“Humans benefit from daily interaction with natural materials.” So says young designer Lars Beller Fjetland, who grew up on the west coast of Norway and has had a lifelong fascination with function and nature and the overlapping of the two. For the designer, the terms “sustainability” and “recycling” are not just buzzwords; they have quantifiable implications for his work in furniture, interiors, and lighting.
In spite of, or perhaps because of the youth of his studio (launched in 2011 while still a student), Lars Beller Fjetland is ahead of the game in terms of his implementation of eco-conscious practices. The way nature functions without producing waste is what he strives to emulate, and several of his designs are made from purely so-called waste materials, which despite being fine leathers, cork, and wood would otherwise would have been discarded. His dedication, the quality of material, and his efforts to fuse industrial elements with natural ones have garnered him Designer of the Year awards from several Scandinavian design and lifestyle magazines.