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Stockholm Design Week was officially on pause for 2026, as the event is now biennial; nevertheless, the wheels of creativity rarely stop turning, and in the first week of February, designers and brands stepped in to organise their own alternative line-up of events throughout the city. The grassroots initiative aims to fill the gap left by the Stockholm Furniture Fair and its accompanying Design Week, both of which have been postponed until 2027.
Established creators, emerging designers, and renowned studios did not disappoint with their efforts to showcase brilliant craftsmanship and innovative ideas around the city. From Carl Hansen & Søn’s new launches and collection expansions to ‘Echo’, a newly launched design exhibition, here are our highlights.
Stockholm’s alternative design week – the Wallpaper* highlights
Stockholm Creative Edition
Stockholm Creative Edition
Located in the Industricentralen on Hudiksvallsgatan, Stockholm Creative Edition presented its own exhibition spotlighting newly established designers, studios and brands, including Public Studio, Studio Navet, Niklas Runesson and Pernille Knudsen. Here, they were united by experimentation and innovation. There were also new exhibitions and new materials unveiled, such as the Swedish interior architecture and product design studio Interesting Times Gang’s collaboration with Shimber, where circular design meets material innovation in the form of the ‘Kelp’ chair and ‘Shelf Life’ furniture made from oyster-shell biocomposite and coated in Shimber’s wood-based surface.
‘We want to highlight both the established and the entirely new. There is so much creativity and a strong desire to develop the Nordic design expression here in Sweden, and Stockholm Creative Edition provides a central platform for this,’ say Stockholm Creative Edition’s founders Ulrika Kjellström Attar and Philippe Attar. ‘We want to open up design for everyone and put the visitor experience at the centre, for everyone curious about design, and strengthen and spotlight the visionaries within the design sector for both an international and a local audience.’
‘Echo’
Joy Objects' ‘Oy Chair One Alu & Pantera’
Newly launched for 2026, ‘Echo’ is a design exhibition intended to create a space for ideas, forms and expression. The exhibition brings together both established creators and emerging talents, each sharing innovative projects.
The ‘Tilt’ stool by Staffan Holm caught our attention: minimalist by design, the seating sculpture is created to encourage movement and ‘active sitting’. With its convex base and concave top, the stool tilts and moves in different directions. Meanwhile, Fredrik Paulsen's Joy Objects launched a chair dubbed ‘Oy Chair One Alu & Pantera’, a take on the studio’s initial ‘Chair One’ design, but with a new material and colour. Featuring a recycled aluminium frame, its bubblegum-pink seating is made from 100 per cent recycled plastic. We particularly enjoyed the fun contrast between the design’s industrial framework and vibrant colour.
Svenskt Tenn: ‘Standing Tall’
For Svenskt Tenn’s spring exhibition, the design company presents ‘Standing Tall’, an evolution of iconic designer Josef Frank’s ‘Cabinet 522’, which was designed between 1934 and 1935. The cabinet is a tribute to the designer’s practice of upholstering furniture in tactile materials. The new iteration is upholstered in fine horse-hair fabric woven at John Boyd Textiles in England, available in black or white, and set on mahogany legsy. It marks Svenskt Tenn’s first furniture launch since the company’s centenary in 2024.
‘The Building’
Truls Goldschmidt
Located in a 17th-century palace reshaped by architect Ragnar Östberg in the early 20th century, ‘The Building’ presents leading Nordic design brands (String Furniture, Gemla, Grythyttan Stålmöbler, Källemo, ateljé Lyktan, Made by Choice and Haha studio) staging individual presentations.
Alongside the displays of craftsmanship and contemporary Nordic design, we also loved the spotlighting of seven emerging designers. Particular highlights were Simon Skinner’s lamps, and the work of Malin Perre’s cloud-like sculptural pieces, Truls Goldschmidt’s linear furniture, Gabriela Stencova’s luminescent lamps, and Nils Askhagen’s visually textured chairs.
Layered’s ‘Lozza’ collection launch by Erik Bratsburg
The ‘Lozza’ collection began with a practical problem: wine stains on a rug in a restaurant project. Artist and designer Erik Bratsburg approached Layered with the idea of creating a pattern that could ‘absorb’ spills. This idea snowballed into something larger, welcoming a full exploration of form, colour and function. Each rug has three tones, and two colourways (to suit warm and cool interiors); the lighter, outer edge should lift the room, while the deeper tones towards the centre offer depth.
‘The irregular shape provides far more flexibility than a traditional rectangle and introduces a gentle sense of motion,’ says Bratsberg. ‘I’ve always been drawn to sculptural forms that feel instinctively right rather than perfectly symmetrical. When the lines fall into place, something happens immediately – a kind of harmonious balance you can’t calculate.’
Carl Hansen & Søn
Carl Hansen & Søn presented three new launches during the unofficial design week. The first is the expansion of its ‘Outdoor Series’. Designed by EOOS, the new ‘Embrace’ outdoor lounge table and chair explore the relationship between perfection and imperfection, from its crafted wooden frames to its relaxed upholstery.
In a separate presentation, the design house also presented the ‘ND550F’ footstool. This was originally designed by Danish architects Nanna and Jørgen Ditzel in 1955. The new edition features lower, more slanted legs, and a curved seat that is now fully upholstered by hand on both the top and bottom.
Adding to the ‘Elegant' series created by designer Marianne Tuxen, Carl Hansen & Søn also presented its medium-sized ‘Tulip Pendant’. Now available in three sizes, it was originally designed in 2022 for the Carlsberg Academy in Copenhagen as part of the restoration of JC Jacobsen's villa. The pendant design features a mouth-blown opal three-layered glass shade, which emits a soft glow and downward beam.
NK Interior's ‘Stay Curious’
‘We celebrate curiosity through expression in art and design, exploration of materials and techniques, craftsmanship and local production. I hope to create a meeting point where Swedish contemporary design meets a broader audience and inspires us to be more curious,’ says Kadi Harjak, CEO of NK Interior of the ‘Stay Curious’ exhibition in the entrance hall Ljusgården.
Malin Pierre, Niklas Runesson, Nick Ross and Gustav Winsth present their personal works. Alongside this, in the display windows, visitors can explore designer Mimmi Blomqvist’s installation Forest, while Lisa Hilland’s new collection, titled ‘Harvest’, is also connected to nature. Other displays include Pia Wallén’s glass study ‘Flacons’, new releases from design studio Sekt and interior brand Cappelen Dimyr, all of which will be on view until 2 March 2026.
Nordic Nest presents two showcases
Since its founding in 2002, Nordic Nest has become one of Scandinavia’s leading design platforms. This year, for Stockholm Design Days, it presents two showcases. The first marks 100 years since the birth of Verner Panton, one of the most influential designers. Presented in Gallery Existens, some of the licensed work that is currently in production is presented through brands Montana, Louis Poulsen and &Tradition.
The second showcase, Icons of Today and Tomorrow, explores contemporary collections and novelties for 2026. This also features Montana, Louis Poulsen, &Tradition, alongside Ferm Living and Flos. Here, visitors see a presentation of lighting, furniture, tabletop and objects. New launches are coupled with long-standing designs making a point on how products are developed and shaped by material innovation, rather than seasonal trends.
By showing new launches in the same context as long-standing designs, the showcase explores how contemporary products transition into future classics, shaped by material innovation, cultural relevance, and longevity rather than seasonal trends.
Says Bank Bergström, CEO, Nordic Nest, ‘Our ambition is to create a platform where Scandinavian design is not only displayed, but discussed, challenged and made accessible. By connecting showcases, dialogue and direct access, we help design travel further, culturally, commercially and over time.’
NO GA (Nordiska Galleriet) presents the launch of NMNG
Nordiska Galleriet launched its ‘NMNG’ tables and chairs, a new series by the Italian design studio NM3. The collection, which comprises three dining tables – one round and two rectangular – and a chair, echoes a distinct architectural language.
NM3 has a fondness for industrial systems and simplicity, and created each piece with clear proportions and exposed construction. For its collection for Nordiska Galleriet, the studio worked with wood for the first time, crafting the pieces with distinct character and crisp lines. Says Nicolò Ornaghi, one half of NM3, ‘We try to create modernist designs, made by architects. Our design is system-based rather than object-based. It always starts from a language, with a clearly defined set of rules.’