The colouring book
These pages are taken from a colouring book, given to Magniberg by the Vogue writer Laird Borrelli-Persson – and coloured in by friends of the brand during Salone del Mobile Milano last year, idly yet beautifully over dinner.
The colouring book features pictures by the late-19th-century Swedish artist Carl Larsson. Magniberg founders Bengt Thornefors and Nina Norgren have always taken inspiration from the life and work of Larsson and his wife Karin - an artist and early interior decorator who filled the family's cottage with flowers, books and painted furniture she designed. Which is how Laird arrived one afternoon a couple of years ago, the colouring book tucked under her arm, a thoughtful gift from a friend.
The book sat on a shelf for a year or two – during which time Bengt and Nina fulfilled a dream by shooting a project at the Larsson’s home, in the village of Sundborn, 140 miles northwest of Stockholm.
Then, in April last year, on a whim, Bengt reached for the book as he packed for Salone del Mobile – adding a pencil case of his children’s felt tip pens. Over dinner one evening hosted with Apartamento magazine, the book sat open. New friends and old coloured in as they chatted and drank cocktails. The results are as beautiful and eclectic as the company that evening.