Though outside forces conspired to keep me away from my trip to the Stockholm Furniture Fair this year — a last-minute bout of COVID, severe winds in my connecting city of Reykjavik — I managed to touch down last Wednesday for three days of reacquainting myself with the Swedish capital. For anyone who loves Salone in Milan but wishes there were simply … less of it … Stockholm is an excellent fair to visit. The quality of the booths at the fairgrounds is extremely high, the emerging designer section is always full of gems, and the events around town are so geographically close to each other that it makes knocking 10 things off your list in a single afternoon fairly doable. This year, some of the things I loved most included the Frama installation inside Konstnarsbaren, a 1930s-era bar with murals lining the wall that I dubbed “the Swedish Bemelmans;” a visit to Hem’s new studio, decked out in four of my favorite colors, cobalt, highlighter yellow, powder blue, and pink; a packed-house fried-chicken party at Note Design Studio; a curving emerald green chair made from 3-D printed recycled fishing nets by a collective called the Interesting Times Gang; a beautiful seating system for Offecct by the late designer Pauline Deltour; a presentation by Beckmans College of Design that paired students with Sweden’s leading furniture companies; and Alvsjo Gard, the new platform for experimental design that we wrote about yesterday. Check out the rest of our favorites below — and thank you to anyone who attended my talk at the fair!

The Fair

Kelp Chair by Interesting Times Gang

Compose Lamp family by Jens Fager for Zero Lighting

Sprinkle family by Note Design Studio for Zero Lighting

Pauline sofa and armchair by Pauline Deltour for Offecct

Chop by Philippe Malouin for Hem

Knuckle Lights by David Taylor for Hem

Kori Lights by TAF for Artek

Kink seating by Mentsen for Zilio A&C

Arkad by Note Design Studio for Zilio A&C

Bau seating by Note Design Studio for Lammhults

Dapper by Mattias Stenberg for Mitab

Verk

Sisters at the Same Table carpet by Josefin Tolstoy for Ogeborg 

Line XL carpet by Note Design Studio for Ogeborg

The Cluster & The Tangles carpet by Josefin Tolstoy for Ogeborg

Greenhouse

Carl Folkesson and Elin Åkerfeldt x G.A.D. / Beckmans College of Design

Johanna Ringqvist, Sofie Krüll and Olivia Ståhl x Lammhults / Beckmans College of Design

Annelie Wihlborg and Fanny Johansson x Gärsnäs / Beckmans College of Design

Elinor Parra and Imad Benkabbou x NC Nordic Care / Beckmans College of Design

Cecilia Mosesson and Emilia Lamberg x Storängen / Beckmans College of Design

Jenny Svensén & Max Lundén x Johanson Design / Beckmans College of Design

“Drömmen om ett kök” by Elin Claesson for Friends of Handicraft

Aarne Armchair by Hampus Pentinnen

Millstone Tables by Yellowdot Design

Jelly Lights by Yellowdot Design

3X Table and Lights by WD-DP

Mod Shelving by WD-DP

Pinch Candelabra by WD-DP

Slow Table by Ted Synnott

Otama Chair by Ted Synnott

Pillar Table by Ted Synnott

Align Chair by Reeta Laine

Melt Side Table by Reeta Laine

Torner Side Table by Reeta Laine

Fellow by Hanna Lidgren / Konstfack

LN.1 by Lovisa Norrby / Konstfack

M6 Series by Marine Evrard / Konstfack

Tactility by Lovisa Bernrup / Konstfack

Around Town

Fundament by TAF for Bukowskis

Joy Stool One by Joy Objects

Ypsilon bench by Daniel Rybakken for Vestre

Pia Wallen for NK Interior

Julie Amira for NK Interior

Pleated for Frank by Folkform for Svenskt Tenn

Flowerpot by &Tradition

Kvadrat x Raf Simons

Ecbacken Studios

Lezan Lurr for Massproductions

The Bracket Chair by Frama