For over 30 years the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) has been at the forefront of wood promotion in Europe, successfully building a distinctive and creative brand for US hardwoods. AHEC’s support for creative design projects such as Discovered, Designposts and Connected for the London Design Festival demonstrate the performance potential of these sustainable materials and provide valuable inspiration. 

AHEC has pioneered the modelling of environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for hardwoods, an approach that has since been adopted by other industries. LCA measures a number of impacts: primary energy demand (from renewable and non-renewable resources); global-warming potential; acidification potential; eutrophication potential; and photochemical ozone-creation potential.

www.americanhardwood.org 

@ahec_europe

One of the greats of mid-century design, Hans Bølling was born in 1931 and graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts’ School of Architecture in 1960. Alongside a body of work encompassing everything from town halls and private residences to playful wooden figures, Bølling’s most famous contribution to the golden era of Danish furniture from the mid-20th century is the iconic Tray Table from 1963, which has been continuously produced at Brdr. Krüger’s wood workshop ever since.

Founded as a woodturning workshop in 1886 by brothers Theodor and Ferdinand Krüger, today Brdr Krüger is a self-producing design company, whose furniture is exclusively produced in Denmark. The commitment to craftsmanship has been nurtured by the Krüger family for five generations, ensuring the same high quality in every piece that leaves the workshop. 

Brdr. Krüger’s design DNA is born of the aesthetics of the mid-century Danish modern movement, reinterpreted for a contemporary audience. With a design philosophy that encourages originality, honesty and playfulness, Brdr. Krüger seeks to bring a new turn on tradition, in close creative partnership with prominent designers and architects of the times.

Brdr-kruger.com

@brdrkruger

Finding inspiration in the relationship between nature and human beings, Sara Martinsen is a Danish designer and artist working with natural materials such as wood and plant fibre. She believes that our knowledge of materials become diluted over time as we have become distanced from the source of the materials we consume, In response, she deploys natural materials to encourage the viewer to experience and enjoy their inherent characteristics, connect with their senses and remember that good materials take time to grow – and should be valued accordingly.

saramartinsen.com

@frk_vinthermartinsen