Brand Week: Northern

Modern and innovative design from Norway

Northern is a young and innovative brand from Norway, with inspiration from the Nordic landscapes, ice blue oceans and breathtaking fjords. Northern also represents the Nordic design philosophy with lots of talent and new ideas.

The new, Norwegian brand has created some very unique and innovative products and the style is familiar and modern. In this article, we’re having a closer look on some of the most exciting products from Northern and illuminate the thought-process and approach to new designs.

The Oslo Wood Floor

Let’s start with the most popular lamp, the Oslo Wood . The lamp became popular in Scandinavia a few years ago and holds the essence of Northern’s design philosophy.

The designer, Ove Rogne, has with this lamp created a tribute to city lights, shining through the tree tops. The light on the lamp, diffused by the cloth screen, imitates the glow of city lights on a winter night, rising up through the tree tops and in to the night sky.

The lamp is a simple and elegant construction, with an upwards-facing and adjustable screen. The light is directed upwards, with a warm glow from the cloth screen, where the light shines through.
Use the lamp in a corner, where you need ambient lighting – perhaps in the office or the hall.

The Diva Floor Lamp

This floor lamp is both beautiful and wildly interesting. Here, Northern has followed the Nordic trend of making lamps with wood panels, a technique you might know from Finnish Secto. The idea is actually the same, with the wood panels working as a shade and the light escaping through the cracks.

The designers, Peter Natedal and Thomas Egset have chosen to use plywood laminated with either oak or walnut. This makes the design a bit rawer and sturdier than on Secto’s lamps.

The noticeable thing about this model, is that the cylinder can stand on both ends. This makes it possible to change the style when needed and it is always nice to have different options with the same lamp.

The construction is very beautiful and whether the lamp is on or off, it will serve as a beautiful sculpture in the room. Definitely, one of the best and most relevant designs from Northern.

The Heat Pendant

The Heat-pendant is a fun, modern and bohemian design from Johanna Forsberg.  The layout is simple, with an LED-bulb in the middle and a cloud made from a steel net in a wonderful brass color. The design works really well as a whole and the net lights up when the lamp is turned on.

The design is inspired by the French bohemian style and can be a bit more difficult to implement in Nordic interior, than some of Northern’s other products. If you do have interior that matches the lamp, it will create perfect, cozy lighting in your living room or your kitchen.

The Buddy Series

Next, we’ll have a look at the new Buddy-series , designed by Danish Mads Sætter-Lassen. The design is charming, minimalistic and the lamps are designed to become your new buddies.

The series contains a table lamp , a floor lamp and a wall light , all with a dimmer switch attached. The table lamp, apart from a small, adjustable shade, has a cup at the bottom, designed to keep your pens, rulers or whatever you might need by your desk. A very functional and charming design, making the lamp an integrated part of your office.

On the wall light you’ll see the same soft and simple design, made to be combined with another Buddy lamp. The wall light is small, but functional and works in many different rooms. You could use it as a reading light by your bed or on a row in the hall.

The Buddy Floor lamp is just as stylish as the rest of the series. Here you have an adjustable floor lamp, with a heavy base and a thin rod, leading up to a small shade. You get a dimmer-switch on this model as well, placed on the base of the lamp. The design is made to be a functional reading light, when needed, but also to create ambient lighting for cozy situations.

All of the lamps come in white and dark grey, but you can also choose the more charming, Nordic colors dark green or warm beige. The matte finish and soft edges on the lamps works together really well to create a soft, natural and modern exterior.

The Birdy Series

Northern is another brand who decided to revive an old, original design. The Birdy-series was designed in 1952 by Norwegian Birger Dahl and was originally brought to market by Norwegian brand Sønnico. In 1954, the lamp won gold at the Milan Triennale.

In 2013, Northern relaunched the beautiful and unique design in a floor lamp , a table lamp and two wall lights – a short and a long version . The design is both modern and charming and if you combine several lamps in the series, you are guaranteed a stylish and complete expression. The lamp comes in grey, white and black – and you can choose brass details to make the design more exclusive. The table lamp also comes in a Marsala red, as seen below.

A cool lamp with lots of history, that could be a new alternative to some of the classic, Danish designs.