Two Standout Exhibits from Copenhagen’s 3daysofdesign, as seen by Cult

Copenhagen’s annual “3daysofdesign” returned this year, transforming the city into a global design hotspot. Over the event’s three days, showrooms and galleries across the Danish capital opened their doors, exhibiting curated displays of new product and innovative design to the best in the European and global design scene.

Each year, Australian design retailer Cult makes the pilgrimage to the furniture fair, scouting for the latest furniture and lighting from some of Scandinavia’s most prolific design houses. For 2024, the likes of HAY, Fritz Hansen, and &Tradition, were all on Cult’s itinerary, as well as the iconic names and showrooms of Carl Hansen & Søn, and GUBI.

A family affair

Carl Hansen & Søn is a third-generation family-run Danish business that epitomises the Scandinavian design ethos. For over 160 years, the Hansen lineage has preserved a dedication to craftsmanship and an aesthetic typology that combines quality materials with simple, functional design. From their sun-drenched showroom in Copenhagen, the brand’s exhibit included a display of their iconic products, where their trademark buttery woodgrains were on show as chairs, tables, and product installations.

3daysofdesign also saw the brand launch the latest instalments to their “Sideways Series”, a collection produced in collaboration with Danish designer Rikke Frost. Maintaining the modern, rounded motif that defines the series, the new Sideways Lounge Chair and Coffee Table are light and playful additions to the existing collection.

Leveraging Carl Hansen & Søn’s intuitive approach to materiality, Frost’s designs are balanced and exacting. The Lounge Chair’s bowed timber body, upholstered seat, and paper cord backing are deceptively complex, with firm padding creating a smooth and crease-free finish that defies the curvature of the frame. The Coffee Table is similarly precise, with a spherical, reviserable top supported by wrapped legs in a slim profile. Small brass fittings form the connection between the table and its legs, a hint at the quality and design instinct imbued in the entire collection.

Tactile Encounters

The elegant minimalism of Carl Hansen & Søn was juxtaposed by GUBI, where a rich tapestry of jewel-toned pieces created an immersive, sensory experience.

A global design house that melds timeless icons with the creative talents of today, GUBI is on the precipice of past and future. GUBI works with visionary collaborators to revive and reimagine pieces and typologies from the design archives, and have assembled a timeless, inventive, and intercontinental collection of furniture, lighting and interior objects that merge function with meaning.

Their 3daysofdesign exhibition, Tactile Encounters, invited visitors to explore the intersection of colour and texture, and the subsequent emotions that come from this exchange. Of their new launches, a new take on Mathieu Matégot’s Bagdad Lamp was an instant favourite. The 70 year old design has been made portable and futuristic, maintaining Matégot’s signature ‘rigitulle’ technique to create an icosahedral form that  can be positioned both vertically and at a variety of different angles to create an interactive design piece.

From the refined eclecticism of GUBI to the sleek and understated ethos of Carl Hansen & Søn, 3daysofdesign was a showcase of furniture and textiles that champion quality, craftsmanship, and authentic design voices. Amongst their local and international brands, Cult are set to capture the allure of the Scandinavian aesthetic, bringing the latest releases from both collections to their collection available in-store and online.