Mernøe was born from the desire to share a warm and intimate space with family and friends: the non-ordinary tale of a lighting brand
Mernøe’s Nr 1 ceiling lamp will be featured in the exhibition THIS IS DENMARK hosted at Alcova for the Milan Design Week 2023
Sometimes design is a personal affair and becomes a way to respond to emotional needs. The Danish brand Mernøe originated from this thinking when Morten Mernøe decided to design a lamp for the family dining table. Winters are long and dark in Northern Europe: light has always been a primal issue for the well-being of indoor living.
Mister Mernøe wanted a lamp able to create an intimate but luminous space in his dining room to grant himself, his family, and his friends an intimate environment.
Mernøe was inspired by love and affection and by the very human need to build a comfortable and warm space around people. “When my brother and I first saw the lamp my father designed,” remembers Jacob Mernøe, “we immediately understood that we wanted to do something about it. We wanted to share this beautiful pendant lamp, so starting our own business together was quite a spontaneous decision. We founded the brand in 2020”.
Starting a brand from one product
The Mernøe first pendant lamp (the Nr.1) became the starting point of a whole design and handcraft brand. Today two more products have been added to the catalog and their inspiration is to be found in the care and attention for materials, manufacture, and shapes of the very first lamp created for a family dining room.
“We only produce by order, with customized materials for each piece, and personalize the lamp together with the customer listening to the likes and dislikes of our customers to meet their tastes and expectations” adds Jacob Mernøe.
Moreover, “We are open to designing customized items too, to adapt them to the space they will be placed in. We work with local craftsmen to manufacture our wood and metal parts. Also, we finish everything by hand and assemble it in our showroom in Østerbro, Copenhagen.”
Crafts and design converge in perfect products
The Mernøe design process is led by a profound awareness of what it means to manufacture products today. Constructive simplicity, natural and long-lasting details, as long as a human-centered design are the first themes of the brand identity.
Besides technical and electrical parts, the products are made of handcrafted metal and wood elements. Each component is attentively shaped to become an aesthetic and precious detail that enhances the general feeling of sensible, although rational, care.
To appreciate Mernøe’s work means to attentively observe the product. Each metal part is skillfully handworked to become precious as a jewel.
The gently curved shape of the bottom part of the pendant lamp, the perfectly balanced presence of different materials, and the naturally finished wood enhance the natural peculiarities of the surface.
Mernøe is made with a love for design and a deep understanding of what it means to delicately enter into people’s life.
How was Mernoe born? When?
It all started in 2018, when our dad, Morten Mernøe, designed and created a pendant for the family dining table. He and our mother needed a new pendant, and he decided to make one himself. His ambition was to make a design that should contribute to the setting: Making an intimate space with warm but sufficient light to create a “room” around the table. He wanted to create a space of presence to see friends and family.
When my brother and I first saw the pendant, we knew right away we wanted to do something about it – that pendent should not only be in our family’s dining room. Combined with a mutual interest in design and starting our own business it felt like a natural and great opportunity to start working together. We started the company in 2020.
How did you decide to focus on lighting design?
It was only natural, as the need for a light started the desire for our father to make his own.
What are the main values of your brand?
Traditional craftsmanship and beautiful long-lasting materials. We find inspiration for our design and brands in architecture, art, and design. We use modern technology to bring that into the future.
Is handicraft part of your company culture?
Absolutely. We only produce by order and customize materials for each piece together with the customer. We also make design customization, when customers need to fit our products into a certain environment. Also, we work with local craftsmen to manufacture our wood and metal parts. We finish everything by hand and assemble them in our showroom in Østerbro, Copenhagen.
Would you describe the design process and the constructive composition of one of your most successful or important products?
The design process is very important however being a brand we believe in everything we do is important for the total impact.
This Denmark exhibition, staged at Alcova during the Milan Design Week 2023, wishes to offer an overview, through 15 selected objects, of how contemporary Danish creators and companies interpret today the key values coming from their national heritage.
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