by Roberta del Vaglio
“Dare to dream” can be translated as “Dare to dream” and is the claim and invitation of 3daysofdesign, the recently concluded widespread event that Copenhagen has been hosting for eleven years.
A celebration of Danish design, its historic companies and the masters of the Nordic tradition, 3daysofdesign is also a moment of reflection on living. A “living” meant as relating to each element of the house, from the simplest to the most complex, to live it fully, with beauty, and share it. A reflection that expands from domestic interiors towards the city, since the events, spread across the different districts of the Danish capital, are a precious opportunity to discover its urban identity: evolved, oriented towards sustainability and sociability.
The creation of the Ox chair and the Spanish chair in the Fredericia showroom – fredericia.com
DESIGN AS SKILL AND MANUALITY
The greatest pride of the Danish furniture industry is the manufacturing which has its roots in an ancient tradition of woodworking but not only. Conveying the richness of a handmade product, often made to order, was the priority of the big brands who offered live demonstrations of the manual creation of their collections in the showrooms. The skills, precision and quality of the materials catch the eye next to another indispensable resource for creating these authentic furnishing masterpieces: time..
The creation of the Chieftains chair by House of Finn Juhl – finnjuhl.com
It is without haste that we witness, for example, the creation of the Spanish chair and the Ox chair by Fredericia as well as the Chieftains chair by House of Finn Juhl: in both cases wood and leather are worked with patience and dedication. Louis Poulsen also decides to tell his story in a demonstration of how the iconic Artichoke lamp is assembled by hand.
A demonstration of the assembly of the Artichoke lamp by Louis Poulsen – louispoulsen.com
SHADES OF THE EARTH, ORANGE AND TWISTS
The Danish style, and Scandinavian in general, is made of soft colours, solid colours, rare and discreet patterns. And although dictating new trends is not a priority of this event, it is always true that the prevalence of earthy colors catches the eye, including shades of sand and brown.
The Relief collection by Studio Taf for String Furniture – stringfurniture.com
Alongside them, some playful notes of color stand out, such as the orange of the Relief collection by the Taf studio for String furniture and the new collections of accessories by Hay. The Danish brand chooses to broaden its sphere of influence and after the collection of dog accessories, it focuses on fashion, with a capsule collection of sneakers in collaboration with Asics, without forgetting its primary vocation: making everyday domestic life more interesting. Normann Copenhagen, however, chooses a more experimental approach and in its “Elements of Normann” installation, with which it celebrates 25 years of activity, amazes with metallic interventions and touches of red.
The “Elements of Normann” exhibition by Normann Copenhagen – normann-copenhagen.com
Colorful hanger and hangers by Hay – hay.dk
REDISCOVERING MANUAL SKILLS TO MAKE THE DOMESTIC CONTEXT YOUR OWN
There has been a lot of talk, in recent years, about the Scandinavian concept of Hygge, perhaps to the point of emptying it of its original meaning of “doing something beautiful together”, an invitation that has crossed the 3daysofdesign program in several directions. Yoga, embroidery, morning dips in the city waters: the Danish brand Humage has chosen sharing experiences as the key to understanding its new collections.
Kigo coffee tables and Edaha seat by Gamfratesi for Koyori – koyori-jp.com
With Vitra, an early morning meditation session was an opportunity to get to know and be welcomed by the new collection of upholstered furniture designed by the Panter&Tourron studio founded by Stefano Panterotto and Alexis Tourron. Japanese aesthetics and Danish aesthetics are often combined in the definition of “japandi” style and here among rice paper lanterns, the Japanese company Koyori hosted a Japanese writing workshop on Uchiwa fans introducing the new collections designed by Michael Anastassiades and Gamfratesi.
The invitation, also in this case, is to fill the house not only with furnishings but also with shared, quality experiences. And on the subject of time well spent, Gubi, looking even further ahead, presented a limited edition of 100 pieces of the Pacha armchair whose proceeds will be donated, 100%, to UNICEF to support projects in crisis areas such as Burkina Faso, Myanmar and Sudan.
Pacha armchair by GUBI for Unicef - gubi.com
On the cover, a demonstration of artisanal production in the Fredericia showroom.
