Event Report: 3 Days of Design Copenhagen

At Frama showroom, the Adam stool looks at home surrounded by some amazing antique objects, all on a backdrop of Frama’s custom St. Pauls Blue paint by Jotun.

Frama’s showroom was meticulously curated by Nathalie Schewer and featured products from their catalogue in alternative finishes.

Frama’s Sintra side table sits under another collaborator in Italian fabric supplier Dedar.

The Sutoa drawer system by Japanese designer Keiji Ashizawa for Frama.

Fredericia’s no.1 sofa gets the “Fringy Edition” treatment by Henrik Vibskov, with his signature use of colour and texture giving a new spin on a Danish classic.

Also at Fredericia, Børge Mogensen’s 1955 no.1 lounge chair gets a very modern update from eccentric Danish fashion design Henrik Vibskov.

Text & Photography by Nikolai Kotlarczyk for Yellowtrace.

A visit to Stockholm or Milan Design Week, or even one of Australia’s design events, will bring forth a smorgasbord of great Danish design. Up until now however, Copenhagen itself has lacked a world-class event to showcase its design history and current trends. Seriously, how is that possible?! 3 Days of Design (3DOD) is the event that could do just that.

3DOD may only be in its second year, but with many of Scandinavia’s, if not the world’s biggest homeware and design brands on hand; the concept is already oozing Scandi goodness. Taking in a showroom based approach, rather than the traditional trade fair, 3DOD allows you to get familiar with the busier tourist friendly city spots, but also the industrial harbours that are a big part of Copenhagen’s identity and character. Not the mention a trip to Papirøen (the paper island) with its amazing food hall, and past Christiania, where buying a joint, not a chair, is more the trip (pardon the pun…). So taking into account the beautifully small size of Copenhagen, I headed out on my trusty steed (teal coloured ladies bike!!) to check out the latest and greatest from the local design houses.

Related Posts: #YellowtraceTravels // Copenhagen, Denmark.

Frame and DanishTM presented Re-Frame, with foreign designers re-interpreting Danish design. German designer Sebastian Herkner went for an analytical approach, using large magnifying glasses to draw the viewer into the details of what makes up some design classics, old and new. Pieces came from names such as Fritz Hansen, Montana, Muuto, Federicia and more.

Re-Frame presented by Frame and DanishTM.

Kaare Klint’s Safari Chair for Carl Hansen & Søn goes under the microscope at Re-Frame.

Fritz Hansen used the 60th birthday of the iconic 7 Series Chair to present a new range of colours.

Neri & Hu also got in on the birthday celebrations at Fritz Hansen with an intimate re-working of the Series 7 classic.

Chat to any Dane on the street, young or old, and they will be able to speak with knowledge and pride on their countries design history. I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but how many times can you count a random stranger in Australia reeling off his/her favourite Arne Jacobsen chair?? Not many, huh??!! The current Danish brands are well aware of this history, whilst trying to stay innovative and current as global brands today. 3DOD presented these two worlds in varying approaches.

While Frame and Danish TM turned to foreign designers Niek Pulles and Sebastian Herkner with Re-Frame, an exhibition interpreting what principles make up Danish design. Fritz Hansen re-issued the iconic Series 7 Chair in a range of new colours, also re-interpreting it with help from Zaha Hadid, Neri & Hu & co. (just some up-and-comers, you know), and Fredericia linked the most unlikely duo of Børge Mogensen and contemporary fashion designer/artist Henrik Vibskov. These more established brands were intersected with younger names such as Frama, with their beautiful harmony of the antique and contemporary, Please Wait to be Seated’s almost non-Nordic visual language, and &tradition’s amazing showroom updated with hints of experimental colour and material supplied by All The Way to Paris. Material and colour combinations also added to the contemporising of the Danish aesthetic, perfectly executed by the collaboration of Dinesen and Linolie DK. If you are in town you have to stop by the Dinesen showroom. SERIOUS WOW!!!

Dinesen in collaboration with Linolie.dk presented the Five Colours of Spring, styled by Barbara Gay. The Five Colours of Spring displayed Dinesen’s Douglas Fir floor planks with colours produced with the use of natural pigments within a Linseed Oil base. Amazing finishes with no chemicals – how good is that?!

Dinesen’s large showroom sits on the edge of one of Copenhagen’s five manmade lakes.

The Gubi showroom in Nordhavn (North Harbour) is a feast for the eyes, with their whole collection beautifully curated in a number of colours and finishes. And the scale!!!

With the space to display their product in different settings, Gubi presented some classics in a more bohemian context, including Gam Fratesi’s Beetle Lounge Chairs in some beautiful new fabrics.

Another shot of Gubi’s stunning showroom in Nordhavn.

3DOD may still be growing, but the small stature is part of the charm. Rather than the scale of Milan, the event moseys around Copenhagen, providing a pretty nice way to see some amazing design and also parts of the city rarely visited, even for someone who has been here for some time. The bigger names of Danish design also have the most amazing showrooms I have ever seen, which are not always open to the public. Pictures from the Gubi showroom are case in point. Just seeing these brands in their own environment is a must.

File Under Pop specialise in the “clothing of large surfaces” and presented new tera-cotta tiles in their inner city showroom.

Please Wait to be Seated’s Keystone Chair and Planet Lamp.

All the Way to Paris presented &tradition’s catalogue with subtle hints of colour, greenery and found objects.

The white cubes of the &tradition showroom allowed each space to show new concepts and colour ways.

&tradition’s Raft stools weren’t safe from the takeover either, featured here in some deeper tones.

All The Way to Paris also brought some experimental products into the spaces, like this gorgeous lamp in a variety of materials.

About the author:
Since heading the Tait Melbourne showroom in Australia, a move to Copenhagen in 2013 led to Nikolai establishing his design studio CZYK, with a strong focus on single material design pieces. Since this time, CZYK has exhibited in Melbourne and Milan, and will be presenting work at Paris Design Week in September with a new Danish design group, Holdbar, of which he is a founding member. Nikolai also co-founded the small culture house Øen (The Island) in Copenhagen’s inner north with a focus on music, art and installation. He also gets very homesick from time to time.