strek collective

Strek is a creative collective made up of four Norwegian designers with a shared interest in creating beautifully simple objects. Their designs are often multi-functional (such as the above “Button” tray/table) and readily adapt to a living space.

What drew me to their work is the clarity of their designs and the wonderful details (check out the wood grain on the “Skog” chair!) The modular “Copper 58” is all clean lines and bright copper. In combining old craftsmanship with new methods of production, Strek’s pieces appear both classic and modern.

1 + 2 / Button

3/ Copper 58

4/ Skog

minimal and maximal

Here are a few of my favourite new arrivals from last week. With their clean and considered lines, the pieces appear minimal at first glance but their details are nothing short of bold. The woven geometry of the first two pieces by Elis Kauppi (Finland) gives lovely contrast to the rough, virile texture on the gold hoops by designer Björn Weckström (Finland). All pieces will be available on Hopea in the next short while.

Meanwhile, Fall has arrived!

hopea in avenue magazine

So pleased to share Hopea’s first appearance in print publication! Pieces by Guy Vidal and Jorma Laine appeared in the main fashion story in the September issue of Calgary’s Avenue Magazine. It’s not every day you get to have a super model like Lisa Cant working your wares. The sculptural pieces that stylist Carl Abad picked out very much suit the the dark edge of the shoot. Great stuff!

1 / Guy Vidal bangles

2 / Bronze Jorma Laine ring.  

new look

So pleased to unveil Hopea’s new look today! Over the past couple weeks I’ve been working together with the lovely and talented designer Jess (Notstatic) to create a new look for the website. I also wanted to establish a stronger brand presence for Hopea in general. The results are just what I wanted. Soft, Scandinavian-inspired colors for the new banner with a logo that’s quirky and geometric. We started out with the above mood board that Jess created and it all just fell into place from there!

Head over to Hopea20.com to check out the changes!