PRESS RELEASE
Release date: January 2006
Furniture design – working outside the Scandinavian bubble
Wenche Taugbøl, 26, is from Høvik, and a graduate of the Rosenvilde VGS. She is now in her third and final year on the BA (Hons) Product and Furniture Design course at Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication in London.
“Until I came to Ravensbourne I had not realised how big and influential Scandinavian design was in the rest of the World,” said Wenche.
“When you live in Norway you just accept it. It’s good to get a different perspective and to work outside of the Scandinavian design bubble: the English influence is about thinking differently about how you come up with a product. English design is very conceptual and architectural – I have found my time studying at Ravensbourne inspirational.”
The course includes the study of materials and manufacturing processes. Ravensbourne’s close association with the creative industries means that students also get the experience of working on design briefs from prestigious companies.
Since studying at Ravensbourne Wenche has had the opportunity to work on live projects for Saab and Isokon Plus – a well known manufacturer of classic plywood furniture.
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“It was a really good brief,” explained Wenche. “It had clear instructions and had to fit into the company’s ethos. The brief was to make anything for the home, but the constraint was; it could only be made in plywood and we could only use one mould to shape the plywood. I wanted to make a lounge table that integrated tableware with the table so, with the constraints in mind I had to work hard to integrate the tableware and make it look aesthetically pleasing. My design worked really well and I ended up with a product that I was very pleased with.
“It was a really good brief,” explained Wenche. “It had clear instructions and had to fit into the company’s ethos. I think I came up with a really good design. I wanted to integrate a decoration which would normally be put on to a lounge table into the table itself. So, I designed a table which had a fruit bowl integrated into it.”
In addition to product and furniture design Wenche is also developing interior designs.' She is currently working on a project – in Norway. She is designing furniture for a concept café which is part of a chain of coffee shops based in Trondheim.
“They are about to open a new café which will also sell alcohol for the first time - and it will be open later into the night,” she explained. “This means that the whole concept for the interior design for the new café has to be different from the standard cafés in the chain – the interior design and furniture has to help create an atmosphere that will work during the day as well as at night.
The project is good experience as Wenche hopes to work in furniture design in London when she graduates this summer. Eventually she would like to return to Norway to set up her own business where she can apply her Ravensbourne experience within the Scandinavian setting.
“I am very pleased that I came on the course,” Wenche concluded. “The tutors have been good – they make you think and look at things through different eyes. It’s changed the way I look at design projects - a seat does not necessarily have to be a chair!”¨www.ravensbourne.ac.uk
Note to editors
Norwegian students who are interested to follow Wenche and study at Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication can learn more from one of her tutors, Mr Bill Schaaf – Senior Lecturer in Digital Media at the College – who will be giving talks at several colleges in Norway in February (see below).
The subject of his talks will be “Studying Art and Design in the UK” and “Constructing a portfolio”.
08.30 Monday 13 February Oppegård VGS
12:00 Monday 13 February Strømmen VGS
09:00 Tuesday 14 February Rosenvilde VGS
12:00 Tuesday 14 February Rud VGS
11:30 Wednesday 14 February Elvebakken VGS
09:00 Thursday 16 February Manglerud VGS
12:00 Thursday 16 February Drømtorp VGS
11:35 Friday 17 February Eiker VGS
For further information contact:
Espen Solhaug
Uniabroad
Karl Johans gate 6B
0154 Oslo
Tel: 21 69 30 09
