A chair in a leather jacket, a luminescent textile and a bouncy wooden bench are among this year’s offerings from The Mindcraft Project, an initiative championing Danish design craft.
This year The Mindcraft Project, an annual commission that allows 10 Danish designers to develop works that combine design and craft in new ways, is on show at the Kvadrat showroom in Copenhagen.
Copenhagen Design Agency, which runs the programme, invited designer Maria Bruun to curate this edition. She chose a mix of emerging and established participants, all “unafraid” to incorporate self-expression in their designs.
The results also include a hand-sculpted glass chandelier, a 3D-printed chair and a set of lamps that create optical illusions.
“The projects presented become specific instead of generic,” Bruun said. “I think that is something we experience now; designers are interested in finding their specific language of form or their specific approach to experimentation.”
“There could be a lot of opinions about why we need to know each designer’s subjective approach – why are we not creating functionality and more general design?” she continued.
“But I think that good design starts here, with the designers’ ambition and their subjective eye towards what design and craft could look like 20 years from now.”
Read on for details of all 10 designers and their projects:
Cursive by Akiko Ken Made
Japanese-Danish duo Akiko Kuwahata and Ken Winther, who work as cabinet makers, created a bench with a woven seat of steam-bent ash. This gives the seat both strength and bounce.
Chandelier by Alexander Kirkeby
Aarhus-based glassblower Alexander Kirkeby created a chandelier following the traditions of Venetian glassmaking, but he hand-shaped the components rather than using moulds. This resulted in a more organic feel.
Pylon by Frederik Gustav
By combining hand-sanded polycarbonate sheets with horizontal LEDs, Danish duo Frederik Weber and Gustav Dupont created lights that offer an illusion of curves when switched on.
Garments by Lærke Ryom
Copenhagen-based Lærke Ryom has been exploring eco-friendly alternatives to upholstery and how they can be made more decorative. This led her to create the leather-jacketed Zipper Chair and ribbon-tied Bow Chair.
Lost and Found by Marie Holst
Textile weaver Marie Holst took cues from traditional Damask tablecloths to create an intricate tapestry combining wool with glossy and reflective yarns. It is largely monochrome but appears to glow under certain conditions.
Vessel #2543 and Vessel #2545 by Morten Løbner Espersen
The two stoneware vessels created by ceramicist Morten Løbner Espersen reveal his expertise in the use of glaze. One features a drip effect, combining shades of orange and green, while the other has a distinct black crackle finish.
Untitled Object for Storage by Sigurd Nis Schelde
Aarhus-based designer Sigurd Nis Schelde created a shelving unit combining industrial and highly crafted components. The steel plate shelves are embellished with sand-cast tin decorations, created using 3D printing.
Slope Dining Table by Sofie Østerby
Bevelled edges give a sense of monumentality to this dining table designed by Copenhagen-based Sofie Østerby. Made from thermo-treated ash wood, the forms take inspiration from topographical maps.
Semble by Stine Mikkelsen
Danish designer and maker Stine Mikkelsen created an ash wood bench that celebrates the wooden dowel fixing. Two oversized dowels define the form of the sculptural piece.
Carcass Chair by Victor Miklos Andersen
Venice-based Victor Miklos Andersen teamed up with Italian designer Antonio Davanzo to create a tribute to Hans J Wegner’s celebrated Ox Chair. A skeletal frame in sand-cast aluminium provided the starting point for a 3D-printed creation, finished in high-gloss car paint.
The Mindcraft Project is on show at the Kvadrat showroom in Copenhagen from 26 September to 25 October 2024. See Dezeen Events Guide for more architecture and design events around the world.
The photography is by Benjamin Lund.
