{"id":152359,"date":"2025-09-22T03:41:27","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T03:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/152359\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T03:41:27","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T03:41:27","slug":"anton-mikkonens-folded-timber-lamp-mimics-a-butterfly-pinned-to-the-wall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/152359\/","title":{"rendered":"Anton Mikkonen’s folded timber lamp mimics “a butterfly pinned to the wall”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emerging Finnish designer Anton Mikkonen has created a selection of sculptural lighting<\/a> and furniture<\/a> pieces to highlight “the beauty in making”, which he presented as part of the Habitare<\/a> fair at Helsinki Design Week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mikkonen<\/a> was selected as one of four designers for Habitare Talents<\/a> \u2013 an annual exhibition<\/a> that spotlights creatives who have begun to make their mark on the industry but may not yet be widely known.<\/p>\n

\"LampTop: photo by Aino Huhtaniemi. Above: Anton Mikkonen’s collection includes a flat-pack folded timber lamp<\/p>\n

The designer showed seven handcrafted pieces made from a mixture of wood<\/a> and steel<\/a>, including a holey shelf and several ambiguous seats, created to celebrate the design process and challenge conventional forms.<\/p>\n

“I don’t see that certain types of furniture should be a certain way,” Mikkonen told Dezeen at Habitare<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“We have these ideas of what a chair is, what a table is. I like to at least try to see things differently.”<\/p>\n

\"Brutalist-style,Void is a brutalist-style, wall-mounted shelf<\/p>\n

Central to the collection is a sconce light made from a single piece of 0.4-millimetre-thick birch plywood<\/a>, laser-cut and folded in half.<\/p>\n

Loosely shaped like a butterfly, the timber can be positioned in a curved formation when attached to the wall, held in place by steam-bent solid birch sticks. Once the sticks are removed, the components can be flat-packed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“I like to think of it as a butterfly pinned to the wall,” said Mikkonen, noting the way in which the lamp’s lightbulb illuminates the thin timber shade from behind.<\/p>\n

\"VolymmiMikkonen’s Volymmi chair is made of Finnish spruce<\/p>\n

Another of the designer’s wooden pieces is Volymmi, an angular but enveloping seat made of pieces of CNC<\/a>-milled Finnish spruce<\/a> wood that were glued together manually.<\/p>\n

Half chair and half stool, the furniture was deliberately crafted to be ambiguous in purpose, true to Mikkonen’s preferred way of working.<\/p>\n

“I felt like it would be a good contrast here at Habitare, because there are lots of companies showing mass-produced pieces,” said Mikkonen.<\/p>\n

\"SideThe designer created a side table from four pieces of interlocking pine<\/p>\n

The designer also presented two more untitled timber pieces as part of the collection \u2013 a side table made from four pieces of interlocking, ink-accented pine<\/a> and a bench-cum-table crafted from black-hued pine.<\/p>\n

Mikkonen’s steel furniture was made by pressing pieces of metal together and welding them by hand, showcasing the “raw process” of their manufacture.<\/p>\n

\"Pear-shapedThe latest piece in the collection features pear-shaped holes<\/p>\n

Void is a brutalist-style, wall-mounted shelf made from a one-millimetre-thick sheet of holey steel. It was crafted to test the boundaries of creating a structure that is rigid but uses minimal material.<\/p>\n

Silhouette is a glass-topped trestle table with striking steel legs made using the same pressing and welding technique, which was originally shown at last year’s 3 Days of Design<\/a> in Copenhagen.<\/p>\n

\"PineMikkonen’s bench-cum-table is made from pinewood. Photo by Henri Vogt<\/p>\n

Mikkonen’s latest metal piece is a squat, untitled stool made from curved components laser-cut with pear-shaped holes.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his furniture, the designer stressed that the works are “all very much prototypes” produced with creative freedom.<\/p>\n

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JKMM Architects wins competition to design Museum of Architecture and Design Helsinki\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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“I think that’s where the beauty in making is,” said Mikkonen. “These are all works that I’ve done mainly for myself, from my own vision. I think that’s when the work is somehow purest.”<\/p>\n

“And if that resonates with someone and they like it, then it’s good,” he added. “Because at that point, you can stand behind your work very strongly.”<\/p>\n

\"SilhouetteThe Silhouette trestle table was first shown at last year’s 3 Days of Design. Photo by Henri Vogt<\/p>\n

Mikkonen is a member of the Helsinki-based collective Minestrone Workshop<\/a>, a “contemporary wood workshop” in the city’s Vallila neighbourhood. The collective celebrated its first birthday during this year’s Helsinki Design Week, where it debuted last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Habitare Talents has previously platformed a slew of rising stars in Finnish design, including the Dezeen Awards 2024 emerging designer of the year and Minestrone Workshop co-founder Didi Ng Wing Yin<\/a> in 2023.<\/p>\n

The photography is courtesy of Anton Mikkonen unless stated as the work of Henri Vogt<\/a> or Aino Huhtaniemi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Helsinki Design Week 2025<\/a> took place from 5 to 14\u00a0 September 2025 at various locations across Helsinki, Finland. See Dezeen Events Guide<\/a>\u00a0for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n