The mid-century modern style is hugely popular right now and rightly so in my opinion. It’s astonishing how many great and iconic chairs in particular were designed around the mid-century, and especially by Scandinavian designers!

Produced since 1950, the Wishbone chair by Danish designer Hans J. Wegner is one such great chair which I think looks just as fresh and modern today as it would have when it was first launched 60 years ago. I like this chair because it looks special and interesting but at the same time not too show-stopping – it’s neutral and a bit rugged. It goes very well in a modern Scandinavian design theme based around soft wood, natural materials and textures and a white/grey/beige colour palette.

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Tea pot is on, the cups are waiting!

I just have to share with you these peculiar next-generation teapots. At WebUrbanist you can find a collection of 19 exceptional teapots that clearly shows the future design direction. More examples and details here. They all come from Britain you think? I found out my favourite, below, can be bought at The Teapottery, and oooh, they surely have a full range of odd tea-design! Anyhow, the Toaster Teapot seem highly multifunctional. Design must be functional, right?

The Swedish design group Muungano is attending the ongoing Stockholm Formex fair. They are one out of twelve designers invited by Formex and the Trend Group to the section Young Designers - a platform for not yet established designers. According to their website, Muungano has its roots in a critical discussion about the meaning, methods and values of design. In their projects they “consciously find challenge and motivation in pushing the boundaries of the brief, by contextualizing problems and assuming a holistic approach”.

In 2008 Muungano designed a very special library bus, and in 2009 some awsome skull lollipops, now one really looks forward to their next design steps! Here’s a look into my Muungano favourites so far.

At the Formex fair a few awards and honorable mentions are given. This year’s tear of joy goes to the product Snaps -Table napkins and tea towels by Barbro Tryberg Boberg and Maria Holmer Dahlgren for the Swedish company Formverket. Dry your tears of joy with this napkin or (if there’s a lot of joy tears) with the tea towel. It’s got lyrics printed on it, so next step is to raise your Snaps glass, sing and cheer!

This is the jury’s reasoning: “All of a sudden, those gathered round the table have good reason to burst into song. Raise a glass to Sweden’s musical traditions!” I.e. design with a jolly mission!