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Product news: Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta showed this range of blankets in New York.

Snøhetta first presented the Mountain Fold blankets as prototypes for traditional Norwegian firm Røros Tweed tweed last year, but they’re now going into production alongside two new designs by the firm called Color Noise and Islandskap.

The Mountain Fold design features a seemingly abstract geometric design, but is meant to represent the Snøhetta mountain – after which the firm was named – when folded in a certain way.

It comes in six different colours representing six different architecture projects by the studio.

The two new designs were chosen from an internal competition between all the company’s designers.

All the blankets are made of 100% Norwegian sheep’s wool.

The range was on show at ICFF in New York last month, when Dezeen was in town as part of our Dezeen and MINI World Tour. Watch our first movie report from New York, in which Stephen Burks talks about how the city is evolving.

Based in Oslo and New York, Snøhetta recently broke ground on the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art extension.

See all our stories about architecture by Snøhetta »
See all our stories from New York 2013 »
See more blanket designs »

Here’s some more information from Røros Tweed:

At the 2013 ICFF, Røros Tweed, the traditional Norwegian Blanket manufacturer, announced the American launch of several new blankets designed by Snøhetta: the Snøhetta Mountain Fold, Color Noise, and Islandskap.

The first design was announced last year when the Mountain Fold was commissioned by Paul Makovsky of Metropolis Magazine, curator of the Inside Norway booth at ICFF 2012. The design was produced as a prototype but due to the overwhelmingly positive response, it will be available at American retailers in August 2013.

By following the strict graphic pattern, the Snøhetta Mountain Fold can be folded into the profile of the mountain Snøhetta at Dovre in Norway, the namesake of the architecture and design studio. The blanket is available in 6 different colors representing 6 different architectural projects designed by Snøhetta.

Each blanket can be also arranged or folded in a different way, presenting itself with different amount of pattern and color, and may serve as a blanket pillow due to its puffy nature when folded.

Following the success of the Mountain Fold blanket, Snøhetta has developed two additional designs, both representing a graphic presentation of architecture in abstract forms. Islandskap and Color Noise were developed after Snøhetta held an internal contest amongst all of its designers from New York and Oslo.

Retailers carrying the Røros Tweed brand include Anthropologie, Design Within Reach and Scandinavian House. Røros Tweed blankets are made out of 100% Norwegian high quality sheep wool.

The post Blankets by Snøhetta
for Røros Tweed appeared first on Dezeen.

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Product news: London print designers Eley Kishimoto teamed up with Icelandic design collective Vík Prjónsdóttir for DesignMarch in Reykjavík last week, where they presented a seal-shaped blanket inspired by an Icelandic folk tale.

Above: photograph c/o Eley Kishimoto

First designed by Vík Prjónsdóttir in 2005, the Seal Pelt was designed in reference to the mythical story about a woman who has to choose between being a seal or a human and is transformed after clothing herself with a seal’s skin and fur.

The “remixed” Seal Pelt features a pattern of squirrel graphics by Eley Kishimoto. Guðfinna Mjöll Magnúsdóttir of Vík Prjónsdóttir told Dezeen: “The Seal Pelt has now been united with the great squirrel. These two animals, that until now have not been in a close relationship, will from this moment be knitted together.”

Above: Papageno

The designers presented the Seal Pelt at the Culture House during DesignMarch. They also showed Papageno, a stripy blanket inspired by the colourful feathers of a parrot, which is the latest addition in the bird collection. Other blankets in this range include The Raven, The Flamingo and The Swan.

Above: The Swan

Each piece is woven from Icelandic sheep’s wool.

Above: The Flamingo

Past projects by Vík Prjónsdóttir include blankets inspired by the local landscape and one based on an erupting volcano.

Above: The Raven

Design March took place from 14 to 17 March.

Photography is by Ari Magg, apart from where otherwise stated.

Here’s some more information about the Seal Pelt and Papageno:

The Seal Pelt – Folktale

In the Icelandic myths, seals are believed to be condemned by humans. One ancient story from the south of Iceland is about a farmer who early one morning finds a seal pelt laying on the beach. In a cave nearby, he hears voices and music. He takes the seal pelt home and hides it in a wooden chest. Few days later he returns to the beach and finds a crying, naked, young woman sitting on a rock. He brings her to his house where she stays, but he never tells her about the pelt. As time goes by they get married and have children. But the young woman is restless and often stares quietly out of the window at the ocean. One day when the farmer goes fishing, his wife accidentally finds the key of the chest, opens it and discovers the missing pelt. She takes leave of her children, puts the pelt on and before she dives into the ocean she says: “ I am vary anxious, with seven children on land an seven in the sea.” She never comes back but the farmer misses her terribly. Later when he goes fishing there often is a seal near his boat and its eyes are filled with tears. It is said that the farmer becomes a very lucky fisherman. And when his children play at the beach there often is a seal swimming close to land. Sometimes it brings them beautiful stones and colorful fishes. But their mother never returned.

Papageno

The Papageno is a new blanket from Vík Prjónsdóttir and a part of the evolving bird blanket collection. The birds that have until now been part of the Vík Prjónsdóttir collection are the Sea Eagle and the Raven, both of these birds play a big role in the wildlife of Iceland. The Papageno represents the parrot, a bird that is very exciting and exotic in the eyes of Vík Prjónsdóttir.

The post Seal Pelt Remix by Eley Kishimoto
and Vík Prjónsdóttir appeared first on Dezeen.