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Guide
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Clerkenwell Design Week returns 19–21 May 2026, and three of the houses we represent at our Chelsea showroom will be there. Explore our short guide to where you can find Gemla, Eikund and RS Barcelona across EC1, and why we think each is worth the detour.
Each of these houses works slowly, with material at the centre - steam-bent beech, Norwegian wool and oak, hand-finished steel. They are not chasing the season. They are building pieces that will still feel right in a room thirty years from now, which is the kind of design we find ourselves returning to.
A decade-long treasure hunt through Norway’s mid-century archive, now made afresh in Stavanger.
Founded in2016, Eikund has built its reputation by rediscovering forgotten Norwegian designs from the post-war golden age and putting them back into production —properly, with the original makers’ families where possible. Expect solid oak,naturally tanned leather and Norwegian wool, in shapes that have aged better than most things made since.
Find them at: Norwegian International Collection - Church of Design, St Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield, EC1A 9DS.
Monique Tollgard also presents Eikund andjoins the panel “Creating nurturing spaces to thrive: the Norwegian design approach” at Haberdashers’ Hall, Thursday 21 May, 15:30–16:30.
Sweden’s oldest furniture maker, founded in 1861, still steam-bending beech by hand in the village of Diö.
Gemla’s archive runs deep - Axel Einar Hjorth, Åke Axelsson, and a steady stream of contemporary collaborators who understand the discipline of working with a160-year-old workshop. The pieces are quiet, structural, and built to outlast the people who buy them. If you care about how a chair is actually put together, this is the stand to linger at.
Find them at: Church of Design, St Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield, EC1A 9DS.
Spanishdesign with a sense of play - outdoor tables, indoor games, and a Mediterranean confidence in colour.
Founded in1975, RS Barcelona has spent fifty years making the case that good design canalso be joyful. Their foosball tables sit in museums; their outdoor furnituresits comfortably in courtyards from Mallorca to Marylebone. Steel, powder coat,marine-grade textiles — engineered to live outside, designed to be livedaround.
Find them at: Interiors From Spain - Museum of the Order of St John, St John’s Gate, EC1M 4DA.
To enquire about pieces featured here, or to discuss a project, contact us: sales@tollgard.com.
Milan Design Week returns each year as a pilgrimage for those who believe that a piece of furniture is never merely functional, it is an idea made tangible.
The energy of Salone del Mobile 2026 carried a particular resonance this spring, driven by the year's theme: A Matter of Salone. Materials as the genesis of design - stone, petal, wood, sponge - became a lens through which we encountered the familiar afresh.
What inspired us most was the focus on craft, longevity and design. We've curated a selection of pieces that captured this, each one destined for the Tollgard showroom in London... stay tuned.
Bieke Castelyn - Clover Coffee Table
We've long admired Bieke Casteleyn's refusal to over-explain. Her new coffee table 'Clover' carries that conviction forward - a study in what materials want to be, unadorned. The form is sculptural without claiming to be art; the materials speak for themselves. It's the kind of piece that settles into a room and only reveals itself with time.
Pieter Maes's Bracci armchair is a study in the language of embrace. The designer continues his exploration of sculptural seating with this piece, where the delicately curved backrest gathers leather naturally at its centre, as though inviting the body to settle in. Built around a solid oak frame in Coal brushed finish, with Lenis Amber leather, the Bracci exemplifies the kind of emotional restraint that marks excellent design.
Jeroen de Ruddere - FL5 Floor Lamp
The FL5 is a sculptural wooden floor lamp that unites the strength of nature with refined contemporary sensibility. De Ruddere's signature approach - drawing inspiration from the organic world, then distilling it into pure geometric form is evident throughout. The tree-trunk-inspired silhouette feels both solid and elegant, a balance that defines his practice. Available in Brutal Oak, Gentle Oak, Mahogany, and American Walnut.
The Volta modular sofa for Linteloo is designed on the principle of a continuous arch, gentle curves that embrace those gathered within. Each module forms part of an architectural whole that can be extended, opened, or made more intimate according to need.
LEMA's Vega coffee table represents the Italian maker's commitment to refined proportion and material expression. The piece anchors a living space through its confident geometry and careful use of wood or stone.
Ceccotti Collezioni - Eugene Armchair
DRAW Studio's Eugene Armchair for Ceccotti Collezioni caught us early and held our attention. A reinterpretation of mid-century form, it channels the rounded shapes and enveloping comfort of 1950s and '60s design through a decidedly contemporary lens. The construction is quietly rigorous, circular in plan, grounded on a solid wood cross base, with a generous round seat.
Naoto Fukasawa's Bosco armchair for Molteni&C is Inspired by the gentle hills of Tuscany. The chair's soft, generous volume and subtly divided contours echo the rhythms of landscape. The form favours continuity, shaping a compact silhouette that feels stable, protective, and calm.
Poltrona Frau - Stock 'n' Roll Dressing Table
We've fallen for the Stock 'n' Roll Dressing Table by Sebastian Herkner. It's a piece that doesn't try too hard, an exquisitely proportioned form in curved beech and soft Pelle Frau leather. Open it, and you find an interior quietly ready for ritual.
Designed by Staffan Tollgård & Filippo Castellani, the Heiko chair for Riva 1920 exemplifies the marriage of clean, understated design with refined execution. A solid wood frame defined by architectural clarity is balanced by soft curves and rounded cylindrical sections. This is design that knows its purpose and serves it with dignity.
De Castelli - Dorica Sideboard
We've long admired De Castelli's ability to turn metal into poetry. The Dorica Sideboard is a perfect example - inspired by the fluting of classical columns, it becomes a sculptural presence in any room. The concave slats catch the light beautifully in that signature De Fauvé finish, while practical shelving hides inside.
Established & Sons - Layup Lounge Chair
Nathan Martell's collaboration with Established & Sons explores the evolving possibilities of 3D veneer formin, a technique that allows complex sculptural silhouettes to emerge from layered wood construction. What appears as a single, sinuous form is in fact a multi-part moulded veneer assembly, seamlessly joined. British design pushing the boundaries of what wood can become.
The Kawa series designed by Staffan Tollgård & Filippo Castellani reimagines the side table through a studied dialogue between top and base. Compact, round or rectangular surfaces sit atop asymmetrical supports - vertical elements offset beneath to create a dynamic interplay of solid and void.
Keep an eye out for some of these pieces to arrive in our London showroom soon. Experience them in person - to understand not just the thinking, but the making.
To enquire about pieces featured here, or to discuss a project, contact us: sales@tollgard.com.
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