The FRAMA Office: A Second Home
For one reason or another, a workplace can’t always be a reflection of its purpose. The spaces where interior pieces are designed are not always in line with their aesthetics, or the homes where those pieces will actually be used. For us at FRAMA, though, the space where the team gathers to work every day is a manifestation of our vision for living. The “office” space is a former apartment — which helps — and is organized so as to offer the open, inviting environment that we hope to create through FRAMA pieces in spaces all over.
– FRAMA Founder Niels Stroyer Christophersen
In part due to the space really being a former apartment, this feeling of a home is apparent — the interior is organized as an environment for experimentation, intention, and shared interaction. As Niels puts it, “I wanted the office to feel less like a conventional office and more like a place for dwelling and conversing. Rather than centering around desk culture, let’s center around tables, chairs, and couches. The way you’d meet a friend in the comfort of their space. Although we did eventually need to bring in some desks, the aim was to make them more casual and tactile.” For Head of Marketing Rhya Johnston-Wallace, this approach then has an impact on how everyone uses and feels connected to the space: “We all treat it like our second home.”
Rhya describes the office as the ultimate representation of the FRAMA universe, and as such a “living, breathing thing.” The dynamic approach to the space includes a flexibility in terms of where different objects might live of how the space is arranged. The office is constantly evolving as new pieces come into the collection or the team grows. For example, as Creative Lead Fredrik Aartun describes, “when I came back from New York earlier this month, my desk was in a new place — nothing is set in stone.” Fred mentions a phase last year when the main meeting room included seating on the floor — “no one is afraid of experimenting” — and this open approach to trying things out with existing pieces in the space is echoed by everyone who has spent time in it.
As the days become darker earlier, though, this flexibility becomes appreciated in terms of finding the focus to develop new ideas for projects ahead. For PR & Community Specialist Paulina Melinauskaite, these different orientations can prompt a needed energy shift in the work day — ”there are always different rooms available; for meetings, to relax, or work on the couch,” and interior inspiration is supported and fostered throughout the space. “Some rooms are cozier for focus in the winter months, while the ‘Tasca room’ is the freshest and most inspiring in the summer.”
This time of year, scented candles dot the entry hallway to welcome guests to the space, and coffees, teas, and pastries from Apotek 57 downstairs from the office encourage the open atmosphere created within the space. The café is an essential public component to the office and adjoins the FRAMA Studio Store.
“Whether somebody is using our living room to cast molds for an exhibition, a massive piece of wood is being hand-painted in our canteen, or the team is all gathering for one of our customary Friday bars, there’s always something happening,” Rhya continues, and as a space to welcome photographers, designers, and collaborators into the FRAMA universe, it’s essential to create an environment that has space for “living” as Fred describes, to prioritize areas that foster creativity and dialogue between us and our friends and collaborators.
In a way, at the office, we are rethinking what an office needs to be — perhaps a bathtub doesn’t need to be in a workspace bathroom, but it communicates an openness that goes beyond necessity. Everyone is encouraged to bring in ideas and rearrange the space’s objects as inspiration strikes: in line with the FRAMA approach to living more broadly, rather than a need for new things, it’s small additions and new perspectives on existing pieces that are most important. As Niels will emphasize, “the team is really what keeps the space dynamic and real—they’re from every corner of the world, and those perspectives mean it’s always evolving.” At its most essential, the FRAMA philosophy introduces a sense of balance and purpose, and our most intimate spaces are the origin point — the home — of it all.
