VERK

VERK featured in RUM no. 6

West Swedish brick, Swedish oak and split leather from Tärnsjö. At Stockholm's new cocktail bar Jokes Aside, design studio Verk has created an interior built almost entirely from materials sourced and processed in Sweden.

How difficult can it be to design a bar using predominantly Swedish materials? Far more difficult than you might expect, even in a country that likes to think of itself as a nation of forests and steel. That is precisely what makes Jokes Aside unusual. Nearly every material used in the project has stayed within Sweden's borders from raw material to finished product.

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"In Sweden today, manufacturing is largely about assembling components," says Simon Anund, co-founder and Creative Director of Verk. "At best, imported products are put together here. At worst, they're simply repackaged."

Jokes Aside is the result of a collaboration between Verk, property developer AMF Fastigheter and award-winning bartender Johan Evers with his business partner Emma Wili-Blomé.
"It has actually helped that Jacop and I have been a little naïve," Anund says, referring to fellow co-founder Jacop Merlini. "Otherwise you never get anything done. Our starting point is often, 'How hard can it be?"

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"Ultimately, it's a logistics problem. The value chains simply aren't there. Sweden has just one independent industrial-scale oak sawmill and only a handful processing birch, but hundreds cutting spruce and pine. Forest owners can't be sure they'll be paid for broadleaf trees, so they plant spruce instead. It becomes a self-perpetuating cycle."

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"I think the future lies in places where you can enjoy a sense of luxury with a clear conscience. Places where someone has already done the work of considering the carbon footprint, the food and the materials. Places where spending an evening has less impact on the planet than staying at home."

TEXT Sofia Hallström
PHOTOGRAPHY Martin Brusewitz

JOKES ASIDE • Stockholm


Tidskriften Rumbrusewitz

Huset Restaurant Svalbard

We are very proud to share the first photos taken by Mariell A Lind Hansen from this beautiful restaurant project by Snöhetta Architets in Svalbard.

Snøhetta
Huset Restaurant lindhansen

Our chair V.AP.01, both stackable and with armrests has find its place in this fine dining concept. VERK has also produced unique tables to blend in with the rest of the historic environment.

The chair designed by Simmer Global is a comfortable sturdy pine chair with an exclusive leather cushion produced by Kallfeldts Läder in vegetable tanned leather from Tärnsjö Garveri.

Located in Longyearbyen, with a long history as a gathering place for the mining community and limited access to fresh ingredients, Huset (the House) is a truly unique fine dining restaurant.⁠
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Drawing on the deep traditions embedded in the building, as well as the constant shifts in light and landscape, the interior has been transformed to match the kitchen's culinary ambitions. The material palette builds on the building's existing character, where whatever materials available often have been used.⁠
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Stained oak in two tones forms the foundation for fixed elements and bespoke furniture, referencing the coffered ceiling of the former cinema hall. Öland stone is carried through from flooring to counters and a large communal table, while red linoleum introduces warmth and durability, echoing the tones of the surrounding landscape. ⁠
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Stainless steel adds a sharp and reflective contrasting layer, recalling the industrial heritage of Svalbard, while panels clad in transparent fabric creates a subtle moiré effect that shifts with changing light conditions and viewpoints.⁠
global Kallfeldts Läderfabrik Tärnsjö Garveri

www.verk.se

Visit from Japan!

Mr Nozaki, who is responsible for VERK's production in Japan, visited us on Friday.

We have succeeded in locally producing VERK’s furniture in Japan under the same principles and production standards as VERK does in Sweden.

Crafted from carefully selected Japanese materials, a new interpretation of VERK’s Nordic design has now taken shape in Japan.

Examples include Japanese vegetable-tanned leather, Hokkaido ash, and recycled feathers for upholstery. Each material chosen with the same attention to sustainability and authenticity that defines our Swedish production.

This represents the future of export thinking - where production is local, yet the vision remains global.

Visit The Conran Shop Tokyo in Azabudai Hills.

Images 1-3+11 from VERK 4-10 from Japan

www.conranshop.jp

www.verk.se

Sought after table

Since people are asking where this table is from, we can confirm that it’s from VERK and is called V.DE.02.  

Made exclusively of solid Swedish oak or birch. Can be purchased untreated or treated with natural linseed oil.

Design by David Ericsson .se

Photos reposted from in Norway

www.verk.se