Korridor Design
The newly launched Korridor Design made its debut in August 2013 at the Design Trade Fair in Copenhagen. The owners, Henrik Ilfeldt and Lærke Rune, established their company with a desire to produce small and delicate accessories for the home. “We always think of our designs as small art objects” says Laerke.
The duo started with two product categories, candle holders and vessels, which will be followed by new home accessories and the possibility of furniture in 2014. Candle holders seem to be a natural starting point for designers in the country. For example, in Denmark, by the end of October the sun sets in Copenhagen by 4:30 in the afternoon, by December the sun will set at 3:30. It stays in this pattern of seven to eight hours of daylight until the beginning of February. It is one of the reasons why candles are so popular- they are lit around the clock. Living with long months of grey skies and darkness, the home environment is improved by the warmth and glow of candles- hence the demand for all sorts of fun candle holder designs.
In the case of Korridor, their Light Me Up series is comprised two styles of natural and smoked oak candle holders and tea lights. The young brand has also produced a tinted concrete candle holder that is the result of adding colour powder before mixing and gives it a softer industrial vibe. “I wanted to put a raw industrial expression into people’s living rooms” says Henrik. “The special character of the product (candle holders) develops over time as raw concrete assumes patina with use and no one casting is the same.”
INTERVIEW: Henrik Ilfeldt + Laerke Rune, Owners/Designer, Korridor Design {Copenhagen + Aarhus}
01 What is the inspiration behind your wooden Light Me Up candle holders?
Lærke Rune: The solid wood in Light Me Up brings great warmth to the room when the candles are lit. They are meant to stand in a grid structure where the different kind of wood and colours contrast each other. The shape of the candle holders originates from a desire to provoke a tight geometric design idiom by adding an organic softness on it. The tight shape is dissolved with a simple and warm circle that leaves a coloured trail in either gold, black or white. The idea is to evoke the feeling of light running down the corners.
02 Why did you choose to design candle holders?
Lærke Rune: In Denmark we have so many dark and grey days and evenings during the year, so we use a lot of candles to bring warmth and coziness into our homes. My idea was to create a simple and slightly understated candle holder that unfolds like artwork when you put several together. It allows the user to create his or her own intimate landscape of light.
03 You also have also designed a series of boxes with spiky wooden tops and colouful bases, what are these about?
Henrik Ilfeldt: These are called Pyramid products. With the boxes, I wanted to design a piece of decorative art with a storage function for small things. The artistic expression of the Pyramid boxes is a play on simple geometric shapes. The boxes come in many colors and sizes and the idea is that people can “exhibit” the boxes in their home, thereby creating an eye-catching piece of decorative art. The recognizable ash wood lid is cut into small, fine pyramids. It is contrasted with strong colours which creates curiosity and a desire to explore the boxes and their function in detail. My hope is that people use their imagination and create their own individual “exhibition” of boxes and at the same time gain a useful piece of decorative art and a splash of colour in the home.
04 Do you entertain at home?
Lærke Rune: I don’t really have a style when it comes to hosting guests. It depends on the occasion, but I like mixing different tableware – old and new brands together, wood and porcelain. For example, Royal Copenhagen´s Blue fluted porcelain and Anne Black´s Black is Blue. One thing is for sure; you will always find one of Ditte Fisher ‘s vases with flowers suiting the menu along with a lot of candles to bring colour and warmth to the table.
05 How did you become an industrial designer?
Lærke Rune: I have always been driven by the joy of being creative and forming new creations. My passion and work field has always included everything from interior design, to furniture and refined objects for everyday use as well as concept development and illustration. I think it is my passion for creating new aesthetic objects that led me to my graduation in furniture design from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture.
06 Do you ship internationally?
Yes!
Photo Source: Korridor Design