Blonde Ambition

AELFRED, London’s newest and largest warehouse full of vintage Scandinavian mid-century homeware is pleased to highlight recent shipments of wooden furniture which have come directly from homes in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

This industrial 300sq-metre space, perched next to a canal in East London, features a rolling supply of mid-century tables, chairs and storage mainly made from timbers, currently with a particular emphasis on the lighter-coloured timbers like oak, birch and pine.

^{Above - Honest construction high back pine bench with seagrass rope woven seat. Denmark, 1980s.}

^{Above - Vintage 1980s Modern Pine Stool designed by Jens Lyngsøe, Denmark. Made from timber from demolished buildings in Copenhagen. Wood could be as old as 18th Century.}

Aelfred founder Nina Hertig says: “Blonde furniture is definitely experiencing a renaissance. Vintage Artek table and chair sets made from birch and shelving made from chunky, solid pine are popular items that we keep re-stocking. The interest in mid-century furniture has shifted from woods like teak and walnut to the blonder woods. The less varnish and surface treatments the better too. People want to feel a connection to the most natural state of the wood.”

The warehouse style shop, flung open its industrial-style shutters to an enthusiastic clientele in November hungry to rummage through the collection for both unusual and iconic finds. ​

Nestled beside the canal in Hackney Wick, Aelfred is quickly becoming a popular destination for those in-the-know for environmentally-sound design deals.

^{Above L to R - Large solid pine Danish table 70s and Danish solid pine cabinets 60s/70s,}

^{Above - Vintage birch chair 69 by Alvar Aalto}

“Second-hand furniture is such a sustainable way of shopping,” Hertig says. “Vintage wooden furniture from Scandinavia is so well made, they often have decades more life left in them. Pre-owned isn’t always an option for absolutely everything in your home, but buying big pieces of second-hand furniture is an easy and beautiful way to reduce your carbon footprint.*”

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*Buying a used dining table saves 460kg of CO2, according to a study by Small World Consulting cited by the trade journal Antique Trade Gazette, February 2022. This is the equivalent of 25 days of gas heating, according to online CO2 converter tool Mon Convertisseur CO2.

ABOUT NINA HERTIG

Nina Hertig co-founded Sigmar, an acclaimed interior design practice and gallery with a focus on original modernist furniture from Scandinavia and Central Europe. Since establishing Sigmar, Hertig (who is Danish) has worked on a selection of collaborations to create contemporary products that follow traditional methods of production and match the studio’s approach to uncompromising craftspersonship and integrity in design.

Aelfred is cheekily named after King Aelfred, the King of the West Saxons who spent a great deal of his reign fending off the Vikings in the 9^th Century. This Aelfred, however, is more welcoming of all things Scandinavian.

www.aelfred.co.uk

Address:

Hackney Wick

Autumn Yard, Unit 2

E3 2TT

GETTING THERE: Bow Road or Stratford Tube or Hackney Wick Overground

Opening times: Thursday – Sunday 10am-6pm