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SvD-Skostodet Ingvar

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BY REBECKA TARSCHYS

THE FOOTREST "INGVAR", A LARGE cast metal foot mounted at a suitable height for convenient shoe-tying, and the hallway mirror "Blomman" with delicate plastic flowers on the beige frame. That is what Carina Karlsson would spontaneously choose among all the new or Italian-inspired hallway ideas that have arrived at Designtorget in Kulturhuset: Alexander Lervik's helping foot and Anna-Karin Johansson's poetic makeup dream. Carina Karlsson is behind the exhibition "Tambur", which opens tonight at Kulturhuset, on Designtorget's regular furniture and lighting area.

the colourful is now on the wane. Pale colours take over. And a lot of white — though absolutely no white

walls, he emphasizes. The watchwords are austere, stylistic, illuminated, frosty, modern. But inherited furniture has its place, he assures.

And the materials should have texture; preferably coarsely woven fabrics and aluminium vases. Materials with tactile feel.

According to the pros, the 90s are characterized by function and simple forms

And for those with a bad back and lace-up shoes, the "Ingvar footrest" will soon be on the market. The creator Alexander Lervik attends Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm. He makes no secret of the fact that it is a huge hit to have already achieved a commercial breakthrough — even if a small one. He is beaming like the sun.

— But one single thing doesn't make you rich. Ingvar is not even enough to live on. But when I have twenty things, it will probably work out, he reflects.

Well over a hundred proposals poured in when the now three-year-old Designtorget urged designers, design school students, and idea-generators in general to submit full-scale models of furniture and gadgets intended for the hallway. In the same way, kitchen ideas had previously been solicited. "Disk-top" was the name of the initiative that time. Five of the proposals for more enjoyable kitchens have been put into production by Swedish and foreign manufacturers, or are at least on the way to being produced on a larger scale, Carina Karlsson says.

The idea is the same as last time: for designers and industries to find each other.

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The 50s trend is not yet over. The environmental trend is something coming even stronger — the more recycled material, the better. Compact living is also here to stay,

STOCKHOLMSGUIDEN

With Ingvar under the sole

Daily support from Ingvar under the sole, a small survival kit when the power cuts out with candles and fuses, or a compartment that saves mail and newspapers from falling into the gritty slush by the front door are three examples of practical items for better hallway comfort.

They are found among the 101 ideas that were not born yesterday and are therefore this month's Hallway theme at Designtorget in Kulturhuset.

The shoe rest Ingvar by Alexander Lervik and named after a famous prime minister. Photo: DAN HANSSON

500 designers were invited by Designtorget to develop new products for the hallway. Now the results are presented; everything that was submitted is included in a sprawling exhibition. And in most cases, these are items that, with empathy and different angles of approach, have the ambition to ease the order in many a hallway misery. Strategies vary. Several are loaded with both humour and ingenuity.

Aesthetics and beauty are also cultivated as an alternative to the drab selection that is today's hallway standard. Mårten Friberg shows a

Hat rack by Mårten Friberg and Tulpan for shoes and boots by Martin Gripe. Photo: DAN HANSSON

stylish hat rack, Dan Svensson's elegant solution on a strip with almost hidden hangers is something one would want in several rooms, as is Jonas Bergfeldt's hook Mama, and among the invigorating pieces are Ann Karlholm's delightful hangers in six colours.

An ironing board for last-minute rescues that is also a mirror and a small

SvD

shelf is what Allen Zadek wants to place in the hallway. Among the proposals are several ideas for newspaper recycling: From a neat table proportioned to newspaper format for those with order in their genes, to a smart stand for paper bags, and even more radically, a pallet box with a lid that conceals the entire pile. None of the products are in production yet,

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but the initiators Jerry Hellström and Carina Karlsson hope that interested manufacturers will come to the exhibition.

HEDVIG HEDQVIST

Kulturhuset, Designtorget, Tambur through 14 April

English translation of the original article. Text read from the scanned original; small transcription errors may occur.