Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.03.2011, Síða 44

Introducing The Grapevine Product Awards
For Andrea Maack, who according to
our panel of experts made ‘the Product
of 2010’, being an artist doesn't neces-
sarily entail working solely within the
confines of sight or sound. A visual art-
ist mostly known for her delicate, swirly
pencil drawings, Andrea ventured into
new territory with her perfume series:
‘Smart’, ‘Craft’, and ‘Sharp’. With the help
of grants from the Icelandic govern-
ment, perfumer Renaud Coutaudier,
and a slew of PR people, Andrea
transformed what was once a playful
aspiration to see if scent could carry her
art into a high-end product that is now
sold in seven countries.
FROM DIY TO COUTURE
Andrea says she wanted to create
wearable sculptures and perfumes
that walk the line between charming
the eyes and noses of consumers and
contributing to an ongoing conversa-
tion within the artworld. She doesn't
hesitate to say she wanted to create a
product out of her art, "an out of this
world perfume that you wear and see
your future."
Andrea embarked on her aromatic
adventure by buying a DIY perfume kit
off the internet and trying her hand at
some couture chemistry. Though she
didn't burn off her eyebrows or instigate
any allergic reactions in the process,
she thought it better to enlist a profes-
sional if she wanted to get anywhere
close to the high-end feel she was
hoping for. So she got in contact with
Coutaudier, a professional perfumer
that works for ARF arômes et Perfumes.
For over a year during 2008 and
2009, Andrea and Coutaudier cor-
responded via snail mail. Andrea sent
Coutaudier her drawings and he trans-
lated them into three perfumes—each
bearing different personalities, like chil-
dren feuding for their mother's atten-
tion. ‘Smart’ is the sweet, modest older
sister, least damaged by family woes,
and born when her parents were still
idealist and young. ‘Craft’ is undoubt-
edly the middle child, the one with a
zesty temper, who listens to metal alone
in his room. He takes the most effort to
get to know, but it's a friendship that
pays off in the end. ‘Sharp’ is the free-
spirited youngest sister that wears soft,
flowing skirts and orange blossoms in
her hair.
FAMILY TIME
In an attempt to bring the family togeth-
er, Andrea exhibited all three together
at Reykjavík’s Spark Design Space in
2010. The perfumes, she said, ended
up complimenting each other well.
At this point, they are only available
individually, but in the future she plans
to release them together as a collection.
For the most part, customers buy just
one of her perfumes at a time: North
Americans generally prefer ‘Smart’,
‘Sharp’ appeals to Britons, and Eastern
Europeans often chose ‘Craft’. Iceland-
ers, on the other hand, are impartial.
As for Andrea, she loves all three
perfumes equally, like any good mother
would. Each perfume has "such a
strong connection to the shows they
were created for," that when she wears
them she's overwhelmed with nostalgia,
she said. "For the first year I only wore
‘Craft’. But now I’m moving back to
‘Smart’ for a day scent. ‘Sharp’ is a
great one to have for special occasions
or important meetings. It gives me a lot
of confidence."
In the next few months, the per-
fumes will be sold in an additional six
countries and, said Andrea, two more
little ones are on the way too.
- Vanessa Schipani
Vík Prjónsdóttir was born in 2005, the
brainchild of five Icelandic designers in
collaboration with Víkurprjón, the knit-
ting factory where their brilliant woollen
knits come to life. Today, Brynhildur
Pálsdóttir, Guðfinna Mjöll Magnúsdót-
tir and Þuríður Sigurþórsdóttir are the
three designers behind the brand being
awarded Grapevine’s “Product Line of
2010 Award”.
“We talk about Vík Prjónsdóttir as a
person,” says Guðfinna. “She has trav-
elled and experienced much in the last
five years, gaining inspiration from not
just the area around the factory in Vík,
but also from around the world. She is
very curious. Wherever she goes, she is
always investigating the things that she
finds interesting.”
This maturity and acquired worldli-
ness that Guðfinna speaks of is evident
in the new product line of blankets.
Guðfinna and team knit stories into
each of their products based on a
combination of inspirations taken from
books, cities, nature and their own
stories.
“We find a way to transfer the
stories into our blankets,” Guðfinna
explains. “For instance, the blanket
called, ‘The Hidden World,’ is inspired
by Alaskan shamanism. The division of
colour is meant to represent the natural
and spiritual worlds, as well as the hu-
man and animal worlds. It is dedicated
to people who bridge these two worlds,
like the Alaskan shaman, whose large
healing hands are represented on the
blanket.”
In addition to the five blankets, their
product line now includes scarves for
the first time. The first one, called ‘The
Healing Hands,’ comes from the hands
of the Alaskan shaman on ‘The Hidden
World’ blanket. Vík Prjónsdóttir was
fascinated by the shaman costume
and his hands that heal and drive out
evil spirits. The second one, called
‘The Wing,’ comes from the ‘Shield of
Wings’ blanket and is inspired by the
Sea Eagle, which boasts a wingspan
up to 2,5 metres. Wearing the wing is
supposed to put you under the eagle’s
protection.
‘The Wing’ scarf will make its public
debut during DesignMarch. In an exclu-
sive four-day event, Vík Prjónsdóttir will
lug its sewing machines from Vík and
set up factory on Laugavegur. The de-
signers along with the craftsmen from
the factory will be there running the
show. And it will be possible to watch
the making of the scarves, which will
then be available for purchase, “straight
of the press,” as Guðfinna says.
Part of the reason they want to
spotlight the factory and the produc-
tion process is because Vík Prjónsdóttir
and Víkurprjón, the factory, feel very
honoured to have received the Innova-
tion award from the Association of
Craftsmen in Reykjavík last month.
“Even though the products are
knitted in machines, there are so many
hands behind it because everything is
hand cut out and sewn by someone
who is controlling the sewing machine,”
Guðfinna explains. “You don’t just put
the factory on play and out comes the
product. So we want this to be a live ac-
tion event with all the steam and sweat,
as if it were the real factory.”
But it also has to do with Vík
Prjónsdóttir’s values of transparency
and honesty towards the production.
“It’s all about traceability,” Guðfinna
says. “It’s important for consumers to
think about the origin of products and
how they are made. As a consumer you
make a choice every time you decide
to buy something as to what kind of
production you support. One has to
think ‘What kind of consumer do I want
to be?’”
Admittedly Guðfinna says she can’t
place everything she owns, but empha-
sises that the change must start with
awareness. “If we ever want to change
human rights, it has to start with con-
sumers. And as a designer making new
products, it’s very important to decide
where you want to stand.”

WHAT NExT?
More adventures both here and abroad,
but also some practical stuff. At the
moment we are working a lot on Vík
Prjónsdóttir’s infrastructure, strength-
ening and supporting her for the next
steps. We are also working on our on-
line shop that we will hopefully launch
in the spring.
-Anna Andersen
Brynhildur Pálsdóttir and Guðfinna
Mjöll Magnúsdóttir are also the design
directors for the project, Farmers and
Designers, which will be introduced at
Design March. They will be giving a talk
about that project at the Nordic House
on March 25 at 9:00.
Andrea Maack Eau de Perfum, Best Product
Art you can smell!
Vík Prjónsdóttir,
Best Product Line
New Additions At
The Armoury
Well-defined, cultured and vivid, the designs
of Sruli Recht and Megan Herbert comple-
ment each other perfectly. Both of them are
familiar without being derivative, modest
without being safe, and stark without being
cold. And both are presenting new eye
catching product lines this year. We paid their
studio a visit for a look...
Sruli’s new wool-and-leather clothing
line, ‘When Gravity Fails: A Diagonal Line For
Men,’ is the result of his collaboration with
Atlantic Leather, an Icelandic leather tannery.
It’s quite striking, a collection of grey, white,
brown and crimson that seems to make
equal use of tight and loose, with wonderfully
theatrical results.

Megan’s ‘Giving’ is a selection of intricate
graphic textures that adds verve and taste to
a woefully underutilized and normally hor-
rendously tacky design space: gift-wrapping
paper. ‘Giving’ uses mostly muted colours to
create a variety of patterns, some familiar and
some novel, ranging from the linear simplicity
of ‘Time’ to the literally labyrinthine ‘Guid-
ance’.
The couple (married since last summer)
share a gallery, Vopnabúrið (The Armoury),
out on Grandi, where their latest work is
currently on display. Pay them a visit at Hól-
maslóð 4, or at www.srulirecht.com and www.
meganherbert.com
- Sindri Eldon
Design in Times of
Changes

“Since the collapse of the Icelandic financial
system and ongoing similar trends around the
world during the last decade, many designers
and other creative people realise that some
have even been working with a feeling of
guilt,” says Guðmundur Oddur Magnússon
(Goddur), professor at the Icelandic Academy
of Arts. Goddur has rounded up acclaimed
designers—Jerszy Seymour from Berlin, Siggi
Eggertsson from Iceland, Winy Mass from
the Netherlands and Ilka Suppanen from
Finland—to discuss the designer’s role in this
time of changes.
At the discussion, the renowned (and
aforementioned) Jerszy will be giving a talk
entitled ‘A New World Adventurers Guide’.
We called him up for some of his thoughts
on the matter, and learned in the process
that his lecture will mainly revolve around his
work, “which begins with the understanding
that the volcano is a metaphor for the human
psyche. That means the chance release of the
subconscious libido and instinctual forces, the
idea of the controlling forces of the ego and
the superego, which becomes the guide for
navigating the world.”
We went on to have a fascinating conver-
sation with Jerszy involving everything from
“the life paradox” to his ideas on an “Amateur
Utopia.” Read the full interview with the
fascinating visionary on our website, www.
grapevine.is, right now, and then go witness
him in action at Tjarnarbíó on March 24 at
10:00.
Photo by Marinó Thorlacius