Photo by Carbon Photography
Whilst we’re not claiming that antlers are the sole preserve of Scandinavia or that using antlers in design is purely a Scandinavian aesthetic, it must be said that there are a lot of animals with antlers in the region and they do seem to have crept into the region's iconography in a big way. For as long as we can remember, Scandinavian graphic designers and furniture designers have been inspired to incorporate antlers into their designs. Visit most interior design stores in Scandinavia and you’ll be guaranteed to find at least a chandelier and a coat rack modeled after antlers.
It seems that this trend is on the increase and spreading across the world. There’s a great article in today’s New York Times that discusses the fact that ‘nature is so in’ at the moment and that antlers are the quintessential ‘metaphor for a bucolic ideal’. The article goes on to suggest that whereas the stag was once a symbol of religious regeneration, these days it appeals to everyone who worships modern design.
“Nature — or the appearance of embracing nature — is chic these days. Judging by the direction of fashion and home décor and of-the-moment restaurants and shops, you might mistake Manhattan for Montana. The raw concrete floors and white walls of 1990s minimalism have been swept away. In their place, new boutiques and cafes in the city’s glossier neighborhoods resemble over designed hunting lodges — dark and moody, with uneven floorboards to trip over and, almost inevitably, a set of antlers hanging from the rafters.”
It’s an interesting article with a good accompanying slideshow and both are well worth a look. In amongst the many examples of antlers in design that they cite, there’s even a mention of a couple of our favorite New York stores, Odin and The Freemans Sporting Club.
Great info, thanks a lot!!! I wish I will have such a writing skills.
Posted by: PODO | 21/05/2007 at 08:03