Rising Talents of Maison & Objet Paris: The Young Nordics

Every Maison & Objet design and interiors fair provides a space for expression to six up-and-coming names in the world of design, offering them a chance to present their work to professionals from around the world. This January, the Rising Talents selection focuses on Scandinavian designers, who will showcase their work at the trade fair.

Maison & Objet Paris will showcase works from Danish designers Jonas Edvard and Troels Flensted, Finnish designer Katriina Nuutinen, designer Sruli Recht from Iceland, and design studios Kneip from Norway and Färg & Blanche from Sweden.

Copenhagen-based Jonas Edvard develops new experience of design objects through a research and development of raw, unprocessed materials, and aims to create sustainable furniture. Edvard graduated from Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 2013, and his work has been seen in Milan during Salone del Mobile in 2014 and 2015, and received several prizes and grants.

Edvard’s countryman Troels Flensted’s experimental studio explores the potential within material behaviours, colours and alternative manufacturing processes. Since the launch of his studio, his work has been exhibited at many design festivals, such as Dutch Design Week, London Design Festival and Stockholm Design Week. Flensted graduated from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London in 2014.

Norwegian design studio, founded by Jørgen Platou Willumsen and Stian Korntved Ruud, focuses on craft, design and art. Nature and craftsmanship are important sources for inspiration for Platou Willumsen and Korntved Ruud, who are interested in telling stories through handmade objects. Kneip has exhibited in several design festivals including Vienna Design Week, Oslo Design Week and London Design Week.

Finnish designer Katriina Nuutinen’s work is an outstanding example of modern Finnish glass design, inspired by the captivating interplay of glass and light. She mainly works on glass and ceramics, but also explores other materials such as wood, leather and textiles. Graduated with a Master’s degree from the School of Arts and Design at Aalto University in Helsinki in 2011, she was awarded the Finnish Talent of the Year in Muoto 2011 Gala in Helsinki. In 2014, her Oma floor lamp was selected for Homeware Top 25 by Monocle magazine.

Icelandic designer Sruli Recht is known for his designs that seamlessly blend advanced digital design and new experimental technology with classic tailoring, drapery and couture methods. His fascination for applying and inventing uncommon material types for his products has, among others, lead to designing a ring made of human skin and slippers made of clear glass. Recht studied fashion design at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, before relocating to London to work for fashion house Alexander McQueen and then back to Reykjavik, Iceland.

Swedish design studio Färg & Blanche consists of designers Fredrik Färg and Emma Marga Blanche. Known for their experimental stance, where each expression informs the other, they work across a wide variety of fields. They have received several awards, such as FORM +1 Award for Best Product in 2014 and Swedish ELLE Deco Young Talent award in 2009. Färg & Blanche has collaborated with established Scandinavian furniture brands producing their own collections and limited art pieces for galleries around the world, and worked with Comme des Garçons making exhibitions in Tokyo, Seoul and Paris. •

Maison & Objet Paris in Paris, France, on 22–26 January 2016.

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Kneip: Pat Vol. 1. Copyright Kneip.