The Monocle Minute
On Design

We kick off the new year with a timely look at an analogue Japanese alarm clock, a flick through a new monograph on the work of Belgian interior architect Peter Ivens and a visit to a Norwegian cabin that has its hearth in the right place. Plus, we learn lessons on longevity at French furniture maker Ligne Roset’s trade school and keep the winter chill at bay with a Finnish mohair throw. Getting us off on the right foot is Nic Monisse, who surveys the design year ahead.

There’s a back-to-school energy at Monocle’s offices across the globe. After a few weeks in Australia, my feet are only just sliding back under my desk at Midori House in London (I’ve brushed the beach sand off them, don’t worry). Meanwhile, I can hear the cracking of diary spines on the editorial floor as we prepare for an ambitious year of design coverage. There’ll be plenty of live radio, with Monocle on Design airing from pop-up studios at big industry events (pictured below, at Salone del Mobile 2024). Plans are also afoot for a bevy of live panels and talks led by Monocle’s editors, as well as parties.

In terms of events coverage, the first cab off the rank is Maison&Objet (16-20 January) in Paris. I’m expecting a big year for design in the French capital, not only because Monocle will be welcoming guests through the door of our new café, shop and radio studio in the second arrondissement in early 2025 but because newer fairs Matter and Shape (7-10 March) and Design Miami Paris (15-20 October) have found their feet. Both put the spotlight on innovative independent practices as the French design scene shows its neighbours that there’s strength in small-scale manufacturing. Size, perhaps, isn’t everything.

We’ll also make a quick stop in Sweden for the Stockholm Furniture Fair (4-8 February). I’m curious to see how it’s coping with the sale and impending demolition of its home venue, Stockholmsmässan. The rest of February is bumper to bumper: we’ll be sunning ourselves at Madrid Design Festival (12-23 February) and Modernism Week (pictured below) in Palm Springs (13-23 February), before cooling off at Nomad St Moritz (20-23 February).

We’ll keep up the momentum in March with trips to Auckland Design Week (3-9 March) and Perth Design Week (20-27 March). Then it’s time for the design year’s headline acts: Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week (7-13 April). Here, the trade show will focus on illumination with the return of the biannual Euroluce International Lighting Exhibition. But we also expect big showcases in the city centre, where fashion brands are continuing to use their big budgets and craft expertise to muscle into the design sphere. Monocle Radio will be broadcasting during the week and we’ll be producing our Salone del Mobile Special newspaper too.

A few key events in May cap off a busy start to the year. The Venice Biennale opens its International Architecture Exhibition on 10 May. Spread across the pavilions of the Giardini and in the Arsenale, the event will showcase the works of leading practices and the projects on show often inspire others across the globe. We’ll also stop off in the US for NYCxDesign (15-21 May) and visit the ICFF and WantedDesign trade shows as well.

Rounding out the first half of 2024 will be the fifth iteration of The Monocle Design Awards, which will be published in our May issue. It will champion the best in architecture and landscape, graphic, product, furniture and urban design. Think your work deserves a prize? Drop me a line at nm@monocle.com. Otherwise, see you on the road.

Nic Monisse is Monocle’s design editor. For more news, analysis and insights, subscribe to Monocle today.

“We believe that every building should have its own soul,” says Ole Larsen, co-founder of Oslo-based Gartnerfuglen Arkitekter, which has specialised in residential design since 2014. Årestua, its new cabin in a remote forest area in Telemark, is inspired by traditional Norwegian årestue – wooden homes centred around an open fireplace. The firm employed specialist carpenters to carefully stack the timber logs that form the structure’s walls, paying homage to the area’s time-tested building methods.

The design reimagines the årestue for modern living, updating it with expanded spaces, natural light and furniture carefully arranged to foster a sense of connection between the occupants. The building consists of five spaces; you’ll find the bedrooms and a bathroom around the main living area, with its fireplace and sweeping views of the snowy landscape. “We wanted to balance character with innovation,” says Larsen. Årestua also features surprising architectural interventions such as a window that’s perfectly positioned for eagle-watching. “It’s all about letting the location and the inhabitants shape the space.”

For more on Årestua, pick up a copy of Monocle’sDecember/January issue, which is available on newsstands and online now.

French furniture maker Ligne Roset’s artisans have been skilfully mentoring younger recruits and transmitting craft knowledge for generations. But in 2021, Groupe Roset formalised the process by launching its own trade school. The École de Formation, in partnership with the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional government, offers training in upholstery and furniture sewing.

“Unlike fashion sewing, there aren’t schools that teach what we do,” says Ligne Roset’s co-CEO and fifth-generation owner, Olivier Roset. “By investing in training, we are ensuring our longevity.” The school’s 600-hour course is divided between classic and contemporary upholstery, and also teaches specialised brand techniques.

There are also plans for a new dedicated building on the brand’s campus, featuring classrooms and an atelier. “The renovations allow us to create an ecosystem in which we can train young starters but also longtime employees seeking to evolve their careers,” adds Roset. Focusing on education allows the company to offer new opportunities to staff, who can then become teachers. “We want to encourage intergenerational connections.”
ligne-roset.com

For more on the École de Formation and other fashion and design schools, pick up a copy of Monocle’s‘The Forecast’, which is on newsstands now.

Close siblings often have their own private language. Architects Jenny and Anda French, who run Boston-based practice French 2D, use their secret code for more than just gossip: it’s essential for spinning the various plates of their busy professional lives. The duo have designed unconventional residences – from microhousing to co-housing – and both hold Ivy League teaching positions. Fittingly for designers, they use a colour-based scheme of sticky notes to communicate and co-ordinate everything from client projects to teaching obligations.

How do you organise French 2D?
Anda: There’s a whiteboard that we use to divide up the various hats that we wear. We’re a tiny design practice but we’re producing big buildings and we’re both teaching full-time. Then we have this other part of our practice that’s about installations, textiles and fabrics. Because of all of that, we colour-code whichever hat we are wearing at any given moment. For finances, we use green Post-it notes. Things in the textiles column are generally purple.

Jenny: We’re constantly redrawing the borders of these fields as we clear the decks. We code for ourselves based on what we have going on. Within a project, we use the stoplight system of red, yellow and green [to track our decision-making progress].

Why do you find sticky notes so effective?
Jenny: They’re structured and flexible. As such, they’ve become a support tool in our digital and physical lives. We like colour-coded notes and sometimes different-sized notes because we’re always thinking about indexing information and then producing a visual field. Though we’re not twins, we think back to our shared note-taking process at college, in which we memorised our notebook pages and our sketches. So this idea of tying information to a visual field is essential to us.

Have you tried digital alternatives?
Jenny: We have. But, like everything else digital, there’s the limited-window problem [where you can’t see scale].

Anda: It’s the visceral physicality for us that makes a difference and the ability to share things quickly. Jenny knows that if I write something on a pink Post-it, it’s very important.

Find out more about the enduring power of the Post-it by picking up a copy of Monocle’s‘The Forecast’, on newsstands now.

In the first few weeks of the new year, which are filled with resolutions and promises of self-improvement, it’s worth remembering that positive reinforcement is always more effective than restriction. For example, instead of just promising not to be late to your morning engagements, invest in a good-looking alarm clock. An excellent option is the 612Z Flip Alarm Clock, which Japanese brand Sankyo introduced in 1970. This bright-red edition is equipped with rotating digits and a knob on the side for setting the alarm.

With its all-analogue display, the 612Z is an antidote to digital screens and their sleep-sabotaging blue light. Unfortunately, Sankyo has stopped manufacturing clocks and has pivoted to devices that are probably more lucrative: pachinko gambling machines. Here’s hoping that the company flips through its archives and is inspired to reissue the 612Z – it’s about time.

Finnish designer Lena Rewell’s fascination with fabrics was instilled in her from an early age: her father was a textile engineer who worked in the wool factories of Helsinki and Hyvinkää. She founded Lena Rewell Textilestudio in 1961 and her designs for mohair throws, with colour schemes inspired by Nordic flora and fauna, quickly attracted the attention of manufacturers.

Her daughter, Dita Eklund, has now taken over the business, though Rewell remains involved on a creative level. On our wish list is this mohair throw in a soothing cream, hand-loomed and brushed to create a playful fluffiness. Pick one up at 100-year-old Swedish design retailer Svenskt Tenn, one of Rewell’s longstanding collaborators.
lenarewell.com; svenskttenn.com

Belgian interior architect Peter Ivens’ first monograph, Houses, is a celebration of his most recent designs. Published by Luster, it features a selection of homes that he created in collaboration with designer Bea Mombaers, ranging from coastal aesthetics to art deco and wabi sabi-inspired interiors. Every project celebrates its setting, as well as the craftsmanship and materials used in its construction. “We always work with natural and sustainable materials,” says Ivens. “We use a lot of wood, natural stones and concrete that will have a nice patina over time.”

The photographs highlight intimate details, including decorative ornaments and sink faucets that work as focal points. While there’s little text, you’ll find brief descriptions of every house in the final section that emphasise their visual qualities. Pick up a copy and you might just find yourself considering a commission for the Belgian designer.
lusterpublishing.com