Front Page by Front for Kartell

As part of Stockholm Design Week 2011 Kartell presented the magazine rack Front Page by Stockholm design studio Front.

Clever word play and all…..

Although formally launched at Milan 2010 Front Page is only now making it’s way into the shops and as such presented a wonderful excuse for a Front “home gig”.

Having already worked with producers such as Moroso, Established & Sons or moooi, Front Page is Front’s first product for and with Kartell.

At the product launch in the Stockholm Kartell Flagship store we caught up with Anna Lindgren from Front to discuss the cooperation with Kartell and Stockholm.

(smow)blog: How did the cooperation with Kartell arise?

Anna Lindgren: Kartell was one of the companies we really wanted to work with – and so we tried for a long time to get a meeting with them in order to show them our portfolio. And then they saw some of our work as part of an exhibition in a gallery in Milan. And so in the end they contacted us.

(smow)blog: And then did they say – “Please make a magazine rack, we like the pun” or how did things develop?

Anna Lindgren: No, no it was much more that we were allowed to come to them and were given the chance to present different ideas that we thought would suit Kartell. And then it came to a discussion from which Front Page evolved. But Kartell also like to develop long term relationships with designers and so they also wanted to see that we could work on a range of different products that could work for Kartell….

(smow)blog: … and so there is a series of Front prototypes lying in the Kartell HQ basement …

Anna Lindgren: (laughs) No not exactly, but we are working on new projects that we hope could be ready for Milan this year. But it is not certain…

(smow)blog: And so from Front’s perspective the cooperation was successful?

Anna Lindgren: Definitely !

(smow)blog: We are currently in the middle of Stockholm Design Week, is that something Front have to be part of or is it something that you do because you want to?

Anna Lindgren: Some years we haven’t done anything! And this year it was the case that we had shown the magazine rack at Milan and then it was great that it was finally coming into the stores and so it’s nice to celebrate that. But we think Stockholm furniture fair is a very interesting fair and the design week is getting better all the time and so it is very interesting to do something here. Especially because it’s more convenient for us!

(smow)blog: And a final question. Is Stockholm a creative city where as a designer you can work, or do you have to leave Stockholm to achieve things?

Anna Lindgren: Stockholm is a very nice city to live in and work in. It’s big but not too big and there are a lot of creative people here in the city. And so for us Stockholm is a very good base for our studio.

Front Page - The Kartell magazine rack that thinks it's a pun

Kartell Stockholm present Front Page by Front

Kete by David Turnbridge

The Top 5 Lamps from the smow design spring. In no particular order.

Kete by David Turnbridge. One of the first lamps we saw in Milan, and probably that which left the greatest impression on us. And not merely on account of its size. For us the principle beauty of Kete is the atmosphere it can create in a room with it 7W LED element. And despite their overproprtionality Kete doesn’t domiante the room. Honest.  Kete. Anything but dull.

moooi.

Beachballs by TOBYhouse at designersblock, Milan

Beach Ball Lamps by TOBYhouse. When we first saw Beach Ball Lamps we thought they were made from shaped aluminium. So stable and rigid are they. Only after entering into converstaion with designer Toby Sanders did we discover that they are real beach balls. And that was when the product became magic. That was the moment when we realised and appreciated just what a product we had before us. And that was the moment when we started to investiagte more carefully. Through a specialy developed process TOBYhouse coat the inside of the balls with a thin polyeurethene coat, before cutting the bottom open and rounding the edges. And with it’s brillant white interior Beach Ball Lamps offers an excellent illumination. Beach Balls Lamps. Anything but dull.

moooi.

Flatline by Jason Brugges for Established and Sons

Flatliner by Jason Bruge for Established and Sons. We don’t own an iPod which is probably why we took a  couple of minutes to get the hang of the control system. Had it been based on an MD player we would have got the hang of it much quicker. However, once up and running we were in awe of Jason Bruge’s genial dimming system. And the quality of the illumination generated is every bit as convincing. If you don’t know what were talking about, check out our (smow)tube video. Flatliner. Anything but dull.

moooi.

Fiss Family by My Own Super Studio

Fiss Family by myownsuperstudio. DMY in Berlin was full of lamps. We’re not exactly sure why but we’re fairly certain it had something to do with students being set lamp design as part of their final year project. A sort of conspiracy among product and industrial design lecturers to make earth shine more brightly than the sun. Fiss Family by Portugese outfit myownsuperstudio wouldn’t have been much help in such a plot, but was without doubt one of the finest lamp ranges we saw this spring. For us the beauty lies in the fact that the light flows downwards; consequently, they don’t produce the brightest illumination, but that which they do produce is amongst the softest we saw this spring and certainly the best intended for a living room or office when you want a gentle background light or constant, atmospheric illumination. Fiss Family. Anything but dull.

moooi.

Spin by Tom Dixon

Spin by Tom Dixon. Not a lamp in the popular, modern electrified sense. But then were not sticklers for convention. Correctly used candles can offer a better, more positive illuminaton than their modern cousins. The trick is the “correctly used” part. With Spin Tom Dixon offers a wonderfully stylish opportunity not only to illuminate a space as we want it, but also to change the illumination as and when required. Spin. Anything but dull.

And a special mention goes to moooi for their Horse Lamp.