Endgangered Danish Wooden Toys Being Saved By Chinese Woodturners

Did you know Danish handcrafted iconic wooden toys are now being handcrafted in China? I would like to raise the question: Does an old craft in one country where the locals don't have the craftsman any longer to make the designs become new again because they are now being handcrafted by a different country filled with woodturners who are eager to learn about the quality level and detailed work of traditional Danish craftsmanship? 

This subject came to my attention in 2007 whilst I was working on British ELLE Decoration. I was at an event celebrating Scandinavian design and over canapes and champagne the main UK supplier of Scandinavian design, Skandium, told me that Kay Bojesen's hand crafted wooden monkey produced by Brdr. Kruger  was endangered in becoming extinct. The reason:  the skilled craftsman were retiring or dying and sadly they couldn't find young apprentices who wanted to learn the skill. I was literally devastated and it was the first time it came to my attention how craft in the western world in general was in crisis. 

Last year I noticed there was new additions of handcrafted wooden Danish toys appearing in design stores. Well obviously this raised a lot of questions for me. Has there been a Denmark initiative to educate young people in the craft of this iconic Danish skill? Well with so many other countries in the same situation in losing key craft skills I wanted to find out what this initiative was so I could share this with other government bodies across the globe. 

 I was put in contact with the producer of the Kristian Vedel's Danish BIRDs, ARCHITECTMADE. 

Morten Jensen, CEO,from ARCHITECTMADE told me "there are only two professional wood turning companies in Denmark. One who produces the Kay Bojesen monkey and an even smaller one who makes the wooden BIRDs". 

With the demand of the wooden toys growing both producers of the monkeys and BIRDs were not able to find extra crafts people in Denmark or Europe who were able to make the their products who were willing to give the time to care about the details to make the wooden animals. 

The key to the wooden toys is although the products are handmade you should not be able to see that they are handmade. This is the perfection level both brands strive to achieve. 

 "We want to be part of pushing the general public away from the use and throw away culture. We hope to make a few, well thought out, products that will last a lifetime," says Morten. 

With quality being the main concern for both companies, ARCHITECTMADE and Brdr. Kryger decided to find wood turners in China who had the time to care about the details which many Danish suppliers simply did not have. 

ARCHITECTMADE are very proud to be teaching the quality level of high end Danish design to the Chinese craftsmen. Actually they feel that it is their responsibility to do so.  "We are working very closely with them in order to insure that the quality is perfect. We have found that these small wood shops in China are eager to learn about the quality level and detailed work of traditional Danish craftsmanship," explains Morten. "It is however necessary that we work closely with them throughout the production cycle which is both challenging and rewarding". 

All images of BIRDs supplied by ARCHITECTMADE

"The result has been that, although we proudly explain that some of our products are hand-made in Beijing, nobody can neither tell that they are made outside Denmark or that they are actually hand-made, which to us is a great success, since the craftsmanship is of this high quality".

Duck and Duckling by Hans Bølling from ARCHITECTMADE

ARCHTECTMADE  believe well thought out products is what, at least their customers care about. People like their products because they are designed by the most acknowledged architects in the world. Architects who were frontrunners and thereby able to make some items that are so harmonious that you just do not get tired of looking at them. 

Isn't it the producers  job to make these products in a quality that not only look perfect but also lasts for a very long time? Surely when the consumer  picks up the  wooden toys in store shouldn't they feel this immediately and then recognise that this is the reason for the price (and that it actually then is rather inexpensive)? Should people care where products are made, as long as the quality on every single product is high? The reality is if it wasn't for the craftsman in China the beautiful wooden toys of Denmark would be EXTINCT but now young children and adults will be able to enjoy a new handcrafted wooden monkey or bird for a very long time. 

"I think we are getting lazy in the west! We want everything to be as easy as possible. Learning and perfecting a craft takes time and few people value this anymore. I am sure it will change at some point again though", says Morten. "To me it is important that the skills and the ways of working is kept simultaneously with the benefits of big factory production from IKEA".

With a country like China filled with craftsman who are eager to learn this Danish craft and be trained in the quality of detail that western people are too lazy to learn and now many young designers concentrating in the likes of 3D printing etc is it not a good thing that at least somewhere in the world that you will be able to gather the knowledge of this beautiful craft and hopefully continue to see the evolution of this design continue? 

All Duck and Duckling photos supplied from ARCHITECTMADE Beijing wood turner

Morten concludes, "I think a fundamental change in attitude in society is needed so it is cool again to be an engineer and a skilled craftsman. I am confident that at some time it will change back again, which is why it is important to maintain the knowledge till then". 

I had the chance to talk about this subject for 5mins during Sydney Design Festival 

Modern Handmade Dinnerware Trends For Contemporary Table Settings

 My big thing is looking at how we as consumers want value but not at the cost of everything being the same.  I'm in love with everything that feels like it has been made by hand and a has a strong sense of provenance like this Rural outfit by Imke Klee and Looks like paper porcelain plates by Annett Janowiak 

Flick'r star Sayaka Minemura found this dinnerware set at Matsumoto Craft Fair in Japan. I adore the idea of using a familiar, disposable object such as the paper plate and transforming it into a cherished ceramic dinner plate. The uneven edge of the plate adds character and a feeling of one-of-a-kind to what is considered a mass produced product. The humble Wooden fork and spoon is by Ryuji Mitani

Beautiful, natural and informal linens like Lauren Kovin's textiles I believe make a dining table warm and inviting. Great food alone isn't enough. Serving dishes and dinner sets that feel like they're handmade is reminiscent of the love, time, care and skill you have put into making a meal. I'm currently in love with  Pure Deigns sandstone and porcelain collection.

 

Accessorise your table with products that include natural materials like the Balloon & Seasoning Shaker by Masayuki Kurokawa available from K-Shop. Boiled eggs photo by Charlie Engman

Imperfect is the new perfect. Wonky and not ironed is OK. Metropolis bowls by De Intuïtiefabriek. Natural linen trousers available from Etsy shop Blood Orange Thing's.

I am always looking for simplicity, function and beautifully made objects. Homogenous mass market product is a thing of the past. I guess this post is a small stone against the flood of mass manufacturing increasingly dominating design. Photo of linen trousers by Joe Bonomo. Dinner setting photo by Sayaka Minemura

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Primitive Living

Pictures by Anna Verlet

A couple of months ago I was asked by a company to discuss key lifestyle trends. I thought some of you might be interested in one of the areas I discussed. "Primitive Living". Last week in Design Before Fashion I referenced our desire for a return to simplicity. Although most of us are living in overcrowded cities we are seeking the simple life in our fashion, packaging, restaurants, cooking, shopping, homes and our gardens.

"These are turbulent times. I wonder: are the 2010s going to be more turbulent than the 1910s?," says Jonathan Grant president of think tank RAND Europe. With statements like this no wonder why so many of us would love to own this cave-like holiday home in Spain by Anton García-Abril of Ensamble Studio. More and more of us desire to live in peaceful and Self-Sufficient surroundings living away from a world in which our sense of security now seems pretty precarious. According to the Future Foundation 45% of 25-44-year-old's feel the need to be closer to the countryside.

American street and portrait photographers including Bills Backyard are capturing men in the city with bushy beards, working flannel shirts, long johns, and chunky boots. "Grizzly Adams" comes to mind. Women are ditching pretty and choosing denim, chunky flats and their hair is long and wild.

The man who works on the land and loves the harsh outdoors was showcased at Billie Reid and Glemaud's FW2010 runway shows. We are opting for unsophisticated simplicity relating to a nonindustrial, often tribal culture, especially one that is characterised by a low level of economic complexity.

The primitive aesthetic celebrates the imperfections of natural materials, highlighting our thirst for simplicity and honesty. "We are seeking familiar forms to bring comfort, solid materials to give weight. Robust and heavy textiles to reassure," says Ilse Crawford. Delicate design isn't cutting it for most of us. Something I touched on in Home is Safety. Olle Lundberg's uncomplicated cabin tucked away in Napa, San Francisco is more than just visual beauty it also embraces privacy, warmth, clean air and an abundant source of natural lighting. All the things us city folk long for.

For those of us living in the city we can only dream to own enough land to have a vegetable patch to grow our own produce such as Ollie Lundbergs above. There are an estimated 10,000 community gardens in the U.S. alone, allowing people who don’t have land of their own or who simply want the community experience to grow food, relieve stress, connect with the environment and interact with other members of the community. For those in the UK 76,330 people are waiting for an allotment - in some areas, people could be waiting as long as 40 years.

While the traditional image of a garden may not exactly fit into the reality of most urban environments, the fact is you can grow your own food whether you live on a rural farm or in a tiny Manhattan apartment. This desire has led in new approaches to sustainability. The Bacsac garden planter is designed to be an alternative solution to avoid the constraints of creating a roof garden in town (taking into consideration difficulties of transport, excessive weight, etc).

At DIY store B&Q, sales of fruit and vegetable seeds increased by almost a third last year; seed supplier Suttons now sells more vegetable seeds than flower seeds.  Gionata Gatto's design project Cultural Roots focuses on how food unites us. The luggage in these transparent, moveable flight-cases is a seed-bed for herbs and vegetables. The concept is to place the cases in unused public spaces in the city, and they will grow into multicultural vegetable patches where anyone can grow anything they like. It will turn abandoned public spaces into communal spaces bearing the seeds from which new communities can grow. Designer Frederik Roijé has created an architectural hen house where the birds can breed and retreat.

If we are not growing our own food we want to still feel as if we have hunted and gathered it. Unpackaged in Islington, London sells groceries loose and asks shoppers to use their own bags to carry their purchases home, helping to cut down waste. 

via Lovely Package

The food we do buy packaged we want it to be clear where the food is sourced and who produces it. “Knuthenlund Estate an organic farm in Lolland strives to offer high quality organic foods and at the same time taking care of the unique nature, that is characteristic for the Danish island of Lolland.. This is why Knuthenlund Sheep’s Brie is sold in boxes made of sustainable poplar wood. And the brie is wrapped in paper made by potato starch. Knuthenlund’s Sheep’s and Goat’s Milk is sold in reusable glass bottles. In the printing process, it has been important to limit the use of printing colour. Knuthenlund also offers gift boxes made by unprocessed wood. Knuthenlund’s ambition to run a farm that both shows consideration for product quality and the environment.”



According to Mintel the importance of home cooking and quality ingredients means 41% of us now cook everything from scratch and only 11% of us use a microwave regularly. However, Donna Hay told me that we want to spend approx 15mins in preparing our meals. So rustic, simple meals is what we prefer.

We even prefer to use natural materials for our cooking utensils. Scanwood have highlighted with packaging their product has come from a living source.

Feeling cold is linked to fear and vulnerability. This answers, as discussed in Design Before Fashion, why a lot of us have turned away from high-spec, clinical-like kitchens and opted for warming and more welcoming materials.  High tactility in handmade wood, tiles, zinc and marble brings a less 'finished' feel and  helps create a primal hearth where we feel safe, which is why people are always drawn to the kitchen. 

 

 More of us are wanting natural and handmade products in our home. Messana O'Rorke Architects made this dining table from an old maple tree they had to cut down on their property. When we bring handmade into our homes the pieces speaks of the connection and love with which the object was made. It can be sensual, full of sentiment and imperfect.

 The use of the hessian sack and the stereotypically eco-aesthetic we have been trying hard to shun can now be embraced.

In early 2007 the Telegraph newspaper stated " DIY is dead, Do It For Me is the latest trend". However the tide has turned  again. Now it's make my product look like it's been DIY'd. This trend is growing rapidly with designers producing product that have make shift solutions including Matthew Hilton's Compass Table Legs or the Containerstystem 1530 by Postfossil or the Small Father Clock from Skitsch. Designers are producing product that has been converted waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value, including the Armadiature by Robi Renzi for Renzivivian made from cabinets assembled from a patchwork of salvaged wooden components.  Appo by Carlo Trevisani  reutilised bottles into table centerpieces and the Lamp Love is made from a raw tree branch by Klára Šumová sold at Mint.

The materials and colours link back to Home is Safety. We want warming colours browns, tans, greens and the materials we want are recycled timbers, chunky wood, sturdy leathers. We want our homes to connect to nature. The wall art tractor connected to the farm is made from Frank Plant; Stag head Moo is by Northern Lighting; The Clay Rocking Chair is by Maarten Baas; The recycled sofa is from The Collective a restaurant who specialises in leftovers; Hand-crafted in an Indonesian farming village, the Magno FM radio by Singgih Kartono has an appealing mix of retro and modern styling. 

A lot of us have come to the conclusion to not rely on others to make us happy. We have embraced the need to take control in our own lives. We have clicked into survival mode - hunger, thirst and safety have suddenly become our priority. A "give it a go attitude" from making our own chair to growing vegetables to making fresh bread has become instinctually important. This sense of personal control and self-reliance means we need to create a security and safety around us. We do this with what we have discussed above in turning back to primal living. "What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. Your answers lie inside of you" says Denis Waitley.

Fill Your Home With Stories

I wanted to share one of my favourite shopping destinations - home mail-order Niki Jones. Ex Wedgwood design director Niki launched in September 2009 an online only collection of beautiful homewares, which includes a wonderfully rich and tactile selection of furniture, textiles and gifts.

Everything is designed by Niki, who commissions skilled craftspeople from all over the world to produce the items. For example, brambleknitted cushions and throws are handmade in Scotland using the softest lambswool, while handknotted rugs are produced in the specialist rug district of Varanasi in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. There are also silk quilts from Delhi and boneinlay furniture inspired by antiques which once adorned the palaces of Rajasthan – and much more. Get your credit card ready and discover the product here

Hand Crafted Home

All pictures are from dottie angel click here

All Stitched Up

I had a lovely message in my inbox the other day from young British Illustrator Peter Crawley with a link to his website asking me to have a look. Talk about knowing how to put a smile on my face. Peter has moved way beyond using needle and thread to sort out a hemline for a new outfit.

He discovered his talent after a road trip across America. Not being able to select just one photograph to capture the essence of the trip, it became obvious for Peter it was the journey itself that should somehow be illustrated. Yep he stitched a road map detailing his journey. He soon developed his talent to architectural buildings. For information on how to purchase or commission pieces, get in touch here