Beginnings
The Enlightened Sparks
In all these stories, one factor recurs: love.
Beginnings
The Enlightened Sparks
Preface Issue 1 by Marianne Lie Berg
Hver nye begynnelse bærer en spire av kjærlighet i seg – hvis du ser etter den.
Vi tenker sjelden over det, men hvert øyeblikk er en ny begynnelse. Trekk pusten – der er du, i nåtiden. Fortiden betyr ingenting, og hva som kommer etterpå vet vi ikke.
Vår egen begynnelse er et magasin i print. Noe du kan ta i hendene, kjenne papiret mellom fingrene og lukten som stiger opp fra sidene – en lukt ingen digital skjerm kan tilby. Vi håper at historiene om nytt liv, om transformerende hendelser, om håp og nye misjoner i livet, blir værende i deg.
For i alle disse historiene går én faktor igjen: kjærlighet.
Skøyen Designfestival arrangeres for andre gang. Det som startet for to år siden viser hvordan et todagers arrangement kan sette fart på en områdeutvikling hvis visjoner ellers ville blitt liggende som ord i et dokument. Magne Furuholmen jobber ikke på Skøyen, men lar seg smitte av Pål Reenskaugs engasjement – selvutslettende, der man gir uten å få noe tilbake. Vi kaller det ekte kjærlighet.
Poesi betyr å forme. Arkitekt Sverre Aaker Sondresen spør hvilket forhold arkitekten har til det han formgir – og inviterer til en samtale om hva som skjer når arkitekter tør å snakke om estetikk. Det samme spørsmålet kunne vært stilt til et par bakere. Jakten etter frihet til å utfolde seg ledet Nozomi og Tsukasa Miyawaki til Oslo, der de velger kjærligheten til hverandre og det hendene formgir til små kunstverk, hver eneste dag.
Vi spør: hva skjer i fraværet av frykt? Frykt er, som modellen Kawi S har erfart, en gjenstand du ikke trenger. Hennes historie viser hvordan verden åpner seg når vi bekjemper det som lenge føltes uovervinnelig.
Sterkest av alt: begynnelsen du aldri trodde skulle skje deg – når begynnelsen er en katastrofe. Hva finner du i deg selv da, og hva bringer du videre når øynene åpnes for en ny misjon som kan åpne andres øyne?
Vi håper du tar deg tid til å lese historiene, la ordene synke inn, og studere bildene for de ekstra fortellingene som ligger der. Det er i disse lommene av ro og nærvær du befinner deg i begynnelsens rom, kjære leser.
Vi ser ikke på papirutgivelser som å gå tilbake i tid. Vi anser papiret som en ny begynnelse – en tilstand der du er alene med sidene, uten at noe registreres, uten at noen ser. Vi tror det er fremtiden: at det gamle gjenoppfinnes og verdsettes på en ny måte, fordi det har fått en annen rolle.
Every new beginning carries a seed of love within it – if you look for it.
We rarely think about it, but every moment is a new beginning. Take a breath – there you are, in the present. The past means nothing here, and what comes next we don't know.
Our own beginning is a magazine in print. Something you can hold in your hands, feel the paper between your fingers, and the scent rising from its pages – a scent no digital screen can offer. We hope the stories of new life, of transformative events, of hope and new missions in life, stay with you.
For in all these stories, one factor recurs: love.
Skøyen Design Festival is being held for the second time. What began two years ago shows how a two-day event can kick-start an area's development whose vision might otherwise have stayed as words in a closed document. Magne Furuholmen doesn't work at Skøyen, but like everyone else, he can't help catching Pål Reenskaug's commitment – selfless, the kind where you give without getting anything back. We call that real love.
Poetry means to shape. Architect Sverre Aaker Sondresen asks what relationship an architect has to what he shapes – and invites a conversation about what happens when architects dare to talk about aesthetics. The same question could be asked of two bakers. The search for freedom to unfold led Nozomi and Tsukasa Miyawaki to Oslo, where they choose their love for each other and what their hands shape into small works of art, every single day.
We ask: what happens in the absence of fear? Fear is, as model Kawi S has experienced, an object you don't need. Her story shows how a world opens up when we overcome what once felt unconquerable.
Strongest of all: the beginning you never thought would happen to you – when the beginning is a catastrophe. What do you find within yourself then, and what do you carry forward when your eyes open to a new mission that can open the eyes of others?
We hope you take the time to read the stories, let the words sink in, and study the images for the extra narratives hidden there. It's in these pockets of calm and presence that you find yourself in the room of beginnings, dear reader.
We don't see print publications as going back in time. We see paper as a new beginning – a state where you are alone with the pages, where nothing is tracked, where no one is watching. We believe that's the future: the old reinvented and valued in a new way, because it has taken on a different role.
“ I think many architects are afraid to talk about aesthetics and form — we're afraid of being misunderstood, and for a long time we've buried our heads in the sand, hoping the debate would blow over. It hasn't. Sooner or later we have to enter the field, but then we need to talk about it in a way people understand. That takes practice and reflection — understanding it yourself, before you can explain it to others.”
— Sverre Aaker Sondresen, CEO Ark Tellus“Hadeland's story isn't just about what has been, but the possibility ahead.We're proud of what we do, but we need to get better at telling our own story. An untold legacy risks being forgotten."
— Maud Geruldsen Bugge, Design Director at Hadeland Glassverk“I don't believe in special products for one type of person. I believe in products that include the weakest among us,”
— Per Olav Sølvberg, Design Curator & Photographer“ I think things that challenge us are harder to throw away and easier to grow fond of. Norwegian classics like the Tripp Trapp or the Ekstrem chair weren't based on market analyses — they were inventions. If everyone fishes in the same pond, it empties fast. But go to another pond, and you might just get a bite"
— Bjørn van den Berg, Norwegian Designer
