BOON_EDITIONS: the art of creating tomorrow’s archetypes

Norwegian creative director Kristofer Kongshaug has created a unique world at the crossroads of art, design and fashion in a former metal foundry converted into a concept gallery. Through his contemporary furniture label, BOON_EDITIONS, he invites designers driven by their own aesthetic to create pieces crafted by Europe’s finest artisans. It is not just another showroom, but rather a discerning vision of collectible design conceived with the long term in mind.

From a summer job in Oslo to the workshops of the Chambre Syndicale

Kristofer Kongshaug – WeAreKollectors Magazine

Nothing in Kristofer Kongshaug’s background was particularly conducive to a career in design. As a teenager, he dreamed of becoming a banker. However, a job in a fashion boutique was enough to change his mind. He first went to Milan to study design at the Istituto Marangoni, and then to Paris to train in garment construction in the most rigorous tradition at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. He then worked at Givenchy and Anne Valérie Hash before launching his own brand in 2008, creating architectural and sombre pieces and armour-like garments. However, it was an unexpected detour that would change everything. While searching for a workshop for his collections, he stumbled upon a derelict building in Paris — a former metal foundry with over 350 years of history. “A friend and I contacted the owners and managed to convince them to grant us a lease. It was supposed to cost a tenth of what we ended up spending,” he recalls. The place was too big and too expensive. We had to come up with something else.

When the venue dictates the project

This overly spacious building became a catalyst. In order to cover the rent, Kristofer and his partner set up a photography studio, organised events and hosted fashion pop-ups and exhibitions. A fashion gallery eventually settled there naturally. Meeting Clemente Pediconi, an Italian architect and entrepreneur, in 2007 accelerated everything: BOON was born from the merging of their respective activities. Design then entered the equation — almost by inheritance. “My mother was an interior architect and product designer. Combining fashion and design was a natural fit,” Kristofer explains. Decorative items slipped between the clothes racks and were offered to professional fashion buyers from retailers all over the world. The space first opened to the public as a design and lifestyle gallery, before becoming BOON_ROOM the following year. Paris had discovered a place that defied categorisation — not quite a shop, not quite a gallery, not quite a showroom, but a bit of all three at once.

The shift to collectibles

BOON_EDITIONS

The shift towards collectible design was a process of elimination. Selling designer ceramics wholesale to fashion boutiques meant seeing your pieces on sale two months later at prices that devalued the creators’ work. “Design margins are lower than fashion margins, and there’s a constant need for renewal. This devalues the work of our talented designers,” notes Kristofer. BOON_ROOM therefore abandoned fashion distribution in favour of design, focusing on exclusive pieces, exhibition formats, and an increasingly discerning selection. Paradoxically, the transformation was accelerated by the pandemic. While the world came to a standstill, Kristofer split his time between Florence and Paris, building a network of manufacturers and developing what would become BOON_EDITIONS.

Designers driven by their own unique vision

BOON_EDITIONS

BOON_EDITIONS does not operate as an open call for projects. Kristofer is not looking for designers who can design anything, from cars to spoons. He seeks creators who are consumed by their own vision. “I like working with designers who are almost prisoners of their own world. This can make them obsessive and very critical of their own work, and that’s exactly what produces good design.” Each collection by Pieter Maes, Stefano Giacomello, Atelier Pendhapa and Tom Hancocks bears a distinct signature, yet an invisible thread connects them. Most recently, Loïc Bard has joined the roster, with the first pieces just launched. The same materials run through every edition: the same fabrics and consistent palette. “We try to create the archetypes of tomorrow,” says Kristofer. The aim is clear: for a BOON_EDITIONS piece to be recognisable, even if you can’t quite put your finger on why. They are familiar and memorable, yet impossible to pin down to a trend.

The antidote to the furniture giants

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Kristofer does not shy away from taking a clear stance. BOON_EDITIONS aims to provide an alternative to major furniture groups, which end up producing interchangeable pieces through a series of mergers and takeovers. “We want to be an antidote to all these big design groups that have merged and re-merged, and which ultimately all design the same thing.” The gallery has also learnt lessons from a collectibles market that became overheated before the pandemic — platforms selling the same pieces, offering discounts to close deals and devaluing designers through overexposure. BOON_ROOM has taken the opposite approach: fewer products, greater exclusivity and bespoke collections developed for the gallery.

From furniture to property: living in a BOON world

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The next chapter is being written in stone. BOON is entering the high-end property development market in Paris with its first flagship project: a townhouse in the Parc Monceau area that has been transformed into an exceptional residence. The ground floor is fully furnished with pieces from the BOON_EDITIONS collection, created in collaboration with Métaphores, a French fabric house. “We are minimalists. We love textures and monochrome palettes. Métaphores is luxurious, chic, and deeply elegant, with classic roots — very different from our own aesthetic. This collaboration goes both ways: it is a chance for both of us to show that we are capable of much more than what people expect.” Meanwhile, the upper floors will host solo exhibitions in a minimalist gallery setting with white walls, concrete floors and views of the park.

Ten years ahead of the game, and the patience to match

BOON_MONCEAU

When asked where BOON will be in a few years’ time, Kristofer replies that he always thinks ten years ahead. Expansion is underway, with around fifteen retailers across the US, the Middle East, and Korea, but it is happening without haste. “We’re not trying to compete with anyone. We’re not trying to make our mark on the industry. We do what we do, and we’ll keep doing it. We choose our designers for specific reasons.” For BOON_EDITIONS, choosing a designer is a matter of soul, not catalogue. “It’s not about showing us your latest chair. It’s more like, ‘What is your world? Where do you come from? Are you ready to share it with us?'” It’s a process that takes time. But at BOON, time has never been a constraint.