Two fine and hard to find enamelware bowls in the Lotus pattern made by Catherinholm in Norway. Mid-century.

Small, 5 1/2" diameter black and white. Available for purchase here

Medium size 7 3/4" diameter navy blue and white. Available for purchase here

Rethinking Sitting: The Ergonomic, Kneeling Chairs by Balans of Norway. Designed by Peter Opsvik late 1970's.

We have two different kneeling chairs from Norway in stock now. Both were probably designed by Peter Opsvik for Balans of Norway. Both are beautiful examples of modern "form follows function" design. The one with the light colored upholstery is an early example and may be a prototype. I say this because it is made of plywood, has scribe marks on the rockers, has an older surface and patina and is not marked Balans. For more detailed photos of both chairs scroll down past the page break.

Available for purchase here

Available for purchase here

Peter Opsvik is a Norwegian industrial designer best known for his innovative and ergonomic chairs, and the father of Jazz bass player Eivind Opsvik. Opsvik’s furniture can be found under the brand names: Rybo (Garden), Nomi High Chair, Håg (Capisco, H04, H05, Conventio Wing), Varier (different Balans® chairs), Stokke (Tripp Trapp) Naturellement (Reflex), Cylindra (Furniture objects) and Moment (Globe). His book Rethinking Sitting came out in 2009 giving insight into his thinking about sitting and explaining the philosophy behind his chairs. Peter Opsvik is also a jazz musician. He has been a member of Christiania Jazz band from 1972 and the band Christiania 12 from 1993.

Hans Chr. Mengshoel initiated the concept of kneeling chair posture in Norway, and Peter Opsvik was one of three designers who developed chairs based on this principle that all had Balans in their names. The others were Oddvin Rykken, and prof. Svein Gusrud. Peter Opsvik’s kneeling chairs were originally manufactured by Stokke (now Varier), Håg and Rybo. With its iconic shape this chair has been voted one of 50 designs that changed the world.

Peter Opsvik has worked from both ends of the spectrum of Scandinavian Design. At one end, rational and ergonomic aspects are in focus – taking care of the human body’s requirements, while at the other end of the spectrum the most important criterion is expression. With the rational, ergonomic products, Opsvik’s goal is to move the human body. With the other group of products, which he call "objects", his aim is to move the emotions.

Peter Opsvik has been awarded a number of prizes for his work, most recently the Red Dot Award 2013 "Best of Best" for Nomi High chair, Red Dot award 2011 (for Capisco Puls), the IF Product Design gold award 2011 (for Capisco Puls) and the Norwegian Design of Excellence award 2011. Opsvik was awarded The classic award for design excellence in Norway for the chairs Tripp Trapp in 1996 and Håg Capisco. In 2008 he was awarded Anders Jahre’s cultural award and the Nordic Design Award (Nordiska Designpriset). Opsvik has also received Torsten & Wanjas Söderbergs design award in Sweden for his pioneering, movable and variable furniture. In 2013 Norsk Form (The Foundation for Design and Architecture in Norway) awarded Opsvik Jacob-prisen for 2012.

Exhibitions

Peter Opsvik's furniture-objects have been exhibited around the world. Movement Peter Opsvik, a travelling exhibition initiated by the Norwegian Foreign Affairs, was exhibited at the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design (Gent) in 1999, Deutsches Museum (Munich), The Lighthouse (Glasgow) as well as among others Design Museum (London), Museum of Decorative Art and Design (Gothenburg). (courtesy Wiki)
Some of his other exhibitions have been shown at:

• The West Norway Museum of Applied Art, Bergen 1996
• Kunstlerhaus (Artisthouse) mit Galerie, Göttingen 1990
• Gallerie V.I.A, Paris 1990
• Applied Art Museum, Oslo 1986
• New York, Houston, Chicago and Tokyo in 1982
• Wien, Düsseldorf, Den Haag and London in 1981
• Copenhagen and London 1979   

(more photos below)

Antique, carved and painted, lidded box. Made by an American of Norwegian or Scandinavian descent here in north central Wisconsin. Ca. 1890's.

Crazy the stuff you find mixed together when you go on a house call. Yesterday I wrote about the great piece of 1970's abstract sculpture by Dan Blue of Chicago, Illinois we found Sunday. Today I want to show you an amazing folk art box from the same house. This piece originated here in north central Wisconsin. It was made by a person of Norwegian, Scandinavian or possibly German descent. The "dragonzied" lion animal is common in all of those cultures and this part of Wisconsin was settled by people of those extractions.

How do we know it was made here in Wisconsin and not in the Homeland?. The box is all pine, a very common American and Wisconsin wood. Also, the lid was made from a 19th century American advertising or shipping crate. It has faux ball and claw feet which is a really nice folk art touch. The surface is 100% original. Dry, crusty and awesome. This box is available for purchase here.

Incredible mid-century Scandinavian rugs and carpets from the inventory of Doris Leslie Blau.

These are amazing and truly works of modern art. You can see and buy these, and all of Doris' inventory here

 

Catherineholm lotus pattern bowls. Just in today.

If you read this blog regularly you might remember my post a couple weeks ago on Catherineholm of Norway. I didnt realize they came in plastic too. Lisa just picked these two this morning. They were licensed and manufactured in New Jersey by the Deka Corporation. Like the enamelware these are very high quality. Heavy and the color doesnt fade. These examples have never been dishwashered, have no scratches or rubs and are perfectly round.

 Yellow available here

 Gold available here

Hot design alert: Arabia of Finland.

Here is a tip for you based on our sales experience. Kitchenware and tableware marked Arabia of Finland is super hot. We sell nearly every piece we get right away. Arabia is a Finnish ceramics company founded in 1873 by Rorstrand and currently owned by housewares conglomerate Fiskars. The items that are the hottest are from the 1960's and 1970's and designed by the famous Finnish designer Kaj Franck.

“Kaj Franck (1911-1989) was one of the leading figures of Finnish design, the teacher of several generations of professional designers in Finland, and an influential figure in design and applied arts between 1940-1980. He was artistic director of the Wärtsilä Group (later Hackman Plc, present-day Iittala Group) and artistic director and teacher at the College of Applied Arts, the predecessor of the University of Art and Design Helsinki.The Design Forum Finland awards the yearly Kaj Franck Design Prize to a designer or team of designers working in the spirit of the late Kaj Franck. The Mint of Finland will release a collector coin with the theme “Kaj Franck and Industrial Art” in January 2011. The year of release will coincide with the one hundredth anniversary of his birth.”

 Courtesy Dcwdesign

Here are some examples we have had in stock and sold. We have about 5 items in stock here.

Courtesy Dcwdesign 

Lisa was out picking yesterday and found an Arabia of Finland item she had never seen before. This is a pair of cappuccino size cups and saucers with a cool biomorphic design on them. Lahja Pattern by Raija Uosikkinen designed them for Arabia Finland. We have never seen these before with saucers. 

Available here

Huge.... Saucer is 6 3/4" diameter x 1 1/4" deep. Cup is 4 3/8" in diameter x 3 5/8" deep x 5 1/4" wide.

Cathrineholm of Norway

Lisa started Hazel Home three years ago mainly focusing on her love of mid-century modern design. My background was in fine art and folk art. We are now one in life and the shop. I have learned so much from her about mid-century design especially in housewares. One area completely new to me was the design work of Cathrineholm of Norway.

We always sell out any pieces we have in stock, many times shipping them back to Scandinavia. The most famous design is the Lotus pattern. It looks like this. This is a casserole we sold in 2014. The other photos are courtesy of Ampersand Vintage Modern

The designer responsible for this striking collection was a woman by the name of Grete Prytz Kittelsen. Kittelsen, often referred to as the “Queen of Scandinavian Design,” was known for her beautiful work with sterling, enamel, and other metals. Her designs earned her numerous awards, as well as well-deserved attention as an inspiration and integral part of the Scandinavian Design movement.

 Grete in her studio 1960's

 (1917-2010)

Surprisingly, Kittlesen was not really the creator of the famous lotus motif that graces her most popular pieces. As the story goes, Arne Clausen, one of the workers at Cathrineholm, came up with the pattern and it was added to Kittlesen’s designs without her approval. Reportedly, she was never a fan of it. When you look around her minimalist Norwegian home, as it was featured as a house tour in an online magazine, you can almost understand why. Likewise, when you compare Kittlesen’s own designs alongside the lotus collection, the styles are distinctly different. (courtesyampersanvintagemodern)

Be on the lookout for Cathrineholm products but beware, several companies produced cheaper copies throughout the 1960's and 1970's. Most times Cathrineholm is not marked so look for high quality, heavy enamel over steel pieces. The knock offs were thin, light and sloppy.