Stories

Join us for a conversation with Anne-Sophie Rosenvinge, a landscape architect turned photographer and founder of ALET Agency. While ALET officially launched in 2020, Anne-Sophie began building her business back in 2015. Today, she works with a wide range of renowned design brands. Situated in the heart of Copenhagen, the studio is part of a collective at Frederiksgade 1, a design house that represents some of the finest talents within the Danish creative scene. Spanning five floors, the collective houses galleries, showrooms, creators, and makers—ensuring that the next great idea is just a neighborly hello away.

A renovation project sparked Ingrid Simensen’s obsession with colors and led her to pursue working with it full time. Her apartment in Oslo is filled with unique items and hues that spark joy, all adhering to one specific rule: everything she brings into her home must give her butterflies.

Variable™ was first introduced at the Scandinavian Design Fair in Copenhagen in 1979. With its norm-breaking appearance, the little chair dismantled all existing perceptions of what a chair could be. As we celebrate 45 years of our most-loved design, we look back and reflect on the history of the original kneeling chair and how it has forever changed the way we sit.

A celebration of movement and design innovation. Introducing a new series of Variable™ Monochrome, marking the 45th anniversary of one of our most iconic designs.

The human body is meant to move. We believe that we can live better and more sustainable lives through everyday acts of movement. That small steps can have a big impact on how healthy we feel. So whether it’s for living or for work, or both, we strive to create a more balanced way to sit – one that allows us to go back to our moving instincts. 

Mie Firring's passion for creating sparked her journey into knitting and pattern making. With a focus on having fun and playfulness, she shares her unique patterns from her studio in Denmark with knitters around the world.

Move™ is the chair in the Varier collection which allows for the widest range of movement. It encourages you to actively find and maintain your balance, while still providing you with the support you need. Lightweight and versatile, Move™ is equipped to add variation to long work days by the desk, act as standing support while preparing dinner, or serve as a spare seat for guests. Read on to learn more about Move™ and Move™ Compact, and find the one best suited to your needs.

Sometimes home is the best office. While other times, it might feel as if life is getting in the way. If you don't have the luxury of having a designated home office area - be it a separate room, a nook, or even a desk - we believe that you can still work comfortably from home, on a chair of your own.

A wandering mind crowded with thoughts became Julie's pathway into the world of knitted art. Her home in Aalborg is an extension of her artistic spirit, filled with art pieces and vintage finds, it serves as a space to both play and recharge.

Long gone are the days when meals were the sole or primary activity taking place around the dining table. Lifestyle changes, smaller urban dwellings and tectonic shifts in our work lives call for spaces that are also fit for focused work, creative play and hours of socialising. Different activities demanding different things from our bodies.

With a background in retail design and concept development, Thea discovered her true calling when she realized her exceptional eye for colors. In the endless combinations, she seeks to translate the essence of a space, with the people living in it, into a color, creating truly unique and special environments. 

Ever since she was a little girl, Oda enjoyed making clothes for her dolls and organizing make-pretend fashion shows at home. Today, she runs her own DIY fashion brand, Flid, a community that aims to inspires more people to start sewing their own clothes and building a sustainable wardrobe they feel connected to.

Known for his seemingly stripped-down images, Andreas makes the complicated seem simple through his illustrations. From childhood, he has been captivated by the idea of crafting new spaces and pushing beyond the typical ways of expressing himself.

When Peter Opsvik designed Gravity™ in the early 1980s, his intention was to create a single chair which could accommodate as many activities as possible. From the active and focused, to the completely relaxed. The result is not only a chair that is multifunctional without compromise - Gravity™ takes something as mundane as sitting and makes it an experience. Read on to learn more about the most eye-catching chair in the Varier collection.

A normal day for Lea is filled with movement. Her creative nature is not only confined to her fashion endeavours or yoga sessions; rather, it's something she channels into even the most mundane everyday tasks. Creativity, for her, is an act of love, whether it's for herself or others. 

Freja lives in Copenhagen with her one-year-old daughter Ruth and her husband Magnus. The young family of three moved last summer, starting a new chapter in a charming, old loft in Frederiksberg. With a master’s degree in building culture and a profession as a constructing architect, the loft has been renovated with great care, honouring the heritage of the space while simultaneously creating a home fit for the demands of modern family life.

In the coastal town of San Sebastian, we visit the sunlit studio of designer, Aitor Molina. His passion for well-designed objects is evident in the way he leads his life. Whether it's the brands he works with, the furniture he surrounds himself with, or even his selection of pens, each element comes together to reflect a bit of him and his values.

Kristine Hasseløy spent most of her younger years upside down. In her childhood home, everything stayed in the same place, the lay-out of the living room was set, the sofa had its place, there was no other way it could be. On her head in the sofa, looking up, the ceiling revealed itself. A blank canvas where anything could happen.

Are you curious about the benefits a kneeling chair has to offer, but feel unsure about which one is right for you? Variable™, Variable™ Plus, and Thatsit™ are all supreme work chairs ideal for the home office. All three are intended for use by standard height tables and allow you to vary between the kneeling position and more traditional postures. We have summarized the key differences between the three to help you identify the kneeling chair that best suits your needs.

Meet us in Milan! We will be in the city for Salone del Mobile and our showroom will be open all week. We will be showcasing the newest addition to the Varier product range for the first time, alongside other Varier classics. Come on by and have a seat, we look forward to welcoming you to our home in Milan.

Not many 90-year-olds can boast a following of near one hundred thousand on Instagram. Meet the accidentally aged model who also happens to be Italy’s oldest influencer, Licia Fertz.

Like many of us, Stockholm-based artist Emilia Ilke has been working from home during the last year. While buckets of paints and sketches have turned their living room into almost a full-time studio, Emilia has had a long-time love for incorporating interior objects into her art. She works with motifs such as vases, mugs, and bowls, and her works have taken shape as carpets, blankets, and wallpapers. Functioning as a playground for the kids as well as an office space for paperwork, her black Ekstrem™ chair matches the playfully beautiful life of the Swedish artist. 

From the edges of her emotions to sassy lemon curd pies, learn more about how Move strengthens Astri’s creative process, and what she thinks we all should learn from art.

Maria Black graduated as a goldsmith in 2009, before she started selling her first designs on Sunday Upmarket in East London. Find out how a legendary Christmas party led to her in-house piercing service and read more about her journey to an internationally renowned jewelry brand.

We sat down with Jos Pelders, the founder behind the Febrik side of Kvadrat Febrik, in the middle of his habitual running between daunting large airports and client meetings to talk about all things textile and all things Ekstrem™. Varier has developed a tight-knit relationship with the innovative knit makers of Febrik during the last couple of years and has collaborated with them on the latest rendition of the iconic Ekstrem™ chair, the Ekstrem™ in Gentle.

Discover the newest addition to the Varier collection. Ekstrem™ is now available in Gentle - a lush knitted velvet upholstery fabric in six new colorways.

Future Holds is an interdisciplinary design collaboration between Varier and Norwegian designer Ingrid Bredholt. Working without the constraints of complying to traditional ideas of what a chair is supposed to be, the collaboration transcends borders between art, fashion and furniture.

If Marie wasn’t working as a content creator she would pursue a life on stage, living out her love for musical theatre. When decorating her Copenhagen home, she opts for eclectic pieces that demand attention where Ekstrem™ fits right in. And the sitting experience? Take it from her dad who claims it’s the most comfortable chair she’s ever had

The concept of sitting in a kneeling-like position is nothing new, it can be traced back centuries, to ancient Buddhist traditions or to the traditional Japanese seiza style of sitting. The concept of modern kneeling chairs as we know them today, however, was first introduced in Norway during the last half of the 1970s. Join us as we take a deep dive into the origin of kneeling chairs and explore the benefits the kneeling posture has to offer.

Spending time behind the camera is not only a creative outlet for Mia Mortensen, it is an all-encompassing passion. The talented Dane’s photography acts as an equal ode to slow Sunday mornings as to creative storytelling through shapes and colors. Portraying motifs ranging from portraits to still lifes, she often aims her lense at corners of her own home - a playfully curated space, where contrasts rule and Ekstrem fits right in.

In close collaboration with Oslo-based practice of architecture and design, Snøhetta, we are proud to present a curated selection of fabrics from Kvadrat Textiles. Grounded in a color concept that reflects our commitment to everyday movement, the Varier textile collection consists of altogether 45 carefully considered options, in a harmonious range of hues in mixed qualities.

In Viktor Sakshaug’s universe of bulky and rounded characters Ekstrem fits right in. The young Oslo-based illustrator has spent the last year refining his personal style and is happiest when he gets to draw characters doing things. Sitting on iconic pieces of Norwegian furniture for instance.

Aula hit the Norwegian design scene running in 2018, positioning themselves as a studio to watch when awarded newcomer of the year at the BoBedre Design Awards just eight months after opening their studio. Together, Sara and Marie constitute Aula; an anthropological design studio focusing on the relation between people, space and object.

It was with great excitement we received the news that we were in the running for the 2019 BoBedre Design Award.

Our homes used to be divided into rooms with specified functions. Today, life at home is becoming increasingly fluid. We find ourselves streaming series in the kitchen, eating in bed and working in the living room. This behavioral shift places new demands on our homes and requires us to rethink how we furnish them.

Sitting comfortably on a kneeling chair is easy. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when trying one for the first time or while getting familiar with your new chair at home.

We are happy to introduce the newest addition to the Varier collection, Variable™ Plus. Developed in close collaboration with designer Peter Opsvik, Variable™ Plus is crafted to move with the body encouraging you to stretch, lean, twist, and sway as you sit.

Silvia’s curious nature and ability to fully immerse herself led her to pattern design. After working for some of Europe's leading textile companies she decided to open her own studio, “I loved my work, but I was missing a sense of freedom.” Based in Milan, Silvia designs custom prints and patterns, art directs fabric collections and help brands strengthen their identities through color consultancy.

Three creative marketeers and an all-black lab – it’s the ultimate starter pack. The founders of MOS ditched the ping-pong table and beanbags when decorating their very first office space and opted for design made to last.