NK Interior – a department of Nordiska Kompaniet (NK), Scandinavia’s premiere shopping destination and one of few last standing bastions for the brick and mortar retail experience – asserts that Scandinavian creativity is anticipatory of the future, but what does that mean? Does it tease of tantalizing new objects? Perhaps it promises that production methods move the needle on design as lifestyles change. How will it evolve, what feelings might it evoke, and can home furnishings compound interest in added emotional value for consumers over time?
During Stockholm Design Week, NK Interior answers those questions when they host their annual initiative – and associated scholarship – in celebration of Swedish craft with a focus on sustainability, elevated materiality, and local production prowess. Aptly named Together, NK Interior teamed up with the historic Tärnsjö Garveri Tannery to help realize the forward thinking proposals by designers Lisa Hilland, Pia Wallén, Maxjenny, Anki Gneib, Sami Kallio, Jonas Bohlin, Julie Amira, and 2023 Together Scholarship holder Olivia Åhman, in a showcase of unique leather goods that were exclusively presented and sold through the department store.
Chrome-free since 1988, the Tärnsjö-made projects are crafted from 100% vegetable-tanned leather, which utilizes natural bark extracts free from harmful chemicals, then complemented by water-based finishes. Their methods result in an artifact that naturally bears the marks of time as it patinates. And these eco-conscious practices represent only a modicum of manufacturing processes – from tanning, finishing, and saddlery – that ensure the final product’s biodegradability. “The project was a remarkable convergence of creativity, craftsmanship, and contemporary relevance,” says Ulrika Andersson, CEO of Tärnsjö Tannery
Though the windows are undressed and the objects have moved on to clients’ homes and permanent collections, the implications of Together continue to reach new global audiences. “The unexpected collaborations are intriguing. Many designers have not used these materials and techniques before; the partnering companies get new contacts, challenges, and ideas for the product development.” says Kadi Harjak, CEO of NK Interior. “The true spirit and the strength of the project is supporting each other and doing things together.”
The goal is for showcased items to enter commercial production, but while you wait, window shop the roundup below and learn more about each piece featured.
Julie Amira \ Grammy
The Grammy desk lamp borrows its iconic form from the gramophone signaling to the user an investment in timeless design. Like a flower in bloom, the lamp shade takes on an almost animated personality thanks to the saddler’s craft in accentuated stitching and gathered material where it makes connection to the pillar.
Lisa Hilland \ Pirouette
The moniker Pirouette references one of the most difficult movements in horse dressage – a reflection of the skill also required in manufacturing the chair and shade design – where the animal turns around on its hind legs to create a circular movement pattern. The braided saddlery creates an ornamental pattern and near visual weightlessness once employed as a malleable surface.
Anki Gneib \ Piaff
The Piaff room divider exercises the tradition of Tärnsjö Tannery’s roots in saddlery and the designer’s love of horses. With a network of custom horse-bit snaffles, the screen surface pattern establishes a clear boundary while the woven construction allows for visual porosity.
Maxjenny \ Pouf
Maxjenny’s statement pouf strikes a pleasant balance between a camp, floral form and an understated elegance in its muted leather upholstery to prove home furnishings can be fun while maintaining their utility. It is also indicative of younger consumers demanding environmental wellness from luxury goods brought to market.
Pia Wallén \ First Aid Bag
Wallén’s iconic crosses take new shape, literally, with the First Aid Bag. A study in duality, this bag marries two weights of leather to form the shell, considers the meaning of red as an expressive color, and the semantics of the cruciform – a heavy lift for a chic bag but it carries on well.
Sami Kallio \ Pixel stool & bench
Pixel explores braiding and geometry in a cheeky nod to the digital aesthetic. The bench is constructed in solid smoked oak and the stool in solid ash, both with seats woven from tone-on-tone Tärnsjö leather. The unique construction and customizable weave dimensions allow for customizable variation and contrast based on the desired visual impact.
Olivia Åhman \ Leather chair
Winner of the 2023 Together scholarship and participant in the 2024 Together initiative, Åhman delivers a subversive take on form and materiality with the Leather chair. Equal parts sculpture and seating, it argues that beauty comes with the fulfillment of utility, not at its sacrifice.
Jonas Bohlin \ Larv
The Larv task lamp captivates with its experimental design and is included in this showcase as an exemplary object whose design explores the potential of vegetable-tanned leather. Its pliable form allows for the accommodation of many tasks as well as in situ placements.
Photography by Alina Berkovskaia.