmanship. In her designs, Sabine Stougaard always pursues functionality and, preferably, flexibility. Sabine Stougaard draws inspiration from her travels around the world, when a colour, a surface, an object or maybe a silhouette seduces her eye.

To create vibrant, authentic products with value for the owner: that is the mission of the two talented Norwegian designers who make up Studio Føy. The Norwegian magazine Bo Bedre has already awarded them their first design prize. In close collaboration, Guro Sørbø Midtun and Siri Line create narrative designs: objects, whose usefulness makes them irresistible. Studio Føy aims to create designs, whose authenticity and beauty will last for years to come. More often than not, in each object Studio Føy integrates an affectionate invitation to build on the story at home, and to have fun conjuring up new compositions and expressions.

Isabel Ahm embarks on every design with studies of people and everyday life, combined with innovation and aesthetics. In her original furniture and product designs, Isabel Ahm embraces everyday habits and needs. Each and every object beautifully fulfils its role and its unique potential in an interior. As a child of the Danish design tradition, for Isabel Ahm quality, functionality, poetry and that little touch of something extra are essential. In an eternal quest for excellence, she constantly seeks to challenge and renew everyday design, thereby perpetuating tradition.

A fundamental curiosity about the world and the interaction between an object and a person are what keep Sebastián Alberdi going. This industrial designer with Spanish and Argentine roots continuously challenges materials, technology and craftsmanship in his design studio in Barcelona. He aims to stretch the limits of what is possible and to refine each design in terms of what it contributes to our surroundings, when it comes to feeling, functionality and visual existence. Sebastián Alberdi strives for aesthetic simplicity and precision, though one often detects a note of temperament in his design, investing it with a sophisticated and vibrant touch.

The great Swedish designer, Hans-Agne Jakobsson was attracted by light. Starting in the 1950s and for more than 30 years he created original lamps that revolutionised Swedish lighting design. With a background in cabinet making and the world of architecture, shaping light with the use of materials and colours came naturally to him. Hans-Agne Jakobsson’s signature is a soft, warm, subdued light that is extremely pleasing to the eye. The lamps are created with classic materials such as glass, wooden laminate and brass, but also combined with sophisticated fringes in one of his more playful lamp designs, which today is considered an icon. Experiments, a wealth of detail and a profound understanding of the numerous aspects of light mean that each and every lamp is a shining work of art. Warm Nordic will regularly launch more of Hans-Agne Jakobsson’s extraordinary designs.

Warm Nordic has designed a line of products as a part of the Warm Nordic Collection. Designs which stem from a love of supreme craftsmanship and is a natural complement to the rest of the range. The collection is a tribute to the Nordic aesthetic and features timeless objects and limited editions in curated colours and qualities. Everything is carefully selected for its ability to set a mood a create a sense of cosiness.

It is the details that make Charlotte Høncke’s design stand out. One of this Danish designer’s great passions is upholstered furniture, in which original stitching, colour scheme or a surprising shape arouses our curiosity. In Charlotte Høncke’s designs, richness of detail co-exists with pure shapes and lines, while taking functionality into careful consideration. Charlotte Høncke immerses herself in the process of creating exquisite designs for the home, capturing a sense of entity, cosiness and a timeless aesthetic, which not only harks back to history, but also embraces the spirit of our age.

Every single day of his life, the great Swedish silversmith, glass artist and industrial designer, Gunnar Cyrén sought to reinvent beauty. Gunnar Cyrén’s work alternated particularly between silver and glass in a vibrant symphony of creative passion, joy of colour – and humility. He was constantly true to the material in his quest for authenticity, and constantly true to the actual craftsmanship in his infinite experiments in the legendary Orrefors glass workshop – and from 1976 in his own silver workshop. Gunnar Cyrén’s diverse life’s work featured everything from artefacts and ceremonial objects to beautiful utility items, created out of a fundamental belief that the arts and crafts, by their very nature, should convey beauty.

Even when he was very young, when he joined his father in his carpentry workshop and furniture shop, the scent of wood and the effects of aesthetics made an impression on Knud Færch. The fascination led Knud Færch to study interior design and a landmark meeting with Finn Juhl. The Danish architect taught furniture design and inspired Knud Færch to forge his own flourishing career as a furniture designer in the 1950s and 1960s. Knud Færch’s furniture design comprises sculptural masterpieces in wood, and throughout his life he returned to the chair as a design object. As far as Knud Færch was concerned, a chair was a sculpture, which unlike any other item of furniture defines a room, and he made it his mission to combine timeless design with optimum seating comfort. In consultation with Knud Færch’s family, Warm Nordic is upholding the legacy of this great furniture designer and will regularly launch more House of Knud Færch iconic designs.

Using modern materials and production techniques, Welling/Ludvik inject new life into the virtues, for which Nordic design and craftsmanship are world-renowned: high quality, formidable craftsmanship and timeless expression. The design duo comprises the Dane, Hee Welling and the Icelander, Gudmundur Ludvik, who in parallel to their individual design activities, together look for new perspectives and sustainable solutions. Welling/Ludvik’s designs feature a pure aesthetic with references to Scandinavian design tradition. Any excess is removed, and each detail serves a specific purpose on the basis of Welling/Ludvik’s fundamental belief that good design will always be interesting, even when reduced to its simplest form.

The driving force for Christina Halskov and Hanne Dalsgaard is their love of architecture and design. With respect for modern design history, they design both functional and aesthetic products in their joint design studio, Halskov & Dalsgaard Design.

Hans Olsen’s remarkable designs from the 1950s are vivid examples of the beautiful diversity of Danish Modernism. This Danish architect and industrial designer took on the classic virtues of the Academy of Fine Arts and the great master, Kaare Klint, but opted for a more playful and experimental approach to furniture design. Hans Olsen challenged contemporary production methods and much of his inspiration came from the opportunities offered by moulding wood. A refusal to compromise in terms of comfort, functionality and aesthetics is Hans Olsen’s trademark, and his iconic design attracts just as much attention today as it did back then. After consultation with Hans Olsen’s family, Warm Nordic will uphold the design legacy of this great architect and will regularly launch more House of Hans Olsen uncompromising designs.

They share a passion for furniture and design that makes a difference and adds value to a space. It is their immense curiosity, openness and eye for detail that make the Norwegian design partnership of Morten & Jonas (est. 2011) stand out from the crowd. In their designs Morten Skjærpe Knarrum and Jonas Norheim are committed to relationships: in terms of both the setting and the individual item of furniture, in which techniques, choice of materials and colours come together to create a perfect entity. Morten & Jonas’s designs always feature something more than just form and function. Frequently there is a touch of humour. Other times there is an invitation to reflect: to simply take a break.

The desire to create a unique experience plays a key role in the Danish designer, Rikke Frost’s design process. This award-winning industrial designer creates design objects to be seen, sensed and felt. By contrasting different materials and with her sense of their visual and tactile properties, Rikke Frost produces complete universes with an original idiom. She refers to her own style as ‘New Nordic’, rooted in a timeless simplicity, in which surprising details together with colours and functions give the sense of a solid-cast design.

For Sara Wright Polmar, design is naturally associated with feelings, and this Norwegian designer is very conscious about making a positive impression on the world. With her dedication to beautiful materials, form, texture and, in particular, colours, Sara Wright Polmar carries on the Nordic tradition of craftsmanship with an innate warmth and authenticity. Sara Wright Polmar also integrates play and humour into her design. Both these elements are essential for her, making her design unpretentious, embracing and accommodating.

Jacob Hermann possessed an innate love of wood and craftsmanship and pursued this love throughout his life. He was always open to change and used his multi-faceted talents to explore. By his own account, he was born on a farm at Viborg and was a silver medal-winning carpenter’s apprentice in the same area before graduating as a furniture designer from the School of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen and studying painting at the Academy of Fine Arts. At the Academy, Jacob Hermann refined his talent for drawing and painting and shared his knowledge with several other trend-setting Danish designers from the mid-20th century. During the course of life, Jacob Hermann also built several houses for his family with his own hands. As a passionate carpenter, he always returned to wood and proud craftsmanship. With respect, Jacob Hermann fashioned, and captured the essence of everything from the tiniest morsel of wood to the hugest chunk of driftwood.