There’s an increasing sense in the design world that 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen is a must-stop on the design fair circuit — some have argued even moreso than Milan. And while we didn’t make it over this year, we could see from our inboxes that there was no shortage of wonderful things to see at the 11th edition this past June. The annual festival featured more than 400 exhibitors, bringing together emerging, experimental voices and established global giants, sprayed across the city, each stop just a bike ride — or sometimes a boat ride — away. While Danish and Scandinavian talent was on full view, a roster of international designers also had a strong presence. The theme this year — Dare to Dream — brought forth new interpretations of classic forms and inventive uses of unusual materials. Here were some of the highlights for us.

Ladies & Gentlemen Studio

Jean Lee and Dylan Davis of Ladies and Gentlemen Studio debuted two new lighting collections, Altostratus and Veil Tapestries. The studio collaborated with Kvadrat and Sahco to create their Altostratus pendants, whose romantic fabric layers seem to undulate while diffusing light. Made of textile, wood, and aluminum, these lights draw inspiration from the way the sun’s rays filter through cloud formations. The Veil Tapestries— limited editions of large-scale, illuminated wall pieces based on L&G’s Veil pendant collection of textile panels draped on a wooden framework — also elicited a play of light and shadow. L&G envision future iterations joining the three tapestries that were part of the Enter the Salon show curated by Copenhagen-based designer Signe Hytte. Photos © Jonathan Hokklo

Ukurant

Ukurant, a community and platform geared toward helping emerging designers establish economically viable practices, put on its fourth exhibition, Ukurant Unwrapped, with experimental work by up-and-comers: glossy vessels (made of gummies and resin) by Casper Johannsen, a metal bench from Lino Gasparitsch, a steel tube bench from David Raymond and Gabriel Thibodeau, PLASMA’s shelving, glassblown sculptures by Andréa Lucia Marie Berthet-Locard, a perforated chair by Reeta Laine, modular stools from Nostudio / Judith Kamp; vessels by Jüngerküehn / Konrad and Verena, Studio Radical Softness / Niklas Jeroch, and Anna Zimmermann; lighting from Thibault Philip, Julian Paula, and Paul Coenen; seating by August Håkansson Orsvall and Hampus Penttinen; clay and pine pieces by Noelani Rutz; recycled foam forms by Simon Stanislawski; a textile work by Karoline Helbo; and a sculptural piece exploring regenerative waste materials by Teodoro Rava. Photos © Anders Olof Nyberg 

Studio Radical Softness

Andréa Berthet

Reeta Laine

Noelani Rutz

Anna Zimmermann

August Håkansson Orsvall

Lino Gasparitsch

Casper Johannsen

Maria Bruun

The scale, references, and proportions of Danish designer Maria Bruun’s works feel familiar but you can’t quite put your finger on why, and so the effect is a bit destabilizing. This sense permeated her exhibition of new and older work, Crafted Contrasts. Three barrel chairs made especially for the show throw you for a curve in their use of materials: white-painted solid wood, birch burl, and anodized aluminum. A sculptural storage system, Dependables, made of handcrafted perforated wooden boxes are both decorative and revealing. In series of works mostly made of wood, Bruun investigates the point where the handmade meets the commercially produced and how that affects the human being interacting with these designs and objects.  Photos © Jacob Friis-Holm Nielsen 

Objective Studies

A Calm Place is a thoroughly apt name for the exhibition by the digital platform Objective Studies which took place at the 1960 Korshage house, aiming to explore what determines livable spaces over time. Managing director Lijana Norkaityte and creative director Matteo Fogale curated a soothing and tranquil showcase of work by international designers, including Ted Synnott, CPRV (Camille Paillard and Romain Voulet), Sara De Campos, Rasmus Palmgren, Mario Martinez, Laura Lange + Christian Juhl, Sébastien El Idrissi, Asca Studio, and Thélonious Goupil.

Sara de Campos

Sina Sohrab

Mario Martinez

Juhl & Lange

Thélonious Goupil

Sebastien el Idrissi

Juhl & Lange

Thelonious Goupil

Ted Synnott

CPRV

Ted Synnott

Rasmus Palmgren

Salem Charabi

The studio exhibition A Thousand Moons by Danish-Egyptian architect Salem Charabi featured 38 pieces Charabi designed over the past couple of years for a single commission – a house in California that would exclusively display his furniture. This gorgeous work is Charabi’s response to the question he put to himself: How does one create a home? The answer is a combination of mystery and intimacy, pieces – like a winged butterfly dressing chair, or a large ochre painted cabinet – that mix with warmth with formality, in a variety of woods, neutral fabrics, and carved stone.

Fjordfiesta

Norwegian design company Fjordfiesta unveiled the Venezia 01 Chair by celebrated Norwegian architect Sverre Fehn, now in production for the first time ever. Only two prototypes of the chair were made, originally designed for Fehn’s Nordic Pavilion, built in 1962 for the Venice Biennale; the high cost of the complex design – its curving, polished stainless steel frame with a sling of padded leather upholstery – prevented Fehn from seeing it produced in his lifetime. Fjordfiesta, however, working with an Italian production team, has brought it to life, in black and light brown.

Tableau

Tableau, a multidisciplinary studio found by in 2018 by floral designer Julius Vaernes Iversen, celebrated its new gallery space and concept store in Copenhagen with Domestic Pleasures, an exhibition that asks: What makes a place a home? The functional art on display included Rebecca Lajboshitz’s shaggy sofa, Sigurd Schelde’s lamps, Onno Adriaanse’s seating, Maria Koshenkova’s glass works, Forever Studio’s console and mirror, Jakob Egeberg’s futuristic “all terrain” Amphibious seating, tables from Six Dots Design, Josha Studio’s creature-like lamp and mirror (with eyes!), Willem van Hooff’s ripped metal bench and cabinet and ripped wood chair, three works by Lino Gasparitch, including a metal chair with a seatback that resembles alert rabbit ears, a sculptural, gridded wall lamp by Anton Hendrik Denys, Laurids Gallee’s Poolside shelf, a stool by Ali Gallefoss, and Alyssa Megan Lewis’s mirrors that play with presence and absence. Photos © Tobias Hoffmann

Fritz Hansen

Fritz Hansen’s Islands of Wellbeing was all about situating design in architecture as the company partnered with Cobe architects, the firm that developed three former industrial sites in Copenhagen’s inner harbor: Operaparken, a green space built around an underground parking structure for the Opera House; Væksthuset, a restaurant within a greenhouse, and Papirøen, a cultural and commercial center. Each respective exhibition – outdoor lounging at Operaparken, hospitality at Væksthuset, and workplace at Papirøen — was an exploration of “the aesthetic islands of wellbeing that are formed when design and architecture converge in harmonious balance.” Fritz Hansen pieces on view included a new coffee and side table for the Analog series designed by Jaime Hayon, the Monolit upholstered chair from Cecilie Manz, as well as new colorways with a matte finish for Manz’s Caravaggio pendants, and a previously unreleased lounge chair by Poul Kjærholm. Photos © Laura Stamer

Vaarnii

Finnish furniture company Vaarnii has gone all-in on pine, with solid pine furniture, fine pine veneer, heat-treated pine for outdoors, and a new pine plywood. The plywood, used in Ronan Bouroullec’s Maasto dining chairs launched earlier this year, is now incorporated in a new addition to the series, the Maasto Dining Table. At Design/Dialogue, an exhibition curated by Ark Journal, Vaarnii also launched the minimal Aamu Bed Frame, created by their in-house team. It features solid pine sections delivered flat-packed and easily joined to form a pine platform.

Vitra

A sofa is an investment, so why not invest in one that can evolve along with you over time? That’s the idea behind the Anagram sofa that Lausanne studio Panter&Tourron designed for Vitra. Adaptability and changeability are increasingly defining the modern home and like its name suggests, the modular Anagram can be rearranged in numerous ways, combined with backrests, side panels, and attachable tables. Fresh and functional, it’s also vegan, with fabric covers that can be removed and easily cleaned.

The Material Way

The Material Way, a new international platform for material-based studies founded by curator Rita Trindade and designer Bonnie Hvillum, provided artists and researchers with two online programs this year: Local Bio-based Materials and Natural Materials in Ceramics. The courses – which focused on the use of natural materials and waste materials in design, culminated in an experimental group show at 3 Days of Design, where over 30 participants creatively explored the human impact on nature and nature’s impact on art.