Ever since its inception in 1993, Norrgavel has consistently chosen to manufacture furniture from pure natural materials created through photosynthesis. This is the cycle where plants and living organisms harness energy from sunlight. This conscious decision naturally influences our production. Solid wood and open surface treatments are often associated with Norrgavel—timelessly designed furniture made of oak, birch, or beech, treated with oil, pigmented oil, soap, and egg oil tempera. Join us on a brief tour of our production facilities in Lammhult.
Production in natural harmony
When you step into Norrgavel's production in Lammhult, you are greeted by a pleasant scent of wood, soap, and linseed oil. Here, the furniture is surface-treated, assembled, and quality-checked before they are ready to move into a new home.
In Lammhult, we primarily work with open surface treatments such as soap and oil, as well as the eco-friendly pigment egg oil tempera. Through this, we highlight and preserve the wood's natural properties. Distinctive and expressive!
At Norrgavel, we love using solid wood for our furniture – this lively and durable natural material that also sequesters carbon dioxide (CO₂). No piece of furniture is the same, precisely because each individual tree leaves its own unique mark on every piece of furniture. And even after the tree has been felled and sawn into timber, the natural material continues to be influenced by the surrounding environment. That's why we choose to call wood a living material. Since wood reacts to moisture and temperature, it lives in harmony with the seasons.
Solid wood is a so-called hygroscopic material that can adapt to the surrounding humidity. Wood absorbs water when the air is humid and releases water when the air is dry. That's why it moves. The movements diminish over time, but they never completely cease. Drawers slide best in winter, door gaps are narrowest in summer. Wide boards usually cup slightly, and small cracks can always occur. Wood is alive.
>>Learn more about the natural material wood - explore Norrgavel's comprehensive wood guide!
"The concept of circular thinking is the very foundation of our approach to making furniture. Natural materials often stimulate our senses in a powerful way, and they are easy to maintain and typically age gracefully."
OIL & SOAP - LETS THE WOOD LIVE
Open surface treatments like soap, oil, and pigmented oil allow the wood to continue living and adapt to the seasons. Moreover, it's practical to live with – easy to care for and maintain, and it's simple to restore the surface to its nearest original condition.
In the production facilities in Lammhult, each piece of furniture undergoes an inspection before the chosen surface treatment is applied. Sometimes, certain parts need a bit of extra sanding before the furniture is ready for surface treatment.
OIL & PIGMENTED OIL
Oil - enhances the luster and grain of the wood while providing a slightly darker tone. Since an oiled surface is already saturated with oil, it is less prone to oil stains.
Brown oil - brings out the luster and grain of oak wood, while the pigment in brown oil provides a dark and rich tone. A perfect choice when looking for an environmentally friendly alternative to dark, tropical wood species.
White oil - for a slightly cooler and whiter tone, you can choose white oil for most of our furniture. The surface feels a bit smoother compared to soap.
.jpg?extend=copy&width=320&method=fit&height=320&sigma=2.5&minampl=0.5&quality=30&type=auto)
.jpg?extend=copy&width=13024&method=fit&height=13024&type=webp)
SOAP
Soap - enhances the natural brightness of the wood. A soaped piece of furniture usually becomes a bit lighter/whiter and gains a slightly grayer tone. A well-soaped dining table becomes very easy to maintain over time. As an example, one can compare it to old scrubbed floors.
When the furniture has been treated with soap or oil, any excess is wiped off to prevent the wood from becoming oversaturated. They are then placed on a drying rack where the wood can absorb the surface treatment properly. A day later, the furniture is properly packaged and on its way to its new home.
>> Take advantage of our care instructions for wooden furniture treated with oil or soap.
TEMPERA - PURE COLORFUL JOY
Egg oil tempera is a sustainable paint consisting of locally produced linseed oil, Swedish eco-eggs, and earth pigments. An environmentally friendly and beautiful paint suitable for both painting wooden furniture and walls.
.jpg?extend=copy&width=320&method=fit&height=427&sigma=2.5&minampl=0.5&quality=30&type=auto)
.jpg?extend=copy&width=13024&method=fit&height=17365&type=webp)
In Lammhult, the production staff are specialists in painting with egg oil tempera - a time-consuming process that requires a lot of manual labor and a long drying/curing time. After the first coat of egg oil tempera, the furniture is sanded before applying the next layer.
When egg oil tempera dries, an oxidation process occurs where the egg and oil molecules bind together to form a very tough and strong network of long molecular chains. The slow oxidation of tempera has many advantages. It creates a highly durable surface that doesn't flake or crack. Instead, the color surface wears down over time due to abrasion, resulting in a beautifully patinated surface.
Newly painted furniture stands and dries, waiting for the paint to cure sufficiently to be packaged and shipped to its new home.
Furniture painted with a color made of binders and pigments from nature feels different compared to furniture painted with plastic binders and synthetic colorants. The natural materials provide a sense of closeness to nature and life in general.
Take advantage of our care instructions for wooden furniture painted with tempera.
