note design studio + karolina stenfelt: soot

‘soot’ architect’s desk by note design studio and korlina stenfelt

designer’s own words: good things come from taking risks and cabinetmaker karolina stenfelt certainly took a risk when she gave kristoffer fagerström from note design studio free reign to design her journeyman project at carl malmsten school of furniture. the brief was to create a desk that doesn’t reveal everything at first glance and that stands out in a discreet way. the choice of a desk was the result of the fact that a journeyman project demands certain elements of construction and functions to be accepted for judgment by the jury.

profile view with open lock

kristoffer designed an architect’s ‘black box’ that combines the old analogue approach of built-in rulers, hidden magnets, sketchpaper rolls with new needs like USB hubs and power outlets. ‘pine is fine’ is a shared motto of kristoffer and karolina and the idea of basing the desk solely on swedish pine wood truly put the cabinet maker to the test. in addition, kristoffer wanted to use charred wood as surface finish. pine is a rather soft material and the charring was hopefully going to give the wood a hardened surface. there is no approved technique for charring pine veneer and especially nothing proven to create and conform to the intricate intarsia pattern that covers the desk.

detail of built in rulers

karolina, became tiresome with experimenting with burning veneer and just wanted work to commence.

‘when you have access to a cabinet maker like karolina from of one of the best cabinetmaking schools there is you have to push the envelope a bit,’ kristoffer smirks. contrast was the keyword throughout the project. pine is a versatile material and kristoffer

wanted the desk to express this wood from its very best side to its very ‘worst’. the exterior is covered with the experimental burned veneer

in a fishbone pattern, and when you open the desk the inside is covered with the finest selection of golden pine in the same pattern.

areas in which to store sketch paper rolls are built into the structure

kristoffer designed a tar burned steel frame to carry the ‘black box’. the tar burning of the steel covered the shiny welding forges

along with the rest of the frame with a varied sooted surface. custom made brass fittings as locks, rulers and hinges gleam against

the blackened object, referring to the fire used for burning the veneer. together cabinet maker karolina stenfelt and note design studio

have investigated the possibilities of developing a limited edition series of the desk. the desk is currently exhibited

at carl malmsten schools spring exhibition in stockholm, sweden.

USB hubs and power outlets

drawers

contrast of the burnt exterior with golden pine interior

the veneer is laid out in a fish bone pattern

a custom made brass lock secures contents within the desk

burning the exterior of the desk in order to harden the wood

routering the edge of the desk

detail of the layers of pinewood and smoked veneer

‘soot’ under construction

smoking desk – experimenting with burning veneer

profile view

technical drawings of ‘soot’

front, profile, exploded and top views

profile

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication.