A Few Good Things: New Designs From Norway

Curated by Paul Makovsky, editorial director of Metropolis magazine, the exhibition uses the work of 10 Norwegian designers – both emerging and established – to explore how considerations of sustainability, conscientious uses of materials, and design philosophies that champion clean-lined functionality can create products that truly stand out, in terms of both their aesthetics and their longevity.

All designed with thought for the user and crafted with meticulous skill, the products selected for the exhibition range from hand-made silverware and ceramics to tactile wooden furniture and beautifully woven blankets. Each new product and prototype represents the materials and ideas that drive the vibrancy and creative scope of the Norwegian design scene today. The designers themselves range from recent graduates cutting a swathe through the design world to well-known names on the international industry circuit. The exhibition is intended to introduce their work to the North American market, and to draw its attention to the possibilities of Norwegian design and manufacture. With a stand created by NYC design firm Pure + Applied and graphics from Oslo/Vienna agency Bleed, A Few Good Things represents a unique opportunity for WantedDesign’s visitors to discover the best and brightest talents at work in Norway today.

A Few Good Things: New Norwegian Designs is produced by the Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture (DOGA), in partnership with the Norwegian Consulate General in New York and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  

Kristine Five Melvær exhibits the Vava stacking stool prototype, alongside the colourful, oversize doormats she created for new Norwegian brand Heymat and Åsmund pillows and blankets.

noidoi are exhibiting a range of homewares and lighting, comprising Tube candleholders in various sizes, the On the Edge floor lamp and Bølgen, a new prototype trivet.

Runa Klock shows the tableware range created for Oslo design hotel The Thief, her natural-stone Core lamp, and two products created for social-enterprise: wooden serving boards for Moving Mamas, an organisation to help Norway’s immigrant mothers back into work, and textile designs for Pakistan’s Bokhari employment initiative.

Anderssen & Voll present sculptural cast-iron Ildhane candleholder and intricate Una blankets, produced in collaboration with Røros Tweed

Lars Beller Fjetland and Norway’s oldest silverware producer Theodor Olsen Sølvvareverksted have created Monstera, a cold-forged cutlery range inspired by an unproduced 1950s design.

Sara Skotte presents Vei ceramic tableware, designed to enhance the sensory experience of eating, and Dialog, a collection of vases in different materials.

Sverre Uhnger is exhibiting the Trace range of serving platters, created to turn the imprints left by CNC milling into ornamental features, as well as wooden platters created for the Trefjøla chopping board brand. 

Martin Solem displays the Solem Table, intended for use in hotels. Innovative, lightweight and minimalist, its hollow legs allow cabling to be concealed.

Fimbul brings their versatile Mupu shelving design, stacking side-table set Soft Square, a Stone Elephant toy puzzle and elegant Canary Wharf shoe brushes. 

Andreas Bergsaker showcases new prototypes of wooden products, including his Mushi and Piedistallo lamps, O’Clock desk clock series and Equal chopping board range.