Seven things we recommend this week

A new design week, an atelier showcasing circularity “for real” and a hotel suite investigating the local wood industry. We pick some design and interior favourites from the past week. 

Circularity for real

The flooring company Tarkett just opened the new showroom Tarkett Ateljé in Stockholm, a colourful space created in collaboration with Note design studio. Intended to work as a multi functional meeting spot where talks and discussions about circularity can take centre stage in a large auditorium it clearly shows Tarkett’s intention of playing an active part in the transformation into a circular economy. The new space use Tarkett’s recycled materials from the circular collection, and sacks of recycled materials are on display. “We are a flooring company but our aim is to act responsible and inspire change; it’s time to take action,” says marketing manager Kerstin Lagerlöf.

New design week stirs up Stockholm

This week The New Era was first to report that a brand new Stockholm design week, named Stockholm Creative Edition, will launch this September, initiated by Ulrika and Philippe Attar of design studio Atmosfär by Attar. Open for both design enthusiasts and industry insiders the new annual design week will offer an alternative – and compliment – to the traditional design fair in Stockholm by focusing on events taking place in showrooms and pop up spaces in the city.

Outdoor inspiration

Andrea's Martin-Löf was inspired by his grandparent's summer house when designing Aspvik, a new outdoor furniture collection for Jotex. An old sofa group in rattan that came with the summer house when it was bought in the 1950's, became the base for the design. "I often find my inspiration in simple objects around me and see my furniture design as a small contribution to a long craft tradition of furniture production. It is not uncommon for me to build on, and refer to, the creations of others," Martin-Löf says.

Touch Wood

Asked to update the interiors in a suite at a Clarion hotel in central Stockholm, Sweden, the trend forecaster Stefan Nilsson saw an opportunity to investigate the Swedish forestry industry. The new suite at the Clarion Sign hotel is made in collaboration with Svenskt trä and celebrates the use of Swedish wood while at the same time asking questions about how it’s being used. Sweden exports 70 percent of its local wood production - with a lot of pine travelling all the way to Africa - while local furniture factories and carpentries import wood for their production. The suite 901 at Clarion sign in Stockholm is available to book from today.

Bolon Goes ready made

Bolon, famous for their woven design flooring in spaces all over the world, is now offering ready made rugs in their characteristic Bolon materials and patterns.
“It feels great to be able to offer this product on the market. We see a really big potential for these carpets, as we can offer our customers so many opportunities to choose the design, edging and size they want. The carpets and edging are made from our own material with a method that we have developed in our factory in Ulricehamn, says Klara Persson, the company's product manager.
The custom-made carpets are a perfect complement to existing floors. The smallest carpet size that Bolon produces is 2 x 2 meters.

Serene bedrooms

This week saw the launch of Sérénité, a Swedish brand focused on the bedroom. First up is a series of high quality bed frames and poufs in textile by Astrid. The frames are locally produced in the south of Sweden, using only the best materials. "Just like the name suggests, we would like to create serenity in the bedroom," says cofounder and ceo Mohammed Albaker. "Especially after this year we think people want to escape to their bedroom, and we'd like to capture the feeling of a hotel room.