Vaarnii presents "brutal and complex" wood furnishings at 3 Days of Design
Finnish model Vaarnii has displayed its assortment of wood furnishings alongside sculptural designs on the Tableau gallery in the course of the annual 3 Days of Design pageant in Copenhagen.
The model, which was based three years in the past, creates wood furniture in native factories inside Finland in its place objects mass-produced overseas.
“We initially began the model with the concept that the way in which that we eat stuff is damaged,” Vaarnii founder Antti Hirvonen advised Dezeen.
“I am unable to say that we’re anti-globalisation as such, as a result of it is introduced so many individuals up from poverty, however the reality is that [companies] manufacture issues in cheap-labour international locations, ship it midway the world over, after which two years later we purchase the identical factor once more as a result of it is damaged,” he added.
As a substitute, Vaarnii needs to deal with creating items with a protracted lifespan.
“We needed to do issues that truly final 100 years,” Hirvonen mentioned.
At Tableau, Vaarnii’s wood furniture was juxtaposed amongst sculptural design items by different designers and artists tied to the gallery, together with Ukrainian model Gunia, which confirmed its handcrafted porcelain plates and sculptures.
The exhibition took place due to the mutual admiration between Vaarnii and Tableau’s founder, Julius Værnes Iversen.
“I used to be simply so completely happy that Tableau determined to take us on board,” Hirvonen mentioned. “We have admired this area, the gallery and flower store for a few years.”
“We knew that we needed to do one thing for 3 Days of Design and because it turned out, Julius preferred the model and was very properly conscious of us. He very kindly provided to combine and match,” he added.
Vaarnii’s designs, which the model describes as “brutal and complex”, goal to create a up to date Finnish design vernacular with items constructed from native supplies.
The furnishings on present at Tableau was all constructed from pine. The wooden is native to Finland however had fallen out of favour as a consequence of individuals’s affiliation with a Nineteen Eighties aesthetic, when cellulose-based lacquers made it yellowish and glossy.
“We simply use oil wax and really the ageing course of could be very nice,” Hirvonen mentioned.
The result’s a product that may change the way in which it seems to be over time, which the designer sees as a promoting level.
“A really senior Vitra government as soon as mentioned ‘I really like pine, however we may by no means do something in pine as a result of our promise is that if you take the product out from the field and 10 years down the road, it should be precisely the identical,'” Hirvonen mentioned.
“Our promise is that two weeks later it should look utterly totally different, however structurally it should final a minimum of 100 years.”
Among the many items on present on the 3 Days of Design exhibition was a brand new three-legged stool by Swedish designer Fredrik Paulsen.
Vaarnii additionally showcased a traditional lighting assortment by furnishings designer Hans Agne Jakobsson that has been reengineered in pine veneer and in addition is available in new, extra sculptural variations.
The model works with a rotating set of designers on its items, that are made regionally in Finland. Establishing the manufacturing was one of the tough points of launching the model, in keeping with Hirvonen.
“We thought that it was going to be straightforward, however the issue was that pine had grown to be so unpopular due to the shinyness that for the reason that early Nineteen Nineties, just about all factories disappeared,” he mentioned.
“They really needed to name up some retired sawmill guys to ask them what you are able to do with the fabric – I’d argue that the data really grew to become very near disappearing, which is loopy, as it’s our most populous tree.”
Different items on present at Tableau throughout 3 Days of Design included pottery by Dutch artist Willem van Hoff and the reef shelf collection by designer Sarah Roseman.
Additionally exhibiting throughout 3 Days of Design had been design duo GamFratesi, which had created audio system for Bang & Olufsen, and Danish design studio Kristina Dam Studio, which exhibited its sculptural minimalist merchandise.
The pictures is by Michael Rygaard.
3 Days of Design happened in venues round Copenhagen from 7 to 9 June 2023. See Dezeen Occasions Information for info, plus an inventory of different structure and design occasions going down world wide.
