Karakter floor reading lamps

Karakter is a Danish design brand founded in 2017 by Kim Mekawi and Christian Elving. With a desire to break away from traditional Danish design, they started a brand that is not tied to a particular nationality or style.

Mekawi and Elving are fascinated by a cosmopolitan mindset and a desire to work with like-minded people from all corners of the globe. The name Karakter comes from the company’s desire to have a distinct character, which they think stands for something one believes in. The core of the company is to offer products that feel relevant, honest, expressive, and sometimes also playful with an uncompromising attitude to quality.

International design from contemporary stars and yesterday's masters

With roots in the Scandinavian design tradition and a love of quality and craftsmanship, Karakter adds an international touch to its products. Their range includes furniture, lighting, and interior design pieces created by the best contemporary designers and masters from yesterday. Today’s stars include Dutch designer Aldo Bakker and Swiss design studio PlueerSmitt. From the previous century, design icons include Bodil Kjær, Pier Giacomo and Achille Castiglioni, Paul McCobb, Joe Colombo, and Angelo Mangiarotti.

Aesthetically, Karakter’s products can be very different from each other. What brings them together is their unique shapes, expressed in a calm and pleasing way. Each design has a clear, unmistakable expression that comes into its own in both private homes and public spaces around the world. For Karakter, it does not matter if they were designed today or in the 1920s, as long as they meet their criteria of being relevant, well designed and, of course, beautiful. Some recent products from the Karakter range are the Aida and Lari table lamps designed by the Italian Angelo Mangiarotti in the 1970s and 1980s, the Office Desk designed by Bodil Kjær in 1959 and the Bon and TriAngle stools designed by Aldo Bakker.