This year, the Virtual Design Destination by the danish digital gallery Adorno will be the place to discover fourteen curated country collections of collectable design during the London Design Festival,12th- 20th of September, featuring more than 200 exclusive pieces.

This year, the Virtual Design Destination by the danish digital gallery Adorno will be the place to discover fourteen curated country collections of collectable design during the London Design Festival,12th- 20th of September, featuring more than 200 exclusive pieces. The theme for this year's first Virtual Design Destination by Adorno is “The New Reality”. The six Icelandic designers join over 100 of their colleagues from around the world. Curators for the Icelandic collection are Hlín Helga Guðlaugsdóttir and María Kristín Jónsdóttir. 

Representing Iceland are designers are Valdís Steinarsdóttir, Studio Flétta (Birta Rós Brynjólfsdóttir og Hrefna Sigurðarsdóttir), Björn Blumenstein, Ýr Jóhannsdóttir, Sigríður Birna Matthíasdóttir and Halldór Eldjárn. 

The Icelandic collection is named Attunement. Through a wide range of work, they are exploring and experimenting with disregarded natural resources and the process of upcycling as well as questioning the interplay between technology and humanity and between technology and other natural phenomena. Set in a glacial landscape, the effect of climate change becomes very real, allowing us to become attuned to earth's very own heartbeat.

 In a new reality lies the opportunity of reinvention and, this time around, in this fleeting moment of transition, the inhabitants of the earth may have the chance to rethink and rebuild in tune with the needs of the planet. This collection portrays work by outstanding Icelandic designers that are doing just that. 

Trophy by Studió Flétta is a handmade collection of functional and sculptural pieces made from old trophies. Trophies are a part of big moments in people’s lives, achievements, and memories. They tell a story of countless hours and strenuous exercises. Björn Steinar Blumenstein’s extensive research into Icelandic Forestry explores the possibilities of sustainable furniture making using the island’s limited amount of trees in a simple conscious way.

Today, a large portion of animal carcasses are disposed of after slaughtering, thereby wasting valuable raw materials like bones. Valdís Steinarsdóttir, who was recently announced Nordic Designer of the year, has designed a series of vases made from animal bones, a natural, strong material similar to the strength to MDF.

It is such a palpable manifestation of the climate crisis, allowing us to become attuned to earth's very own heartbeat, hence the title of the collection “Attunement”. There are about 300 glaciers in Iceland. All of them melting at high speed now and some even disappearing (...) And then, on an even bigger scale there is the Arctic ice cap melting at an unprecedented speed. According to some scientists, the Greenland Ice Sheet is losing 500 gigatons of ice each year, and may have gone beyond the point of no return. Now, in September is the moment where the Arctic sea ice reaches its smallest extent, at the end of the summer season. So this is all very real and we need to act accordingly. All the habitants of the earth - for the future.

This year, the Virtual Design Destination by Adorno will be the place to discover fourteen curated country collections of collectable design during the London Design Festival, featuring more than 200 exclusive pieces. The theme for this year's first Virtual Design Destination by Adorno is “The New Reality”.

Preparations for “The New Reality” were initiated during the surge of COVID-19 in Europe. The curators of the fourteen participating countries have been asked to reflect on specific experiences, thoughts, and themes from the time of lockdown in the curation and art direction of each of their country collections. They have been working with their local designers at the intersection of craft and design to develop sub-narratives to the overarching theme, including gender, urbanisation, climate, isolation, and healing, among others. Using design as a tool for change, “The New Reality” pursues effective and innovative solutions, bringing different knowledges and experiences together through design to investigate what our new reality is.

Announcing “Attunement”, an Icelandic collection curated by @hlinhelgagudlaugsdottir & @staka_tribe for Virtual Design Destination presented by Adorno, launching at the London Design Festival, 12 September 2020.⁠
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Virtual Design Destination will be the premiere location for curated country collections featuring over two-hundred pieces across fourteen countries, launching 12 September 2020. Subscribe for updates @adorno.design⁠
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Featured designers & arists:⁠
@bjornblumenstein, @digitalsigga, @halldorel, @studiofletta, @valdissteinars, & @yrurari⁠
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Supported by: @nordiskkulturkontakt @islandsstofa

Sign up here to enter Virtual Design Destination: New Reality - open from 12th of September to 20th of September. 

The Icelandic participation is in collaboration with Iceland design and architecture with support from Promote Iceland and Embassy of Iceland in London. 

Valdís Steinarsdóttir Nordic designer of the year at Formex Nova 2020

Six Icelandic designers participate in Virtual Design Destination: New Reality by Adorno

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