The Unknown Story of Norwegian Hardanger Flatware

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The Unknown Story of Norwegian Hardanger Flatware

In 2012, the prestigious Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in New York began selling Hardanger cookie cutlery under the label MOMA exclusive. This has led to increased interest in the Hardanger cutlery range. Read the unknown story of Norwegian Hardanger flatware.

Cutlery is something that we all use every day. No other factory has taken this fact more seriously than Hardanger Bestikk in Norway, which today offers 27 different designs, since not every type of mass-produced cutlery suits every group of users.

The Unknown Story of Norwegian Hardanger Flatware
Ramona knife, spoon and fork

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Tuva fits everyone
However, Per Finne Industridesign studied thoroughly how people use knives, forks and spoons and incorporated this knowledge into the whole design process to end up with a result which suits anyone who sits down to eat. Thanks to the Tuva cutlery’s design, there is no need to have special cutlery available for particular groups, either for children or people with a restricted use of their hands.

Representatives from MoMa discovered the Hardanger Tuva flatware, created as an additional product alongside the usual cutlery, during an exhibition in Frankfurt in 2011. However, the oldest cutlery series from Hardanger Bestikk is Ramona, Silje and Carina, launched in 1982 and designed by Odd Leikvoll, the founder of the Norwegian factory. The timeless design with brushed surfaces and straight edges has struck the nerve of the Scandinavian design, with no geographical limitations.

The Unknown Story of Norwegian Hardanger Flatware
Tuva by Per Finne fits everyone

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Hollow handles
Since 2009, Hardanger Bestikk has been using Tuva cutlery (MoMa Exclusive), designed with hollow handles, to show that it is possible to create products which are considered to look good on the table and are accessible to a larger group of users. The cutlery is lighter, but also easy and substantial enough to grip so that it can be used by any group of users, from children to the elderly.

Hardanger Bestikk, located in Kinsarvik on the Hardanger Fjord, is today Scandinavia’s largest producer of flatware and its products are based on the finest Norwegian handicraft traditions and a strong focus on quality.

The Unknown Story of Norwegian Hardanger Flatware
Thanks to the Tuva cutlery’s design, there is no need to have special cutlery available for particular groups

Related: Tailormade Tableware Design From Norway

Hardanger Cutlery since 1982
Since 1982, Hardanger Bestikk has produced over 42 million pieces of cutlery. To put it into perspective, we can say that every citizen of Canada, Poland or Iraq can have one cutlery piece each.

In 2009, Hardanger Bestikk and Per Finne received Award for Design Excellence.

The Unknown Story of Norwegian Hardanger Flatware, written by Tor Kjolberg

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Journalist, PR and marketing consultant Tor Kjolberg has several degrees in marketing management. He started out as a marketing manager in Scandinavian companies and his last engagement before going solo was as director in one of Norway’s largest corporations. Tor realized early on that writing engaging stories was more efficient and far cheaper than paying for ads. He wrote hundreds of articles on products and services offered by the companies he worked for. Thus, he was attuned to the fact that storytelling was his passion.