DS Collab exhibition seeks to put Norwegian design shoulder-to-shoulder with Scandi neighbours
Norwegian designers were paired with Norwegian brands to create seven ready-to-buy products aimed at demonstrating the country's Scandinavian design capabilities at this year's Designers' Saturday in Oslo.
While many design festivals are becoming increasingly centred around collectible design or one-off pieces, Designers' Saturday retains a more traditional focus on ready-for-sale production items.
The biennale is Norway's largest design event and this year's edition concentrated on home-grown design – aiming to boost Norway's profile in comparison to the more internationally recognised scenes in neighbouring Sweden and Denmark.
At the centre of that ambition was DS Collab 2025, which matched Norway-based designers with Norway-based manufacturers to produce a new product – the first time Designers' Saturday has organised such an initiative.
The results of the collaborations were unveiled at an exhibition held in Oslo's Myrens Verksted district, an area known for its industrial past.
In keeping with the festival's overarching Repurpose theme, exhibition designers Bjørn van den Berg and Kristine Bjaadal used only recycled or reusable elements.
For example, the podiums were low-grade chipboard offcuts sourced from warehouses, and the room dividers were Kvadrat textiles kept on the rolls so they can be rolled back up and sold now the exhibition is over.
Read on to find out more about the products on show at DS Collab, said by Designers' Saturday to emphasise sustainability, local production and innovative design:
Unit by Jonas Stokke for Eskoleia
Oslo designer Jonas Stokke was matched with steel manufacturer Eskoleia to develop a collection of elegant office storage furniture.
Reasoning that offices don't need large amounts of storage in the 2020s, Stokke created sculptural pieces that open up via a specially designed pivot system to reveal space inside.
The collection is made from recycled steel and manufactured in Norway.
Iden by Vilde Hagelund for Ygg&Lyng
Vilde Hagelund was asked by furniture brand Ygg&Lyng to design a chair in wood, which she described as her dream commission.
The curved plywood seat and backrest is intended to invite the sitter in, while the frame is solid wood. The two rear legs are unusually close together, giving an impression of delicate lightness.
Echoes by Kristine Five Melvær for Volver
For Echoes, hand-tufted rug brand Volver gave Kristine Five Melvær an open brief: simply to express herself.
Melvær responded with a collection of three rug designs telling her own life story, which drew on some traditional textile motifs. In one (middle above) older generations of her family are depicted alongside the tree of life.
In another (bottom above), she attempted to convey the changing rhythms of living, in the form of colourful blocks resembling overlapping layers of silk paper.
Salt and pepper mill by Kim Thomé for Northern
Furniture and lifestyle brand Northern wanted London-based Norwegian designer Kim Thomé to design an accessory, and he landed on a salt-and-pepper-mill set.
He wanted to work with the rotating action of the mills, so gave the wooden pieces a striped pattern that changes as they are used.
Måne by Studio Sløyd for Heymat
Heymat describes its brand vision as recasting the humble doormat as an important element of domestic design – pointing out that it's the first thing you see when you enter the home.
With Måne – Norwegian for moon – Oslo design duo Studio Sløyd wanted to create something soothing. Working with recycled plastic as a material, they used stripes to convey a sense of different qualities of natural light.
Toveis by Kaja Dahl for Minus
Minus's brand focus is on regenerative design – launching a furniture subscription model at the last edition of Designers' Saturday.
With Toveis, it turned to waste streams. Designer Kaja Dahl played with the idea of transforming waste into beauty, sourcing discarded pine from a factory and using it to create a small mirror and accompanying trinket bowl.
Pop by Jonas Stokke for LK Hjelle
Stokke's second project as part of DS Collab was a collection of small powder-coated-steel side tables for furniture company LK Hjelle.
Named Pop – as in, pop of colour – it has easily detachable legs, affording the possibility to mix and match with different finishes.
The photography is by Pernille Münster.
Designers' Saturday was held at venues across Oslo from 12 to 14 September 2025. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
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