Forest Collection – celebrating natural variations in wood
The Forest Collection, featuring a new “wild birch” wood selection that uses a wider, wilder and more responsible material selection process, is now available for homes, offices and community spaces.
The Forest Collection introduces a new “wild birch” wood selection developed by Artek and design studio Formafantasma. Classic Aalto furniture pieces are made using more of the tree, embracing the natural variations that occur in birch wood—such as knots, insect trails and colour fluctuations. Some of the most-loved Artek products, including Stool 60, Chair 66, Chair 69 and a selection of Aalto Tables and Aalto Benches, have been selected to ensure the greatest positive impact on material selection processes. The launch of the Forest Collection continues Artek’s mission to spread awareness of the impact of climate change and industrialised forestry, create forest-borne products that last for generations, and lead to responsible material selection becoming an industry standard.
Aalto Table, wild birch, Design Alvar Aalto 1933
Art direction: Linda Bergroth
Photography: Carl Bergman
Birchwood from Finnish Forests
Since its inception in 1935, Artek has prioritised using local, responsibly sourced Finnish birch. All Forest Collection products are made in Artek’s own factory in Turku, Finland. All birchwood used comes from the same sustainably-managed forest area in Central Finland, within a 200km radius of the sawmill that treats the wood.
Formafantasma’s Cambio exhibition, which explores the extraction, production and distribution of wood products, was initially commissioned by London’s Serpentine Galleries in 2020. Later that year, Artek invited the Milanese design studio to look into the changing conditions of the Finnish forest through the lens of Artek’s supply chain. Based on their mutual interest and shared values, Artek and Formafantasma subsequently initiated a series of joint advocacy projects to translate Cambio’s ideologies through the filter of Artek’s supply chain.
The first was an extension of the Cambio exhibition that examined the role of Finnish Forestry, held at Designmuseo Helsinki in 2022. This was followed by the introduction of Stool 60 Villi which debuted the “wild birch” wood selection in 2023. The Forest Collection is the natural continuation of the collaboration, developed according to the framework laid out by the research project conducted by Artek and Formafantasma. The collection was first presented at Stockholm Furniture Fair in 2024, where Formafantasma was the fair’s Guest of Honour. This wider selection of products is now being made available for purchase for the first time.
A New Aesthetic of Sustainability
As these products are introduced into public spaces and restaurants, or the homes of conscious consumers, people’s expectations of entirely uniform wood products will be replaced by a new aesthetic of sustainability. This means that the inherent natural variations in wood are not only accepted but become the prevailing standard.
The new aesthetic of sustainability is not one that is confined to Artek, periodic trends or the Finnish forest. The hope and expectation is that these products will inspire a regained appreciation for the beauty of imperfection in natural materials and lead to an industry standard emerging in coming years—one that reaches beyond responsible wood management and into all aspects of design.
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