PH 5 celebrates its 50th anniversary. Louis Poulsen commemorates the birthday by introducing PH 50, a special version of the famous fixture, a bright spot in your interior design. We like it . Scandinavian Design at its best. A classic that will last forever. 

Design by Andrew and Nanna Brown.
www.glassmedjen.com

‘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

Holmegaard’s new planter, Botanic, has been created by award-winning glass designer Peter Svarrer, famed for his simple and elegant yet functional style. And Botanic is no exception – its soft, organic lines give it a simple yet elegant and truly individual aesthetic look. It has been created to harmonise with the life that is growing and unfolding in the form of green leaves and delicate, sweet-scented flowers. Strong and at the same time fragile in appearance, Botanic’s rounded shape and contrasting colours make it just as bewitching as nature’s own creations, and also provide a peaceful feeling of beauty, calm and harmony.

Peter gets his inspiration from life and the natural world that he sees around him, using his senses to record shapes and colours. He conveys these impressions, beautiful and fully formed, in his designs, which so many people have taken to their hearts and used to bring character to their homes.

Botanic is available in two sizes and in the contrasting colours of opal white and black. These planters can stand alone, but they can also inspire us to create our own little bit of nature indoors by grouping several planters together, combining sizes and colours in a variety of ways.
Peter Svarrer (1957) studied at the Danish School of Decorative Art, graduating in 1981. He has had his own glass studio for almost 20 years and has taught at the Danish School of Art and Design and Kolding School of Arts and Crafts. Since 1997 he has been associated with Holmegaard Glassworks, designing a number of glasses, vases and lamps, including Bouquet, Cocoon and Base, as well as several special Christmas designs.

Design: Christian Bjørn
Materials: Porcelain, aluminium and glass

Rikke Hagen and Maria Kariis, are taking a fresh look at the powerfully traditional heritage of lamp design at Holmegaard, produced in collaboration with the grand old men of Danish lighting, Verner Panton and Piet Hein. Although the two women designers produce individual lamps with different expressions, there are some common characteristics in the next generation of designer lamps: they both refer back to earlier classics in a stringent form language, adding a subtle touch of humour.

Award-winning Rikke Hagen and the futuristic power lamp
Steam is the name Rikke Hagen has given to her futuristic table lamp, which communicates power in plenty. In the award-winning designer’s own words: ”The keywords with this new lamp have been to capture power and energy in their basic forms. Because the very essence of light is energy. I drew lots of lines, which I ended up by simplifying – until only simplicity is left.

Steam plays with the basic form of the table lamp, but has been totally purged of all superfluous detail. On the other hand, the current or the cable that is normally concealed has been made into part of the installation: a bold turquoise cable, swinging its way out from inside the lamp. Talking of her collaboration with Holmegaard Glassworks, which is steeped in traditions, and has produced hand-blown glass since 1825, Rikke Hagen says: “As a designer, I see it as my primary objective to plant myself solidly in Holmegaard’s impressive aesthetic history and continue building with all the material I find there. So I chose the smoked grey and opal white colours for Steam, because those are just the colours Holmegaard is famous for. Then I pepped them up with the audacious turquoise cable. The vibrant, cool blue goes perfectly with the smoke and white shades.”

Maria Kariis with the epoch-making ball lamp
With her new pendant light, O2, designer Maria Kariis has created a groundbreaking design with a humorous twinkle in its eye. The circular shape is a salute to the classic ball lamp that we all know so well. The round openings on each side of the lamp reveal the bulb and the air space around it – and give the lampshade its name. This is how the Swedish designer Maria Kariis explains her design: “I wanted to create a spherical lamp that was different: simple, but with a soul and a personality, a little exposed, but proudly showing off its source of light. The lamp changes its expression, depending on where you are in the room: it is both open and closed.”

The apertures in 02 suggest humorous associations with the soft retro shapes of the 70s and space-inspired design. Maria Kariis continues: “The soft, round ball shape has a circular hole in the side, which reveals the warm, shiny inside. It causes variations in the intensity of the light. I am fascinated by the contrasts between the hardness and softness, the warm glass, the light and the cold metal. That is what brings the form to life.”

The two designers
Maria Kariis (1971) studied industrial design at Beckman’s School of Design, graduating in 1998, and has also studied at the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design. Since 1998 she has run her own design studio. In 2006, she was affiliated with Holmegaard Glassworks as a designer.

Rikke Hagen (1970) qualified in 1998 as a glass designer at Danmarks Designskole. She has her own glass workshop and has been awarded several grants and awards for her unique, bold designs. Rikke Hagen has been associated with Holmegaard Glassworks since 2001.

This is what often happens when ideas are carefully considered before being transformed into products. Consumers suddenly find themselves holding things in their hands that speak to them in a comforting, yet slightly exciting way.

365° are lamps which accentuate design and balance. Their lightness and purity are reminiscent of trustworthy, yet innovative Scandinavian design. The lamps are both hard and soft, portentous and humorous. You could almost say that 365° north has mixed grandmother with business and masculine with feminine in a durable, classical and innovative way.

The Gravity lamp was nominated for the Danish interiors magazine Bo Bedre’s Furniture Award 2007, presented at Copenhagen International Furniture Fair.

365° north is sold and distributed by Frandsen Lyskilde.

The lamps will be sold in shops this autumn 2007.

 Visit www.365.dk

LE KLINT 215 is designed by Poul Christiansen and is a natural extension of the world-renowned Sinus collection. LE KLINT 215 can be used alone or in harmonious combination with the other lamps in the series.

Dimensions: 35×35 cm, D: 15 cm.

Design: Poul Christiansen