Handmade carving boards with pedigree wins scandinavian design award. The winner is the innovative danish cabinetmaker Morten Høeg-Larsen who has fallen in love with sick elm trees.
Morten Larsen has made a mission in his life: To transform wood from sick elm trees into stylish carving boards after scandinavian design tradition on an environment and sustainable way.
Morten Larsen has a workshop on the countryside in Ystad, Sweden. With his company “SJØJD” processes he the five meters long and 2 inches thick planks into carving boards in four different sizes. Even though this is an exacting job both physically and economically Morten Larsen just loves it more than anything.
At saturday night Morten Larsen was rewarded for his creativity and enthusiasm as the winner of the design award UP Design Award at Formland UP/graded in Exhibition centre Herning. It was the
It was the independent consumer panel at the fair who among 54 submitted design products chose the carving board from “SJØJD” to be the most innovative design news and thereby rewarded Morten Larsen the UP Design Award which comes with more than just the honor namely 25,000 kr. in marketing contribution and a stand at the next fair in august.
“This means that I can keep doing what i care about the most” says the winner who makes no secret of the fact that it is hard work to keep the economy running.
“It is a struggle to keep the economy running when you make it at home. Both on a personal level but also to give it to the customers at a fair price. I’m physically working at my stand at the fair so that I won’t waste any time and that the consumers ultimately will pay for it” says Morten Larsen who exhibit with a workshop.
Morten Larsen has even found and selected the wood himself. The finished carving boards gets engraved with a “pedigree” of both nature and origin.
“I am very humbled by wood as a material. It may have twenty annual rings compared to the maybe two years I have used on wood. Therefore I speak through my work, through my hands, and try to interpret what the tree gives me. It is the tree that speaks” says Morten Høeg-Larsen. The carving boards range in prices from 800 kr. and up to 1,950 kr..
Altogether 54 products was submitted by the exhibitors at Formland UPgrade for the design competition. Number two was the Nendo Clip Candleholder from the company walnut Street. The textile product Play-Fold-Bird from WhatWeDo came in on a third place.
