The unique cultural and environmental conditions of her home country play a major role in the work of Icelandic designer Tinna Gunnarsdottir.

For Gunnarsdottir, the dramatic and varied natural landscape in Iceland has always been an important source of inspiration. One of her recent projects, Lava Slabs, forms Icelandic lava into beautiful indoor/outdoor tiles. Like many Icelanders, Gunnarsdottir is fascinated by the lava the covers most of the country, and she was intrigued by the prospect of forming this wild and rough material into smooth-surfaced geometrical shapes.

That interest in harnessing nature is expressed another way with her Chrome Cube, a simple outdoor garden table that 'disappears' into its surroundings. Set down on a uniform surface like grass or the lava tiles seen at left, the sides of the cube seemingly vanish, leaving people to ponder a floating slice of sky.

Yet another project was inspired by childhood memories of time spent at her grandmother's house in the small town of Vik, on Iceland's rugged south coast. Young Tinna was fascinated by the storage function of two simple, low stools found in her grandmother's kitchen. As a grown-up industrial designer, Gunnarsdottir has revived both form and function of those old pieces, marrying traditional design with contemporary materials to create a unique collection that she aptly calls 'Vik Stools.'

more: collaborations with Karen Chekerdjian >

Tinna Gunnarsdottir web >