FOR THE LOVE OF BIRCH

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In Scandinavia, Birch is a highly treasured tree. To the ancient Scandinavians, birch was primarily a symbol of transition from spring to summer and, more broadly, the symbol of death and resurrection. It was also the symbol of the goddess Nerthus, who was considered the great Mother Earth.

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Scandinavia’s ongoing love for birch is still prevalent in the designs originating from these northern shores of Europe in more recent times. In this blog post, I have gathered a few of my favourite Scandinavian birch inspired pottery pieces. Enjoy!

Handmade Koivu vase made by Finnish ceramicist Maarit Mattanen. The Koivu vase was originally designed for an art exhibition in the National Parks of Lapland in Finland. “Koivu” means birch in Finnish.

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The talented, Swedish potter, Maria Holmberg, found her way of incorporating a birch pattern on her pottery with a special ceramic printing technique.

Simple and beautiful.

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I love these handmade birch bark tumblers by FarmhouseMud.

 

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And finally, I adore this lush vase, also from FarmhouseMud, made from super thin layers of white stoneware mixed with paper pulp and then peeled back just like a real birch tree.

 

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Birch for now from SkandiHus. Hej hej!

Coffee Lovers Unite

True to my love of the use of natural materials in art and design, I recently fell in love with Kählers new coffee brewer, Barista.

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The design is so fresh and Scandinavian. Allegedly it makes unparalleled great tasting coffee as well but as I haven't tasted it yet, I can't vouch for this. I hope it is true though as I can all too easily imagine myself sitting in the morning sunshine drinking great coffee out of something this aesthetically pleasing.

ImageThe cups are made of porcelain and you can buy a set of 4 together with a lush natural wooden stand. However, to be honest, I might just buy one cup so that I can selfishly enjoy it on my own. The only problem with that would, of course, be the fact that the Barista comes in three (wonderfully nordic) shades and I am not sure that I'd be able to choose just one...

The designer behind the little coffee beauty is Michael Geertsen who graduated from the Danish Design School in 1993. His inspirational designs and high artistic quality has made his art known throughout the world.

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He states that he finds inspiration in the meeting between function and sculpture – and his work draws a clear line back to classic ceramics, but shapes and colours are used in such a way that tries to challenge the observer. I would say that he succeeds in this. Just look at this great red sculpture as an example:

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Michael recently exhibited some of his works at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London with his installation: A DIALOGUE WITH HISTORY.

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ImageMichael described it as “an explosion of mixed works, which take on some of the highlights of our civilisation”.  He further explained that he took inspiration from Greek vases which is really apt as the Victoria and Albert Museum has one of the largest collections of ceramics in the world. The ceramic collection spans almost the entire development of our civilisation.

Michael Geertsen says that he hopes that when people see his designs they will go: “Wow, I really like the idea behind that – and it is beautiful as well – I must have it”. Well, Michael, you certainly succeeded in making me feel like that. I am pretty sure that I MUST add your lovely little coffee brewer to my growing collection of kitchen ceramics.

Thank you!