Students at Iceland Academy of the Arts had a design rendezvous with the Icelandic Forestry recently and came up with a bunch of snazzy product designs, which they collectively called: Rendez-Wood.

Originating from a workshop that investigated the potential of locally-produced wood, the students took inspiration from the qualities and abilities of the Icelandic outdoors. The ideas derive from the urge to use the material world to make something new and to experience the joy of creating, using simple and honest methods. It is a back to basics and primitive concept focusing on modern man’s need to reconnect with nature.

In total seven concepts were realised, each designed by the product design students who took part in the workshop:

-Gone Baking by Björk Gunnbjörnsdóttir – A Hot Spring Baking Experience
-Spil by Ágústa Sveinsdóttir – Low-Tech Playful Accessories
-Seaweed Collector by Sigurjón Axelsson – A Connection Between Two Worlds
-Stick Around by Thelma Hrund Benediktsdóttir – Walking Stick as a Body Rest
-Very Light by Búi Bjartmar Aðalsteinsson – In Need of Sustainable Energy
-Burn Bowl by Anna Guðmundsdóttir – Primitive Outdoor Cooking Experience
-Infuse by Katrín Magnúsdóttir – Experiments with Flavours in the Local Environment.

The tutors of three-related courses, Guðfinna Mjöll Magnúsdóttir, Dögg Guðmundsdóttir and Hafsteinn Júlíusson, were paramount in guiding the students to explore the current value of Icelandic wood and its possibilities as a production material in the near future.

Further information – and some great videos – can be found on the Rendez-Wood project website.