After having experienced the industrial mechanics as a television reporter, Alain Dupasquier, a suitable decorative arts and French raised man is happy to use his other powers and ideas.

This was based on the know-how in working with løvgrene that characterize the area of the Limousin region of France that he comes from.

The big French stall at Formland Autumn 2009 in Fairs MCH Herning shows Alain Dupasquier results of his creativity and his efforts. It takes the form of outdoor garden furniture from the chestnut-Limousin region – sofas, stools and chairs for adults and children.

Chestnut from Limousin-region has a lot of tannin, so they do not rot. Therefore it lends itself particularly well to have outdoor furniture. Chestnut resist insects and bad weather, and if you leave the furniture standing out, they quickly get a beautiful silver gray tinge.

Besides pursuing an old rural tradition Alain Dupasquier also uses the local ecological resources.

A total of seven design are represented at the great French stall at Formland in Autumn 2009. The tool is organized by the Franco-Danish company Abildgaard Consult Ltd and the director, Pia Abildgaard, is Danish.

‘Lean achieves a wonderful relationship between functionality and form. Outdoor life gains a new dimension with the beach chair, which is sculpturally wonderful and carefully thought through. The designer has created a beautiful interpretation of a popular classic, very successfully combining material preparation and aesthetic expression’, the prize committee’s award statement explains. The committee of judges have placed emphasis on design, innovation, functionality and price.

Designer behind a chair for The Crown Prince
Lean was created by 44 year old Hans Sandgren Jakobsen. The Danish designer was trained at Den Danske Designskole in Copenhagen and has worked for, among others, a Japanese design company. Hans Sandgren Jakobsen is the man behind several pieces of innovative furniture, including the PINGO chair which was an entry to the ‘A chair for Crown Prince Frederik’ competition arranged by Dansk Møbelindustri. Hans Sandgren Jakobsen has won a number of design prizes in the course of his career and he has participated in exhibitions both in Denmark and abroad.

Hans Sandgren Jakobsen has created with Lean a piece of furniture which is easy to take on family trips to the beach. The chair can be quickly and simply unfolded and is equally easy to fold up again. Lean is, in addition to beach trips, perfect for concerts, picnics, barbecues or as a children’s TV chair. The recommended retail price for Lean is from DKK 1,795 to 1,995.

Five nominated for the Formland Design Award
Five Formland exhibitor products were nominated for the Formland Design Award – Spring 2008. Nominations in addition to Lean from Trip Trap Denmark were the sustainable cushion The Cushion from poy poy copenhagen, the porcelain Cammeo series from Holmegaard/Kähler, Eva Solo dishcloth from Eva Denmark and the PLOPP footstool from HAY. 77 products were entered for the prize.

The committee of judges were Bo Bedre’s co-editor Charlotte Ravnholt, graphic designer John Boye, creative manager Jørn Moesgaard and designer and furniture architect Birgitte Appelong. The Formland Design Award has been awarded since 1987.

‘The elegant shape and environmental materials make The Cushion from poy poy copenhagen a successful and sustainable new product. The cushion is available in smart versions which have a fresh design that appeals in particular to graphic and minimalist types. The cushion also has a very delicate range of colours’, the prize committee states.

The Cushion’s core is of high density polyethylene (PE) foam, which is one of the most environmentally friendly plastics. The material does not inflict any significant impact on the environment and only releases CO2 and water during total combustion. 

The cushion is available in three versions. The coated cushion is for indoor and outdoor living and can be washed with a damp cloth or under running water. The second version is 100 % furniture wool, which is dirt repellent. This version is therefore very suitable for dining room tables in particular. The final version is a combination of 100 % wool on the one side and coated materials on the other.

The recommended retail price for The Cushion is DKK 450.

“Fair Trade and ecology have been hot internationally and among the famous for some time. We can now see that Danish consumer interest in these areas has risen quite considerably. Several of our exhibitors have begun to think in terms of Fair Trade in their shops and in their businesses. We have therefore directed focus towards organic products and Fair Trade as rapidly growing areas at the trend zone HOThouse,” relates Project Manager Lars Jespersen, MCH Messecenter Herning Kongrescenter.

Towels with social responsibility
Many of Formland’s exhibitors will recognise the picture. Textile company MOW Living is in the process of obtaining Fair Trade accreditation and expects to receive the Max Havelaar stamp of approval during the next six months.
“We are seeing tremendous interest in ecology and Fair Trade. This is gigantic in London and in Denmark we have found that consumers are looking for products that signal social responsibility. So it is excellent that the Formland Fair is now sharpening the focus on the subject and helping shops and buyers to pay more attention to Fair Trade,” says Kristian Jakobsen, owner of MOW Living.
In brief, Fair Trade involves fair prices, human rights, environment-friendly and sustainable production, in addition to improved conditions for farmers and producers in the world’s poorest countries.

Unique Japanese design at Formland
Japan’s answer to Dane Arne Jacobsen is Sori Yanagi. He is 92 and famous for mastering designs for bridge constructions, cars, motorways, and kitchen utensils. He has received the honour of designing the Olympic torch twice, has worked with Charles Eames, and is the man behind the Butterfly chair, which is accounted a masterpiece. In spite of his advanced age, he is still in full swing and his designs are on permanent display throughout the world, including at MoMa in New York and Tokyo as well as the Louvre in Paris. His products are now being exhibited at a fair in Scandinavia for the first time.
“We are exhibiting nine of his product collections at Formland. Visitors will be able to see porcelain, cutlery, and a series of cast-iron products by the Japanese master. We have just launched his products in Denmark and there is unusually widespread interest in them,” relates Director Thomas Baldur-Felskov, Gateway Japan ApS, which sells the Japanese products in Scandinavia.

Formland facts: Formland Spring 2008 takes places at MCH Messecenter Herning from 1-4 February. Formland is Scandinavia’s biggest trade fair for home accessories, gifts, and design with more than 600 exhibitors. This is where 20,000 people from the industry and professional buyers from 40 countries meet to do business and find inspiration.

‘Lean has a wonderful design and is very aesthetic. It is classic and modern at the same time – and weighs next to nothing. Lean can be hung on the wall as a sculpture and is very simple to assemble when you want to use it’, the prize committee nomination states.
 
Lean is easy to take on family trips to the beach. It can be quickly and simply unfolded – and is equally easy to fold up again. Lean is, in addition to beach trips, perfect for concerts, picnics, barbecues or as a children’s TV chair. The recommended retail price for Lean is from DKK 1,795 to 1,995. 

The trays are handmade in Denmark in teak and laminate and are available in 3 sizes and several color combinations.

The work of architect Finn Juhl (1912 – 1989) energized traditional Danish design. It exemplifies the quality of craftsmanship and beauty that made the nation a leader in modern home furnishing during the 1940s and 1950s.

Juhl was trained as an all-round building architect, not – as he emphasized – especially as a furniture designer. On several occasions, he pointed out that as a furniture designer, he was purely self-taught.

His early chairs were produced in small batches, eighty at most, because they were created for Guild shows where the work of the artisan was emphasized over the burgeoning industry of mass production. However, they were almost all reissued later in his career.

In 1951 he designed the Trusteeship Council Chamber in the United Nations Headquarters in New York as a gift from Denmark to the UN.

A stability of construction harmonized with a unique expression of form distinguishes his works. His fondness for teak as a material led him to develop new and superior techniques for its use, and he is responsible for the present popularity of teak in Danish furniture.

Finn Juhl had a great influence on the following generation of Scandinavian architects with his use of bold sculptural forms and ultra-refined detailing. Juhl once said: “One cannot create happiness with beautiful objects, but one can ruin quite a lot of happiness with bad ones.”

‘We’re very pleased to have the opportunity to host some of the all-time masterpieces of Danish design at Storefront this fall. Why do some items make the transition from fulfilling a basic function, such as listening to music or serving food, to becoming a work of art?

This exhibition will tell the fascinating story behind the genesis of these icons’, says Joseph Grima, Director for Storefront for Art and Architecture. The Danish creative studio Hz has curated the exhibition with the aim to let the artistic forces of Danish design be refracted through a prism. ‘When light hits a prism of crystal, the rays are refracted, gaining volume, color and shape. For literally hundreds of years, these companies have functioned as prisms that have invited designers, sculptors, architects and sound engineers to use their production facilities to create past, present and future icons’, states the Creative Director behind the exhibition, Jonas Hartz of Hz.

Bang & Olufsen, Fritz Hansen, Georg Jensen, Louis Poulsen and Royal Copenhagen each represent an angle of the phenomena of Danish design. The egg chair, the Henning Koppel silverware and the PH lamps, to mention a few, are all iconic products that have been created by visionaries with a deep interest in the relationship between man and object, the uncompromising craftsmanship and the timelessness of the right shape.In connection with the IKON exhibition, a limited edition book will be released to further the inside look into the heritage, the personal relationships, the production and the design philosophies behind these icons. The exhibition will equally interact with a curated program of cultural content, film and music, which will run from 19 to 28 September 2007.

www.storefrontnews.org
www.h-z.dk
www.bang-olufsen.com
www.fritzhansen.com
www.georgjensen.com
www.louis-poulsen.dk
www.royalcopenhagen.com

With the new Beo5 remote control, we take the next step: Bang & Olufsen introduces a fully-flexible and personalized remote that can handle operation of any product combination, even products with features and functions that we do not know yet.

“Although Beo5 is an entirely new and revolutionising remote control, operation remains based on principles our customers know. This was very important to us,” states CEO Torben Ballegaard Sørensen. “We stick to the extensive experience with user interfaces which we have obtained over the years, so operating your equipment remains as relevant, simple and intuitive as possible; with Beo5 we simply added complete flexibility”.

Every customer has his own fully personalised remote control
It sounds simple, and it is. Beo5 is delivered without any features from the Bang & Olufsen factory, but is customised professionally before reaching the customer’s home. Our unique distribution network has been thoroughly trained and educated in how to configure Beo5 to match the individual needs of the customer, giving him or her complete control of the set-up at home.
Beo5 can be adapted to almost any product set-up you have in your home. You can add or remove buttons and functions. You can move buttons to suit, for example, left-handed use. You can combine control of your audio/video equipment with other remote-controlled systems such as light, curtains, windows, air-condition or security – and still be in full control while resting comfortably in your favourite armchair.

Ease-of-use through logical and intuitive operation
Beo5 has a new LCD colour display with a programmable touch-sensitive screen of chemically hardened front glass. This lets you activate functions that are relevant for your particular product combination by pressing directly on the screen.

The technology behind the operation of the display is a combination of two different types of touch operation: Sensi-touch – where you detect the button, and Soft-touch – where you physically activate a function by pressing down. We call it Touch-and-Go. There are 12 of these so-called dynamic buttons that can be named or moved around as the customer pleases.

A new visual stand point
When you leave Beo5 on the table, its form calls for your attention; it stands out and stands up, and you always know where it is. The unusual visual expression of Beo5 is a contradiction in forms – the circle and the square. The circular aluminium ball, with its tactile keys and volume wheel, combined with the square glass display and its soft-touch keys.

“The designer found inspiration in an ancient symbolic sign of power and control: the sceptre”, explains Product Manager Torben Kyed. “The ball like the sceptre rests securely in your hand, and the display is the ornament that is often seen on top of the sceptre”.

Rests safely in the palm of your hand
A lot of effort has been put into the ergonomics of Beo5. Extensive user tests have shown that the three-dimensional shape of the ball and the design of the rear secure a solid grip and also reduce the distance your thumb has to travel to reach the outermost corners of the remote control. Another important element is the correct weight and balance, which are secured by placing a tungsten weight inside the ball. Materials are carefully selected to underline the importance of craftsmanship and robustness.

Intelligent rechargeable remote control
Having a colour LCD display and a multitude of programmable features means you need up to 1,000 times more battery capacity than more simple remote controls. As we do not want to change batteries every 3 hours, we decided to go for a rechargeable remote control.
Beo5 should be treated in much the same way as you treat a cordless telephone from Bang & Olufsen. Put it back in the charger in intervals of no more than 10-12 days, and the batteries will always be charged. The intelligent charging circuitry will constantly optimise the life of the Beo5 batteries.

Robustness is essential
The display has a custom-made hardened glass front, with a thickness and grinding specified by the designer to ensure elegance and optimum robustness, but without sharp edges that can cut fingers. It has a robust rear part of infrared-transparent plastic to ensure the excellent signal range that Bang & Olufsen customers are accustomed to.

Besides this, Beo5 undergoes strict mechanical tests, such as tolerance to hand-lotion, scratch testing, temperature extremes and severe drop tests to ensure that the durability and robustness is as high or higher than existing remote controls from Bang & Olufsen. So you need not worry if you drop it on the floor – just pick it up again and you’re back in control!

Designed by http://www.gudiksen.dk/ 

Ulrik Garde Due (44 ), who was born in Denmark, is Senior Vice President of International Sales, Burberry and since 1998 he has been a member of the Burberry Management Team responsible for the re-launch of the brand and transformation of Burberry into one of the most successful luxury brands in the world and a financial success.

Ulrik Garde Due has considerable international experience including positions with the international luxury fashion brands Celine/LVMH and Cerruti and has been based in Tokyo, Paris and New York. Furthermore, Ulrik Garde Due has a background within Shipping and diplomacy. Lars Nørby Johansen, Chairman of the Georg Jensen Board of Directors, states: ”Ulrik Garde Due is a highly respected international profile with in-depth knowledge of the international luxury business and an invaluable extensive global network. This, combined with his achieved financial results and flair for operational excellence, makes him the right person to lead Georg Jensen through the next tough phase, where the many good initiatives initiated in recent years must be realised.” Lars Nørby Johansen stresses that the overall strategy to transform Georg Jensen into an international luxury brand remains unchanged. Georg Jensen will continue as a serious player in the luxury goods market – without loosing what makes the company special: the Scandinavian legacy, the renowned tradition of high quality craftsmanship and the unique design language. Georg Jensen is showing some good signs but getting it right is still a challenge and the Board felt the need to introduce new competences to meet those challenges and to ensure a focussed and consequent execution of the strategy and fulfil targets both brand wise and financially.

Lars Nørby Johansen continues:
”I would like to thank Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard for skilfully setting Georg Jensen on the right track – with the international luxury market as the final destination. With both dedication and professionalism, Hans- Kristian Hoejsgaard has initiated the globalisation of the Georg Jensen mindset. But it is time for new competences which can lead Georg Jensen through the final part of the journey to success. By mutual agreement Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard will leave Georg Jensen July 31, 2007.