In the world of NORNA, everything has a meaning, from the name choice to the concept shaping the furniture pieces and their design. Founded in 2022, the brand has exhibited at several trade shows over the past year and plans to launch an outdoor furniture range this year. Let’s see!
Petra Pinezits and Alexandra Takács first met during their university years. According to them, they were already actively involved in each other’s design processes: “our furniture always had indirect similarities and communicated well with each other,” they noted. As students, they had already conceived the idea of a joint venture, which at the time was just a pipe dream. For a few years after university, they both worked as set and visual designers in movies and advertising. “It turned out that we could work very well together, complementing and strengthening each other,” they added. And so, NORNA was launched in 2022.
The brand’s name choice is no coincidence either, as Norns are the goddesses of the past, present, and future in Norse mythology, weaving the thread of fate. “This is the analogy we want to use for our conceptual designs: they are always based on research, the processing, interpretation, and updating of a story drawn from the past. We want to give answers in the form of furniture and, at the same time, tell a story”, they stressed. They also want their furniture to be timeless, with a long life span, hoping that future generations will know and use their products. As they summed up their creative credo, “NORNA makes contemporary furniture for the future generation, inspired by the past.”
Their first collection, called Námi, was inspired by the same ideas, with the surrounding objects of postmodern science fiction films as its main source of inspiration. As the design duo observed, the visual world of contemporary science fiction is no longer a world of totally abstract sets and futuristic furniture, but increasingly that of objects in tune with and similar to the contemporary world. “One of the most important changes in the material environment of postmodern science fiction films has been the influence of Asian culture and philosophy. This became very important in The Matrix or Blade Runner, that is cyberpunk, which permeated almost everything from costumes to architecture. The sets are also characterized by nostalgic elements and objects that represent the stylistic guidelines of the past, which have greatly influenced and changed the visual world of both films compared to the idealistic, futuristic visions of the past. For example, the built environments in Blade Runner are dominated by geometric shapes, offset by organic, soft furniture,” they explain. Thus, all three pieces in the Námi furniture range are shaped by minimalist, grandiose spaces and arches appearing in them.
NORNA is currently working on its latest collection, Skadi, which is scheduled to be launched this year, placing the main focus on outdoor use this time: “We like new challenges, and when designing an outdoor product, we have to take into account other aspects, as well. While exploring outdoor furniture on the market, we came up with new ideas and themes, so we will probably want to continue designing for the outdoors in the future. We feel it’s an exciting field and we don’t rule out the possibility that this furniture could also be part of an interior space,” the design duo pointed out.
Photos: Géza Talabér
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