Stockholm 2010: at the Greenhouse exhibition at Stockholm Furniture Fair next week Irish design studio Superfolk will launch a collection inspired by Irish vernacular furniture.

The range features wooden stools with holes drilled down each side of the seat so they can be laced together to form a bench.

Other designs include a wooden dining table, wallpapers developed from drawings of boats and lighting produced using basket weaving techniques.

Here's some more information from Superfolk:

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Irish designer launches work at prestigious Stockholm Furniture Fair

Emerging Irish design studio Superfolk will launch a new range of products at the celebrated annual Stockholm Furniture Fair (February 2010). Superfolk has been selected by international jury to exhibit as part of the prestigious ‘Greenhouse’ section - a showcase of up and coming international independent designers and makers.

Influenced by the economy and innovation of materials and construction methods of Irish vernacular furniture, Superfolk designs push the perception of handmade craft out of the realm of precious ‘display object’ and back into affordable and everyday use. Locally sourced materials are favoured and careful dimensioning and simple design intends multiple informal uses. New work includes a table, a range of stools, handmade wallpapers inspired by drawings of traditional Irish boats and lighting made in collaboration with basket maker Joe Hogan. Hogan, who has gained international recognition for his basket making is based on the shores of Lough Na Fooey, in the Connemara region, has 27years of experience in growing his own willow and making baskets.

Superfolk is an independent design studio established by Gearoid Muldowney in 2008. The studio’s heart is in the craft of production, be that hand made or industrial. Superfolk’s products are a tribute to Ireland’s heritage of object making, playfully referencing a way of life rooted in the land, its animals and its weather whilst also striving to emulate the sensitivity and sustainability of the vernacular approach. The studio is focused on working with locally sourced Irish materials and strives for innovation in its approach to natural resources such as wool, wood and leather.

Having specialised in Craft Design Muldowney received a Bachelor of Design (Hons Degree) from National College of Art and Design, Ireland in 2007.

STOOLS

Influenced by the economy and innovation of materials and construction methods of Irish vernacular furniture and working to a tight budget and short time frame stools push the perception of handmade craft out of the realm of the precious ‘display object’ and back into everyday use. Cheap off-cuts of native Irish hardwoods (from the Lisnavagh Timber Project, Co. Carlow) were used in combination with shovel handles sourced from farmers Co-Op shops. The careful dimensioning and simple design of the stools intends multiple informal uses and they can also be used alone or combined in various permutations to create benches, tables, foot stools etc

Stools are made from Oak and Ash with wedges of tiny walnut. Oak and Ash are readily available in Ireland from sustainably managed forests.

Stools were originally a collaboration between Jo Anne Butler and Gearoid Muldowney of Superfolk and designed as temporary seating for audiences attending events at the Kilkenny Arts Festival. In 2009 they were short-listed for an IDI (Institute of Designers in Ireland) Design Award. They were in use again during Irish Design Week 2009 by The Irish Design Shop for a screening of the celebrated craft documentary ‘Hands’.

TABLE

Living in a small apartment the table is in our main living area and is used for everything…Chopping vegetables, working on my laptop, make and do sessions and eating dinner with friends and family. If the kitchen is the heart of any home, then the table is the heart of any kitchen.

The Superfolk table is similar in almost every way to the Superfolk stools - a large, tough work area raised up on four simple legs. The table is carefully dimensioned to be just big enough for a crowded family dinner yet small enough to be use as a desk.

The Table is made from Oak and Ash, with tiny wedges of walnut. Oak and Ash are readily available in Ireland from sustainably managed forests.

WALLPAPER

Superfolk wallpaper is made by hand… drawings are made by hand, inks are mixed by hand, plates are carved by hand.

The Currach wallpaper is based on technical drawings for a very old style of river boat used predominantly in the midlands of Ireland. The boat known in Ireland as a ‘Boyne Currach’ is named after the river Boyne. ‘Boyne Currachs’ were used for many purposes, most notoriously illegally fishing for wild Salmon with nets.

The yellow wallpaper is a repeat pattern of the Superfollk logo (IVERNIA).
The superfolk logo is based on reconstructed drawings of ancient geographical data of Ireland’s coastline recorded in the second century A.D.

PTOLEMAEUS: IRELAND circa 150 A.D.
‘While there are many references to Ireland in classical Greek and Roman literature, the earliest specific geographical data was recorded at Alexandria in the second century A.D. by Greek astronomer and geographer, Ptolemy. It does not have a map of Ireland but lists the latitude and longitude of sixty features of the country- estuaries, promontories, towns or forts, tribes, islands and the four surrounding oceans. The identification of many of features is uncertain but generally the data seems more complete and more reliable for the eastern regions, reflecting the greater familiarity of sailors and traders- ptolemyÌs ultimate sources- with that side of the country’

Extract from the Ireland from Maps part of the Historical Documents Series
National Library Of Ireland
Drawings reconstruction by Prof F.J. Byrne.

LAMP SHADE
Made in collaboration with basket maker Joe Hogan these lamp shades are made from Irish willow and woven by hand. Willow having such phenomenal attributes should be used by designers more than it is at present. Ireland’s mild climate, rich soil and geographical position make it ideally situated to produce willow in abundance. Hogan, who has gained international recognition for his basket making is based on the shores of Lough Na Fooey, in the Connemara region of Ireland, has 27years of experience in growing his own willow and making baskets.