Design House Stockholm at ICFF.

One of two Swedish companies that participated in New York's International Contemporary Furniture Fair. 

  • View of Design House Stockholm's booth at ICFF 2011.
  • This year’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair (the 23rd) was abuzz with more than 24,000 architects, retailers, developers, manufacturers and distributors of all kinds. Not to mention designers. The fair, which lasts four days and has over 500 exhibitors, showcases not only furniture but also carpet and flooring, lighting, wall coverings and an abundance of accessories.
    Nils Göran Lindblad, local representative and Sales Director N.A. for Design House Stockholm, looked a little drained on this the last day of the fair - only to be expected after one of the world's largest shows for this sector - but his booth was fresh and inspiring. Design House Stockholm is a publishing house for contemporary Scandinavian design, with a wide range of products (everything from furniture to fashion, lighting, tableware and much more). This was the second time they participated in the fair.

  • Nils Göran Lindblad, Sales Director at Design House Stockholm.
  • “Last year was a great start for us,” Lindblad said. “But this year was better, much better. Design House Stockholm is zoning in on home accessories and we attract a lot of furniture stores and interior designers.”
    He went on explaining that this type of fair is better for his business than the house ware and gift fairs, as Design House Stockholm caters to the stores that already sell furniture but who want to kick it up a notch by adding carpeting and lighting.
    I noticed a fire engine red stepladder and pointed at it for Lindblad to elaborate.

  • Step - winner of both Elle Interiör Designpris 2011 and the Design Awards 2011.
  • “This is Step, designed by Karl Malmvall, and it is one of our absolute bestsellers. It was the winner of Elle Interiör Designpris 2011 and also won the Design Awards 2011.”
    Step is small and handy enough for a New York apartment and when not in use, can be hung up on the wall. This is such nice design you don’t want to hide it in your closet (as if New Yorkers had any…). In the US it retails for $295.
    What Design House Stockholm is trying to do is to create a “concept corner” to make retailers understand just how powerful their idea could be.
    “We wanted to put together an idea of how it could look in a corner inside a bigger furniture store; a corner for home accessories like ours here. In a year or so, I’m sure several such stores will have corners like this,” Lindblad continued.
    Other exciting accessories in Design House Stockholm’s booth included the block lamps (these are since many years, part of the Modern Museum of Art’s collection), and the “Timo” glasses with black, white or green silicon wrappings, designed by Timo Sarpaneva.
    For more information:
    Design House Stockholm
    www.icff.com

  • Glasses with green silicon wrappings, designed by Timo Sarpaneva.
  • The only other Swedish exhibitor we could find this year was Wästberg. The also many times awarded company from Helsingborg, Sweden, received an ICFF Editors Award in the category lighting this year. (ICFF Editors Awards were this year bestowed in 16 categories.)