Stockholm Furniture Fair 2013

Stockholm Furniture Fair may have had a big leaning towards office design this year, offering up and abundance of wooden conference tables, chairs and sound-proofing devices - but our top-scoring stand was rather more whimsical. UK-based design duo Raw-Edges created a 'Picnic' installation for Danish brand Kvadrat, evoking a forest atmosphere in the midst of the trade fair.

Over a thousand swatches of 20 different Kvadrat fabrics hung from a wooden structure of Dinesen Douglas Fir, cocooning the stand like a weeping willow. This made for an inviting place to ponder the brand's new launches. Meanwhile, over in its showroom in town, Kvadrat had another hit with The Wool Parade, an installation of Bauhaus- and theatre-inspired shapes by Doshi Levien upholstered in woolen fabrics, which also became characters in an animation by Studio AKA.

Another highlight at Stockholm Furniture Fair was the central meeting hub, conceived by Wallpaper* Design Award 2012-winner Nendo. White-framed structures were interspersed with a new outdoor seating collection, as well as older pieces by Nendo, all in shades of white - echoing the snow-covered landscape of Stockholm. Nendo first showed at Stockholm Furniture Fair's 'Greenhouse' - its annual hot house for independent designers and schools - in 2004, so the fair was happy to welcome back founder (and Wallpaper* Design Awards 2013 judge) Oki Sato as its guest of honour.

This year's Greenhouse proved as full of green shoots as ever, with a particular highlight being the work of Grand, which has produced a beautiful collection of basket-woven cupboards. An equally pleasing vase set came courtesy of Hallgeir Homstvedt.

Elsewhere, the fair was awash with pastel hues, pale woods and metal fixing details. We particularly liked the collaboration between Wästberg and Dinesen, who created a beautiful and solid collection of wooden seating and low tables that sat in harmony with the new Wästberg hanging lamp.
 
Of the satellite events elsewhere in Stockholm, the talk of the town was Svenskt Tenn, whose window gallery room was a delight. It offered up Joseph Frank designs re-interpreted by the very refined hand of Michael Anastassiades. But the design week's hottest ticket was the Wallpaper* and SodaStream Lock In party at the recently renovated Spirits Museum, the first in a series of soirees tied to the international fair agenda.