In character: Showroom uses fiction to sell wares

In a new collaboration with Finnish furniture company Artek and London-based Studio Ilse, Vitra has refurbished the loft as the home of fictional Finnish-German couple, Harri and Astrid.

The loft reveals the character of this couple through the furniture they choose and the way it is styled. Studio Ilse curated the design pieces, considering the lifestyle of Harri and Astrid, a musician and a set designer, respectively.

‘We wanted to think beyond the furniture and lighting and beyond the bland commercialisation of design, to convey real life in all its layers and eccentricities,’ says Studio Ilse founder Ilse Crawford. ‘It was vital to bring out the intellectual spirit of the minds and hands that made these things. These pieces are stories of real life and courageous intentions to raise the quality of everyday living. To see them as museum exhibits or sales units is a profound injustice to their creators.’

It is interesting to see Vitra and Artek's shared values being translated into fictional characters. We have seen a growth of lived-in spaces that are more than what they seem. See our Seeds on The Apartment and Freunde von Freunden for more.