Soot
To design a desk that didn’t reveal everything at first glance and would stand out in a discreet way was the brief. The result of that a journeyman project demands certain elements of construction and functions to be accepted for judgment by the jury was the choice of a desk. “Black box” that combined the old analogue approach of built-in rulers, hidden magnets, sketchpaper rolls with new needs like USB hubs and power outlets was designed. A shared motto of Kristoffer and Karolina and the idea of basing the desk solely on Swedish pine truly put the cabinet maker to the test was “Pine is fine”. Charred wood was used as surface finish if that wasn’t enough. Pine was a rather soft material. The charring was hoped to give the wood a hardened surface. Creating the intricate intarsia pattern that covered the desk, it had no approved technique for charring pine veneer.
Experimenting with burning veneer, finally results were given and the work could commence. Contrast was the keyword through the project. A versatile material was pine. The desk was wanted to express pine from its very best side to its very ”worst”.
The experimental burned veneer in a fishbone pattern covered the exterior. When the desk was opened, the finest selection of golden pine in the same pattern covered the inside. Carrying the “black box”, Kristoffer designed a tar burned steel frame. The shiny welding forges along with the rest of the frame with a varied sooted surface was covered by the tar burning of the steel. Referring to the fire used for burning the veneer, as locks, rulers and hinges gleam, custom made brass fittings against the sooted surface. The possibilities of developing a limited edition series of the desk was investigated by cabinet maker Karolina Stenfelt and NOTE Design studio. The desk furniture would be showed at Carl Malmsten Schools Spring Exhibition in stockholm, Sweden.
Note Design Studio of Stockholm designed this desk design, which pine veneer covered inside and out in a herringbone pattern, then charred black on the outside. Called Soot, demonstrating her skills while studying at Carl Malmsten School of Furniture, the modern design was designed for cabinetmaker Karolina Stenfelt. Brass fittings and traditional equipment like built-in rulers, hidden magnets and rolls of paper were incorporated, alongside electronic devices like USB ports and power outlets.
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