For Clerkenwell Design Week, 21-23 May 2024, Schotten & Hansen, creator of the finest-quality regenerable wooden flooring and surfaces, partners with long-term creative collaborator Kit Kemp Design Studio to present the Mythical Forest Salon, launching a new pioneering magnetic product treatment on floors and tables and collaborative design piece, the Pit-A-Pat table.
In celebration of Schotten & Hansen’s 40th anniversary in 2024, Minnie Kemp, Design Director of Kit Kemp Design Studio has designed an immersive space centred around the Pit-A-Pat magnetic table, previewing at Clerkenwell Design Week, with further designs that can be swapped into the table template. Using Schotten & Hansen’s magnetic floor treatment, this new technology will completely transform the way we use wooden flooring, not only does it make installation and repair easier, but it also allows for endless design possibilities and has the potential to be added to rented properties and even move house with its owner.
The collaboration sees Kit Kemp Design Studio and Schotten & Hansen, two family businesses that have been working together for twenty years across generations, push the boundaries of creativity. Schotten & Hansen founder Torben Hansen is fascinated by wood and is always exploring new ways to manipulate this material in our homes, and this is exemplified in the new Minnie Kemp Douglas Fir Veneer Collection. Minnie Kemp has created eight colours for the collection that will be displayed in a bespoke wood panelling and shelving unit. These new colours are vibrant yet textured and deeply sophisticated and can be used across a multitude of surfaces for maximum impact.
Throughout the space will be a series of furniture pieces designed by Kit Kemp Design Studio that harness and demonstrate the true beauty in the natural imperfections of wood, including: the Tête-à-tête bench carved from a tree chosen by Minnie Kemp on her visit to Schotten & Hansen’s HQ in Bavaria; bespoke shelving showcasing a striking combination of coloured Douglas Fir veneers; the Mushroom Table, previewing Schotten & Hansen’s forthcoming End Grain finish; a collection of layered veneer frames, telling the story of Schotten & Hansen; and two oversized totem sculptures of varying heights illustrating the new vibrant veneer colours.
Torben Hansen, Schotten & Hansen founder, comments: “We are delighted to be returning to Clerkenwell Design Week in 2024 – a significant year for Schotten & Hansen as we celebrate 40 years. Partnering with Kit and Minnie to create a space that tells the story of Schotten & Hansen through the products themselves has been thoroughly enjoyable and inspiring. We have been working with Kit Kemp Design Studio since the early 2000s, and they really are part of the Schotten & Hansen extended family.”
Minnie Kemp, design director of Kit Kemp Design Studio comments: “Wooden finishes and pieces are key to all our projects – it’s the element of nature, its rawness and warmth that really completes a space. Having the opportunity to explore and play with Schotten & Hansen’s colours in wood and veneers, making something quite spectacular out of something quite ordinary, has been an exhilarating process.”
Schotten & Hansen has been operating in the UK for more than twenty years, with its showroom located in Wimbledon, London. Ulrich Hansen, UK Managing Director says: “The UK is a key market for us, and we have strong relationships with many UK-based designers, architects, and design practices which we continue to build. Our focus, as we head into our fourth decade, is to continue delivering the highest quality residential and commercial projects in the UK and around the world and Clerkenwell Design Week is a great platform for us to launch our new collections.”
Kit Kemp Design Studio x Schotten & Hansen Mythical Forest Lounge The Order of St John, St John’s Square, EC1V 4JJ Clerkenwell Design Week 21-23 May 2024
Schotten & Hansen celebrates 40 years Schotten & Hansen celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2024 and has an exciting calendar of events and projects launching throughout the year. Since the company was founded in Peiting, Bavaria in 1984, Schotten & Hansen has been committed to making the highest quality, wooden floors and interiors surfaces using traditional workmanship in combination with modern engineering technology and natural ingredients. From a small business focusing on restoring historic furniture and surfaces, Schotten & Hansen has grown over the decades into an internationally renowned specialist maker and producer. Since first meeting Kit Kemp in the early 2000s Schotten & Hansen flooring and finishes have become an integral part of many Firmdale Hotels.
