Scandinavian Stories – Upcoming Design Presentations at Great Dane

Words by Rose Onans
Photography by Great Dane

For the past five years, following Stockholm Furniture Fair and Design Week, Great Dane has hosted design presentations in Sydney and Melbourne. Now, for the first time, this year’s presentation, Scandinavian Stories, will also take place in Brisbane and Perth.

For Great Dane, the Stockholm Furniture Fair and the satellite events that take place around the city during Stockholm Design Week represent a valuable opportunity to see first-hand the latest in the world of Scandinavian design. Each year, Great Dane founder Anton Asaad and creative director Megan Marshall travel to Sweden to source new products and suppliers, and, for the past five years, they have held design presentations at the Great Dane showrooms on their return.

Each year, Great Dane founder Anton Asaad and creative director Megan Marshall travel to Sweden to source new products and suppliers, and, for the past five years, they have held design presentations at the Great Dane showrooms on their return.

Scandinavian Stories promises to be a fascinating foray into the Scandinavian design landscape. (Top) Photos courtesy of String. (Bottom) Photo courtesy of Fredericia.

This year’s presentation is titled Scandinavian Stories and will be held not only in Melbourne and Sydney but for the first time will also be brought to Brisbane and Perth. Scandinavian Stories traverses Megan and Anton’s time spent at the fair and in Stockholm and also their travels in Sweden and Finland. During a busy 16 days, they visited showrooms, design studios, workshops and factories (both of emerging furniture designers and some of Scandinavia’s oldest and most well-known furniture makers) as well as the Savoy Helsinki, designed by Aino and Alvar Aalto in 1937 and recently sensitively renovated by Studioilse.

Covering Megan and Anton’s observations on the current state of the design industry in Scandinavia, to the trend toward a natural and subdued palette, to their meetings and encounters with everyone from the directors of established brands to local makers and designers, Scandinavian Stories promises to be a fascinating foray into the Scandinavian design landscape.

During a busy 16 days, they visited showrooms, design studios, workshops and factories as well as the Savoy Helsinki, designed by Aino and Alvar Aalto in 1937 and recently sensitively renovated by Studioilse.