In a sun-soaked space in Manhattan’s NoMad district, a new venture has come to light that brings together two design-focused businesses, decades of Scandinavian design and some carefully selected modern-day pieces as well.
Showroom co-owners Therés Lorén and Carly Krieger were on the hunt for a space where they could combine the offerings of their two businesses — respectively, Studio Nordic, a gallery specializing in 20th-century design including furniture, lamps, rugs and decorative objects, and Past Lives Studio, an interior design firm and vintage dealer specializing in restored 19th and 20th-century furniture and decorative arts — with the modern-day designs of Cuff Studio, for which their showroom is the exclusive East coast representative. The showroom partners say they instantly fell in love with the high ceilings, hardwood floors and abundant light streaming through the windows of the 9th-floor, salon-style location that now houses their finds.
The warm, expansive space, with its seamless blend of vintage and new, was designed to make guests feel as though they’re visiting their friend’s impeccably designed living room, not a showroom. Recent additions to the selection include new pieces from Cuff Studio’s latest Within collection, which is rooted in materiality and explores materials like patinated bronze and cast glass. The pieces are at home amid an always evolving vintage assortment, with new arrivals from near and far and across the decades keeping it fresh and interesting, and someplace for the design-curious to return to again and again.
aspire design and home Deputy Editor Jennifer Quail talked with the women who brought this idea and showroom to life.
Jennifer Quail: How did this style of design become your passion and your business? What makes it stand out to you in the world of design?
Therés Lorén: As a native Swede, I grew up seeing a lot of the design that I now sell via Studio Nordic. I think the interest in craftsmanship and design history was always there, and part of my upbringing in a town that used to be a textile center in Sweden during the 20th century. It was not until I moved abroad and noticed the large interest in Scandinavian design that I understood how unique and high-quality the mid-20th-century design produced in my home country was. It stands out on the international market for its balanced design of beauty and timelessness but also for its practical function in the home.
Carly Krieger: Past Lives will always be a layered practice of mixing furniture, lighting and decorative pieces from different time periods, geographic regions and design styles. My appreciation for the Swedish Grace movement (1915 – 1930) is what motivated me to broaden my sourcing beyond Italian, French and American and to focus on Scandinavian design. The refined style emerged as a reaction to the overly ornate styles of the late 19th century. It incorporates the ornamentation of traditional neoclassical motifs but with a more pared-down, modern and refined take, practicing restraint while still exploring playful geometric and sculptural forms.
JQ: Do you have a particular time period or designer from history that is a favorite? Or perhaps there’s a present designer whose work you especially admire?
CK: I have a particular appreciation for Sylvia Stave (1908 – 1994), who was a prolific silversmith who sadly stopped practicing her craft halfway through her life in 1940 upon her move to France. From 1931 to 1939 she was the artistic director of CG Hallberg, completely redefining Swedish pewter and silver through her uniquely modernist style. For such a raw talent and visionary, she is not particularly well known. Her work was often copied or reproduced without credit. Sylvia was a futurist, her designs are timeless, and with the more recent mainstream interest in the Art Deco movement, her designs are gaining more widespread recognition.
TL: I do love the period called Swedish Modern, from 1930 to the 1950s, because of its organic shapes and soft curves, nature in the form of leaves and flowers featured on mirrors, pewter objects and vases. I do want to call out Kerstin Hörlin-Holmqvist who was a Swedish furniture designer hired by the department store Nordiska Kompaniet. It was rare for a woman at that time to design large collections of furniture. Her Paradiset collection is a particular favorite of mine.
JQ: How did you come to open a studio together? Is the intention to still operate as separate businesses?
TL: We had worked together a few years ago through a group show in Chelsea and we both felt the natural step forward for our businesses would be to open a permanent physical space where we could display the best of our collections. The plan is to continue working as two different brands as we think that we each have a unique look and bring something individual to the space. That we also function as the sole East Coast outpost for Cuff Studio is very exciting and gives us a chance to show our vintage pieces along with contemporary design.
CK: While our collections overlap in that we both collect pieces from modern Scandinavian designers, we also have different sensibilities and I also collect pieces from Japan, Italy, France and the U.S. My collection tends to be more focused on decorative pieces while Studio Nordic is more furniture focused. I think we are really hitting that sweet spot where we agree on an overall look and aesthetic, while still maintaining enough things setting us apart to maintain our separate businesses.
The Showroom by Studio Nordic and Past Lives Studio
143 West 29th St New York, NY
By Appointment Only
Photography by Jonathan Hökklo.
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