Klaus Haapaniemi & Co. has always had an appetite for crossing over from the worlds of interiors, design and fashion to art and performance. As well as maintaining long-term partnerships with various brands, there have also been a number of one-off bespoke projects which have brought a whole new perception of how the studio is interpreted. With Klaus’ unique storytelling ability, collaborations not only produce beautiful outcomes for both parties, but often create an entirely different creative outcome than originally intended.

It was through this story telling ability that the inspiration for Black Lake was born. Created from an imagined volcanic landscape surrounding a remote lakeside summerhouse in Iceland - and then fashioned into a mysterious abstract print.

 

 

 

The main elements of the collection include a bespoke centrepiece sofa with hand engravings upholstered with the Black Lake print, a woven tapestry intended to be used as long rug to flow from a sofa to the floor, and finally a circular carpet which represents the dark steaming pond, biodiverse with strange foliage, water lilies and mysterious lava stones.

The furniture is custom-built by furniture studio Nikari, the tapestry woven in a British textile mill in Bristol, and finally the mysterious pond carpet is printed on wool in the Netherlands.

Before the furniture starts its journey to Iceland, it will be shown just once at the Lokal gallery along with other items of the Black Lake collection. As a result, special products including printed wool scarves and velvet clutches with the Black Lake print have been created to be sold exclusively at Lokal to mark the collaboration.

 

 

 

As well as this, an additional item will be exhibited at the Royal Academy in London. Lokal will also show part of Klaus Haapaniemi’s Xenia etching series made with master printmaker studio, Himmelblau.