{"id":500696,"date":"2026-06-19T10:24:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T10:24:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/500696\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T10:24:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T10:24:21","slug":"what-happened-at-3-days-of-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/500696\/","title":{"rendered":"What happened at 3 Days of Design?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In recent years, Copenhagen\u2019s 3 Days of Design has emerged as the calmer, saner alternative to the FOMO factory that is Milan Design Week<\/a>. While the festival\u2014which drew more than 460 exhibitors and 60,000 attendees last year\u2014has grown since its scrappy early days, it remains charmingly intimate. There are few lines and fewer QR codes required to enter its showrooms and parties, and attendees will not be shocked to casually find themselves in conversation with a CEO or famous designer over cardamom buns.<\/p>\n

At the same time, since its 2013 launch, the festival has burnished its credentials as a place to debut serious work, with Danish brands in particular choosing it as their starting point on the international circuit. It will never have the scale, spectacle and commercial impact of Milan, but 3 Days has emerged as the cognoscenti\u2019s choice. Kelly Wearstler<\/a> went this year.<\/p>\n

There have been rumblings that the festival will fall victim to its own hype, and you don\u2019t have to look too hard to find claims that another international design fair is \u201cthe next 3 Days.\u201d But for many American designers, the event is still relatively unknown\u2014a delight waiting to be discovered. To recap the most recent edition, we tapped exhibitors and attendees to share their highlights.<\/p>\n

Authentically Human

\n\u201cI was surprised to see how much evidence of the human hand was on display this year. It wandered way beyond the now frequent (and sometimes hollow) mentions of \u2018organic,\u2019 \u2018wabi-sabi\u2019 or \u2018the imperfect.\u2019 Many of the objects that caught my eye in Copenhagen felt unfinished\u2014in the best way. Sculptures made of cracked clay. Fingerprints on ceramic carafes. Glass shapes with random wobbles. Varied, uneven weaves. Rough cement strokes. Next to the abundant crisp, clean sheets of brushed metal furniture, the human handiwork was even more obvious, and brought a sense of warmth and character.\u201d \u2014Jojo Feld, merchandising and product development consultant<\/p>\n

Archival Inspiration

\n\u201cAs many new brands join 3 Days of Design each year, established names are under increasing pressure to stay relevant. I noticed that many of them are looking to the past for inspiration, delving into their archives and reviving classic designs. Brands such as Verpan, &Tradition, Louis Poulsen<\/a>, Hay and Stoff Nagel are reissuing updated versions of iconic pieces based on original drawings. At the same time, minimalism is giving way to a richer, more expressive aesthetic rooted in the styles of the 1970s and 1980s.\u201d \u2014Marian Papadea, interior designer<\/p>\n

\"What<\/p>\n

\nBankston and For Scale\u2019s \u201cHow to Handle\u201d exhibitionCourtesy of Bankston and For Scale\n<\/p>\n

Demystifying AI

\n\u201cAnthropic was an official sponsor this year, with the theme all about slowing down and being present. We noticed a lot of conversation there and online questioning [that choice]. Someone we spoke with called it \u2018a betrayal of craft\u2019 and [as] makers ourselves, we feel that too. But we\u2019re bullish about the opportunities<\/a>, and had to check out the Claude workshop ourselves\u2014and even with the confusion or backlash, it was absolutely packed. We noticed from the Q&A, most people feel behind and scared to start [engaging with AI in their design work]. Almost every question had the same answer: Yes, it can do that. You\u2019re only limited by your imagination, not the AI. What excites us most is how much it lets us stay focused on design itself, while handling the logistics and back end. We\u2019re learning as much as we can every day, and even building our own completely automated operations system [with AI\u2019s help]. The biggest takeaway is that nobody is actually an expert. The only difference is who started experimenting first.\u201d \u2014Sam Colamussi, co-founder of interior design firm Cola Studios<\/p>\n

International Attention

\n\u201cOne of the things that struck us this year is how far 3 Days of Design seems to have outgrown the idea of being a regional or European event. It feels like it has the world\u2019s eyes on it now, sitting alongside Milan and New York. For a brand like ours, it\u2019s become somewhere you want to be to build standing in the international design community, not just for European exposure. You could see it in who was actually there: a real spread of visitors from Taiwan, Korea, Colombia, Poland, Lithuania, and a notably large Australian contingent. On the media side, it felt like maybe 10 percent Scandinavian and 90 percent from everywhere else. What stayed with us is that it\u2019s grown this much while keeping a human scale. It still feels personal rather than overwhelming, which seems increasingly rare at this level.\u201d \u2014Steve Bradley, co-CEO of architectural hardware brand Bankston<\/p>\n

\"What<\/p>\n

\nRoyal Danish Academy\u2019s \u201cHere & Now\u201d showMatteo Bellomo\n<\/p>\n

Analog Allure

\n\u201cI am always drawn to evidence of the handmade and a celebration of craft, which I found in spades this year. The bedding brand Tekla once again staged a breathtaking exhibition on the art of quilting at Charlottenborg Palace with bespoke wooden beds by local rising stars Mentze Ottenstein. There was an abundance of small group shows around town highlighting independent makers. The new design marketplace Aarticles<\/a> staged its first installation, showcasing vintage pieces alongside beautiful work from contemporary artists and makers. It\u2019s proof that the art of the handmade is timeless. I could not resist taking one home for myself. And Max Lamb\u2019s incredible copper chair at V1 Gallery was a standout\u2014somehow he always manages to say something new about this classic typology. It makes me wonder if we are moving away from the sleek industrial design celebrated in years past and moving toward something more analog, longing to surround ourselves with objects connected to the maker\u2019s hand.\u201d \u2014Susan Clark<\/a>, founder of gallery, design studio and manufacturer Radnor<\/a> <\/p>\n

Rising Stars

\n\u201cI liked the student and early-career designer work, in particular at the Ukurant exhibition<\/a> and Royal Danish Academy\u2019s \u201cHere & Now<\/a>\u201d show. From the Royal Danish Academy\u2019s show, it was the learnings the students got from Egypt and the final quality of the work [that jumped out to me].\u201d \u2014Shawn Adams, architect, writer, and co-founder of The POoR Collective<\/p>\n

\"What<\/p>\n

\nTina Frey\u2019s exhibit at the historic Nikolaj Kunsthal, a contemporary arts center inside a former churchBea Vanhala\n<\/p>\n

Purity and Productivity

\n\u201c3 Days of Design is one of the most productive design weeks. The walkable environment makes it a relatively stress-free experience and doesn\u2019t require too much planning. It has the B2B nature of a trade show, as much of the event takes place in furniture showrooms sprinkled throughout Copenhagen. It\u2019s less \u2018see and be seen\u2019 than Milan: There is less of a rush to visit exhibitions simply to post them on Instagram, and more about making actual connections with dealers and wholesale retailers. 3 Days of Design may disappoint out-of-towners looking for the same \u2018wow\u2019 factor they get from the installations in Milan, but I think that also helps keep out people who aren\u2019t there for business reasons. We need to maintain some purity there!\u201d \u2014Julia Haney Montanez<\/a>, founder of The Design Release and retail director of furniture store Leibal<\/p>\n

An Intriguing Landscape

\n\u201cSince first visiting 3 Days of Design in 2024<\/a>, and actually exhibiting in 2025<\/a> and again this year<\/a>, we have noticed that the fair has definitely grown in number of exhibiting brands, and it is attracting a very international audience. This year, there were around 560 exhibitors compared to over 400 the year before. As a result of this growth, the spaces where brands presented have also become more interesting. For example, [we] presented in a beautiful historical space at Nikolaj Kunsthal, one of the oldest churches in central Copenhagen. The building\u2019s history \u2026 provided a beautiful contrast for showcasing our new Cosmic collection of lighting and vessels. \u2026 We plan to return in 2027 in the same space!\u201d \u2014Tina Frey<\/a>, sculptor, founder of Tina Frey Designs<\/p>\n

\"What<\/p>\n

\nTekla\u2019s exhibition on the art of quilting at Charlottenborg PalaceGio Staiano\n<\/p>\n

Create-A-Mood

\n\u201cWhat struck me most during this year\u2019s 3 Days of Design was the growing confidence of the industry. Many exhibitions were less focused on individual products and more focused on communicating a universe, a philosophy and a way of living. Design, art, architecture, craftsmanship, sound, and even gastronomy increasingly blended together, creating experiences that encouraged reflection and inspiration rather than immediate commercial outcomes. The remarkable international attendance reinforced the sense that Copenhagen has become a global meeting point where people come not only to discover new products, but to exchange ideas and discuss the future role of design. At Bergs Potter, we experienced this firsthand. Some of the strongest feedback we received was not about a specific product, but about the atmosphere we created. We consciously worked with tactility, architecture, sound, taste and emotion to create a sensory experience rather than a traditional exhibition.\u201d \u2014Christian Richard Andersen, chief product officer of Bergs Potter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In recent years, Copenhagen\u2019s 3 Days of Design has emerged as the calmer, saner alternative to the FOMO…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":500697,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[437,434,435,436,438,146,85,46,230239],"class_list":["post-500696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-what-happened-at-3-days-of-design"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/500697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}