If DMY Berlin 2011 had one small disappointment for us it was that Helsinki based German designer Florian Ganter wasn’t there with his delightful AIR shelving system.

And that despite DMY Berlin being a German design fair with a 2011 focus on Finland.

Fortunately, during the festival we received Florian’s latest press photos for AIR. Photos which improve greatly on our Stockholm efforts.

As we wrote from Stockholm,  AIR is just a wonderfully simple, multifaceted modular shelving system that – for us at least – beautifully combines German and Scandinavian design traditions and which can be effortlessly added to practically any room.

Based around an easy to use joint, AIR can be assembled as required without tools, and in addition to shelves also includes a storage box. We’re hoping a drawer unit will be added soon…..

Florian has hinted that he plans bringing it to a few more shows in the future. So hopefully more of you will get the chance to see it in the future. If not the press photos can be viewed at http://www.florianganter.com/press.html

And as stated; producer wanted!

Florian Ganter. AIR.

The joining system in AIR. The weight of the shelves holds the system in place.

Anyone who understands our biography will appreciate that a German who spent some time studying in Edinburgh and now lives in Helsinki will be of interest to us.

But it wasn’t Florian Ganter’s biography that drew us to him and to his tool-free adjustable shelf system Air.

Or at least not directly.

Displayed on the Aalto University School of Design stand we initially thought – in a very lazy fashion – there’s a nice bit of Finnish design.

And then – considering it a little more seriously – no it’s more a Dieter Rams meets Egon Eiermann direction.

It is of course all these things – and then a little bit more.

Or better put – 100% Florian Ganter.

An adjustable system, the shelf brackets are attached to grooves in the metal poles and then held firm through the addition of the shelves. In addition the system currently includes storage boxes – which can be fitted “forwards” or “backwards” thus allowing Air to be used as either a conventional shelving unit or as a room divider.

And this flexibility combined with its unobtrusive nature and the cheeky way that it calls out to you as if it is already an established design classic has made Air by Florian Ganter one of our finds of the Stockholm Furniture Fair.

We only hope that he can find a producer …….. you know who we mean!

Air by Florian Ganter as seen @ Stockholm Furniture Fair 2011

Air by Florian Ganter - detail