Vík Prjónsdóttir
VÍK PRJÓNSDÓTTIR is a creative brand that designs and produces quality products from Icelandic sheep wool; a unique and sustainable source. Its combination of fibers results in a wool that is warm, light-weight and water-repellent.
VÍK PRJÓNSDÓTTIR is inspired by myths and stories, from the past as well from the present. She is fascinated by nature as well as urban life, believes in the beyond and respects the hidden world. Vík Prjónsdóttir has passion for local cultures and production.
VÍK PRJÓNSDÓTTIR is a owned by the designers Brynhildur Pálsdóttir, Gudfinna Mjöll Magnúsdóttir, Thuríður Sigurþórsdóttir. Their common interest in applying the form and magic of everyday items into their designs is evident in Vík Prjónsdóttir products. They believe that it’s their task as designers to make use of the natural materials and conditions that exist in Iceland. Their ambition with Vík Prjónsdóttir is to show an unconventional image of the Icelandic woollen industry by developing new products with traditional Icelandic material.
VÍK PRJÓNSDÓTTIR has been awared and received various recognition for their design. For instance the local and annual DV cultural prize for design 2010 then in 2011 The Association of Craftsmen in Reykjavík awarded Vík Prjónsdóttir and the knitting factory Víkurprjón for innovation, followed by The Reykjavík Grapevine Awards as “Best Product Line 2011”.
The Vík Prjónsdóttir project was initiated in the year 2005 by the above mentioned designers including the designers Egill Kalevi Karlsson and Hrafnkell Birgisson.
BRYNHILDUR PÁLSDÓTTIR
Brynhildur Pálsdóttir designer is born 1979 and is based in Reykjavík. She graduated from the Icelandic Arts Academy in 2004 as a product designer, after a successful exchange semester at Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam she went back after graduating and received her second BA degree from the Design Lab department in 2005. After graduation she founded the Design fellowship Borðið in collaboration with Guðfinna Mjöll Magnúsdóttir because of their dual interest in the challenge to work with local material such as food, wool and clay. They get inspiration from a variety of sources, from ancient traditions and fallen heroes to their family and friends. Their main objective as designers is to affect their environment and for their design to be a participant in society. “Stefnumót hönnuða og bænda” (Designers and Farmers), Vík Prjónsdóttir and The Claypot are good examples of just that. Brynhildur has since 2007 worked as a consultant at Matis Icelandic Food and Bio tech R&D , working on various product developing projects, she has also taken part in developing studies and teaching at Myndlistaskólinn í Reykjavík.
GUÐFINNA MJÖLL MAGNÚSDÓTTIR
The designer Guðfinna Mjöll Magnúsdóttir belives in curiousity as the main drive for creativity. She is interested in the challenge to work with local materials and production and wants design to be participant in society. Besides being a co-founder of Vík Prjónsdóttir, Guðfinna is also one of the directors of the project Designers and Farmers (2007-2012), developed for The Iceland Academy of the Arts, were product designers and farmers were brought together to develop unique high-quality food products based on Iceland's traditional produce. Along with many other projects Guðfinna has been lecturer for various institutions in Iceland. In winter 2008-2009 she was the program director of product design at The Iceland Academy of the Arts. Born in Reykjavík 1979, graduated as a product designer in 2004 from The Iceland Academy of the Arts.
THURÍDUR RÓS SIGURÞÓRSDÓTTIR
Icelandic Artist Thuridur Ros Sigurthorsdottir questions the accepted constructs of our everyday reality to produce works that are quietly poetic gestures more in line with a moment than a movement. Her sculptural installations and images reflect the sensation of a natural occurrence. One that in revealing its secrets produces keener questions for those who are its witness. After receiving her BA in Woman's Wear from Central Saint Martins in London Sigurthorsdottir worked as a designer both individually and in collaboration with the label Scandinavian tourist and design collective Vík Prjónsdóttir exhibiting her projects and pieces internationally. In 2008 She completed her MFA in Fine Arts at the School of Visual Arts in New York City where she currently lives and works.
EGILL KALEVI KARLSSON
Egill Kalevi Karlsson is an Icelandic artist and designer based in New York. After receiving his bachelor's degree at the Design Academy in Eindhoven Karlsson worked as a product designer in Rotterdam. Continuing his interest in the blurred edge between design and visual arts he moved to New York in 2007 where he obtained an MFA from the School of Visual Arts. His work since explores the intersection of art and design through an interest in the hidden aura of everyday objects. Hallucinogenic musings on natural phenomena and visual perception combined with high level of technical skill he takes common objects and recreates them into something new. www.telepatheticworkshop.com
HRAFNKELL BIRGISSON
Hrafnkell Birgisson was born in Reykjavík in 1969. He graduated as a product designer from the Academy of Fine Arts in Saarbrucken, Germany. His conceptual work covers the fields of product design, exhibition design and interior architecture. His work Hoch die Tassen has become a design classic, displayed in design stores and gallery shops all around the world, while the Tools You Bake baking tins and the ongoing Vik Prjonsdottir knitting-project are examples of self-initiated collaborations with fellow designers and small local manufacturers.
Hrafnkell has developed and tutored courses at the Iceland Academy of the Arts, including the De-Ikea workshop, a series of classes he also tutored at the Bauhaus University in Weimar and at the California College of the Arts, San Francisco. His designs have been published in the International Design Yearbook 2007 and in the book Furnish from Gestalten Verlag. His work also appears in the travelling exhibition Shaping the New Century-European Design since 1985 which opened at the Indianapolis Museum of the Arts in 2009. www.hrafnkell.com
