Design:

Norrland Comes to Stockholm

Words Micha van Dinther and Magnus Wittbjer

Stockholm Furniture Fair and Stockholm Design Week take place from February 3-8 and the 2015 vintage is set to be as big and as multifaceted as usual. *Designbaren* – the design bar set up at the fair – is three times as large as its predecessors and bound to be an interesting and gratifying experience from many points of view.

The man behind Studio Vision (this year’s edition of Designbaren) at the Stockholm Furniture Fair, designer Mattias Stenberg sums up his current occupation as one-third designer, one-third engineer and one-third businessman. Find out how well he manages to succeed on all three fronts in February.

Mattias, tell us a little about yourself…

I am schooled in engineering and have a background in research and development and product planning. A few years back, I decided that it was time for a change and switched careers to become a designer. It was not so much an abrupt change as a segue into a different layer of what I was already doing – an addition if you will.

Tell us a little about the Designbaren concept?

This year’s edition is considerably larger than previous years and will sport both an interesting backdrop, a restaurant serving dishes in accordance with the overall theme, a spot for engaging seminars and talks by Stockholm Design, as well as an exhibition by Materialbiblioteket about sustainable materials.

Where have you sourced your ideas and inspiration from in order to create this year’s Designbaren?

As with any other project, I built my idea around good times and fond memories. The whole milieu is a very loose interpretation of my grandfather’s boathouse in northern Sweden. Not just the boathouse itself, but also other elements around it: a dock, water, wood, forest are all elements of inspiration as well as the colour palette intrinsic to the Norrland region.

How does the restaurant part of Designbaren tie into your overall concept?

This year’s edition is set up as a spoonery. This means that the majority of the dishes are consumed with the aid of just a spoon. The main courses are combined with various types of cold cuts, specific to the region, as well as with ‘Nordic sushi.’ That being said, no dishes are in any way, shape or form traditional Norrland dishes. When asked to outline a menu, I have merely found inspiration in certain regional produce, meats or fish.

Photo StockholmFurnitureFair_MattiasStenberg: Rostam Zandi

Photo StockholmFurnitureFair_MattiasStenberg_Plymå: Nola Industries