Greenhouse is Stockholm Furniture Fair’s area for independent designers and design schools. Design schools participating this year included Stockholm’s Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design and Beckmans College of Design through to northern European colleges outside of Sweden, such as Art Future Design School from Saint Petersburg and Tartu Art College (TAC) in Estonia.

Projects included Beckman College of Design’s 48km2/ SAME BUT DIFFERENT: ‘Is a chair always a chair, an apartment always an apartment? Tilt your head for a while and the world will emerge in a different light. Up is down, objects change appearances, the unclear becomes obvious and problems meet their solutions. Twelve graduating product design students have designed furniture for a 48 square metre apartment. Furniture for the various rooms, and for individual needs. How can we twist the concept of home styling and increase flexibility, personality and sustainability? Welcome to a different home!’

In addition, seven second-year students in Advertising and Graphic Design at the same time explored how design is communicated and have interpreted the furniture collections of the students. The results are presented in their concepts for films, photos, website and printed material. The Advertising and Graphic Design students also worked on designing the exhibition stand.

Tartu Art College’s Night University project was a selection of work done by the textile students includes everything necessary for an exchange student – from a red spring bed, to pillows.

Upcoming designer Jens Fager was the creative force behind the look of this year’s Greenhouse – basing the design on the geometric theories of Roman architect and engineer Vitruvius. Vitruvius, the 1st century BC Roman architect and engineer wrote De Architectura, Libri Decem (The Ten Books on Architecture), principles that formed the fundamental approach to architecture, particularly during the Renaissance.

Jens Fager started in Greenhouse in 2008 when he presented Raw, a furniture collection Raw created while still a final year student at Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design. His career took off and this year he has exhibited at Spazio Rossana Orlandi, Milano, Gallery Libby Sellers, London, Ministry of the Interior, Toronto, and is currently designing two lamp collections for Zero Belysning.

“The object of Greenhouse is primarily to create an environment for the exhibitors; the opportunity to make a personal impression is limited. So we’ve really got to showcase the exhibitors – that’s our main objective,” says Jens Fager.

Greenhouse exhibitors included the Superfolk design studio from Dublin, Ireland who work with locally sourced Irish materials and find new way of working with natural resources such as wool, wood and leather. Superfolk was set up in 2008 by Irish designer Gearóid Muldowney who graduated in craft design from National College of Art and Design, Ireland in 2007. Pieces include stools and tables based on Irish vernacular furniture, as well as lamp shades made from Irish willow and woven by hand by basket maker Joe Hogan.

Also included in Greenhouse 2010 was the materials exhibition Let’s Do It, in collaboration with the Materials Library, Stockholm. The exhibition features traditional and modern methods and materials for furniture production and interior design.

Some of those who made their breakthrough thanks to Greenhouse are Front, Norway Says and Broberg Ridderstråle. Greenhouse gives new talents the opportunity to exhibit their prototypes and meet furniture producers. To exhibit the applicant should not be permanently associated with any manufacturer or be already established in the industry and the products should not have been exhibited previously. Independent designers and design schools from around the world were invited to apply and a jury decides who gets in.

Paul Smith was Guest of Honour at Stockholm Furniture Fair and created a lounge that comprised four room sets. The first room contained a wall that is entirely covered with pictures of flowers taken by Paul Smith. Not just because he likes flowers, but also because he wanted to bring a bit of nature into the lounge.

In another room he paid homage to Italian architect and designer Giò Ponti. The walls in this room are swathed in covers from the magazine Domus, which was established by Ponti. Giò Ponti is one of Paul Smith’s biggest sources of inspiration. The third space was made up of an expressive collection of images from Paul Smith’s boutiques. The fourth was called “Sent things” and comprises things that Paul Smith has been sent by a mysterious admirer over a number of years.

Stockholm Furniture Fair
Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design
Beckmans College of Design
Art Future Design School
Tartu Art College
Superfolk

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