Copenhagen’s design calendar is once again anchored by 3daysofdesign, Denmark’s official design festival and the city’s flagship Design Week. From June 10 to 12, the 2026 edition unfolds under the theme Make this moment Matterwhich spreads across eight Design Districts and confirms the event’s position as a global platform to showcase and celebrate creativity.
Among this year’s presentations that stood out is his return TOOLnow in its third edition. Founded in 2024 by Frederick Weber, Gustav Dupont, Jonas Trampedach, Casper Saltoand Michael Antrobus, TOOL has built its reputation as an award-winning exhibition format dedicated to a single, deceptively simple question: what role do tools play in shaping design?
TOOL 3 at 3daysofdesign 2026 © Peter Winther
A Sailmaker’s Chair by Sia Hurtigkarl for TOOLS 3 at 3daysofdesign 2026 © Peter Winther
Pocket by Foster + Partners Industrial Design for TOOLS 3 at 3daysofdesign 2026 © Peter Winther
Plane by Michael Antrobus for TOOLS 3 at 3daysofdesign 2026 © Peter Winther
Peep by Louise Campbell for TOOLS 3 at 3daysofdesign 2026 © Peter Winther
Avalanche sofa by Erwan Bouroullec for TOOLS 3 at 3daysofdesign 2026 © Peter Winther
TOOL 3 at 3daysofdesign 2026 © Peter Winther
TOOL 3 at 3daysofdesign 2026 © Peter Winther
TOOL returns to 3daysofdesign
For VÆRKTØJ 3, the answer has a sharp, unifying focus. The sewing machine – a tool equally at home in industrial production and home craft – has been used, in part or in full, to create each piece in the exhibition. Starting from this common starting point, the show explores how tools shape not only the design process but also its outcomes, informing material choices, forms and ideas long before a finished object is formed.
“VÆRKTØJ 3 invites visitors to examine the often invisible influence of tools and how they shape a designer’s identity“, explain the founders of the platform. They extend this idea with a broader reflection on the role of tools throughout human history:Throughout history, tools have been vital to humanity’s ability to survive and innovate. From primitive stone tools to advanced machinery, tools have been key to shaping the world. In the form of the exhibition, we want to communicate and show how our identity as designers is largely shaped by the tools we use, as they not only guide the development of ideas and creative processes but also leave a distinct imprint on the final product“.
The designers
This year’s exhibition brings together new works from ten designers and studios: Ervan Buroulek, Foster + Partners Industrial Design, Frederick Gustav, Jonas Trampedach, Casper Salto, Louise Campbell, Lark Ryom, Michael Antrobus, Pearson Lloydand Sia Hurtigkarl. Each interprets the sewing machine through a distinct lens, resulting in a collection that ranges from soft seating to sculptural lighting. Ervan BuroulekThe Avalanche Couch begs the question of what counts as “better minimumBuilt in the most direct way possible, it strips the sofa down to essential form and function, while the Tyvek upholstery redefines minimalism in terms of fabrics – lightweight, durable and washable.
Foster + Partners Industrial Design presents Lomme, a lighting collection whose name is the Danish word for “pocket”, reflecting the spatial depth and form created through a simple act of connection. Here, the stitching is structural rather than purely decorative: a single stitch defines a geometric fold and gives the piece its shape. Frederick GustavThe Soft Box uses small folded and stitched volumes of fabric to create softly diffused clusters of light. Connected by thin spring steel wires, the system can be scaled into free-form spatial arrangements that climb and meander through a room.
Jonas TrampedachThe Taut Lamp is based on fabric samples finished with translucent polyester thread, which becomes almost invisible once illuminated. The fabric is stretched over a custom glass tube that acts as both a light source and structural element. Casper Salto transforms his own table construction from last year’s version into a stool with Otto, combining materials chosen for their quality, durability and beauty. The pillow, created by Rick Salto made from recycled vintage fabric, it echoes the warm glow and geometry of the pressed wood frame beneath it.
Louise CampbellPeep is a series of lightweight roll-up lamps made from almost weightless fabrics and paper, made with as few stitches as possible and designed to pack flat. Thin spiral strips and sticks hold the form together, while the visible dark stitching only serves to join the materials together.
With the Enfold chair, Lark Ryom treats upholstery as a tailored garment rather than a covering, dressing the chair frame in pleats and folds that challenge conventional stretched membrane. The effect dissolves the usual hierarchy between base and wallpaper into a single, shared formation of texture and form. Michael Antrobus‘s Plane is a lounger built around a leather sling suspended within a steel frame. Two layers of leather are precisely stitched along their edges to form the seat, while the wooden supports integrate seamlessly with the frame, softening its industrial structure.
Design formed by the act of construction
Pearson Lloyd‘s BiCone continues the studio’s exploration of dematerialization. Instead of using the sewing machine to line an existing form, the studio lets the ripstop nylon and fiberglass knees create the form. Presented here as a pendant light, BiCone is an expression of an ongoing research into projection, lighting and related typologies. Finally, Sia Hurtigkarl‘s En Sejlmagers Stol is made from discarded sails, reusing strong marine textiles while retaining traces of their former life at sea. The project is as much a study of sailing as it is a chair – exploring the seams, reinforcements, machines, materials and construction methods specific to the sailing profession.
Taken together, the ten works in VÆRKTØJ 3 show how far a single tool can travel – from the industrial workshop to the domestic sewing table – and how deeply it can affect creative process. More than a means of production, the sewing machine emerges as an active participant in design, shaping material choices, guiding formal decisions, and opening up unexpected possibilities. The exhibition ultimately reveals that each tool carries its own logic and that part of a designer’s voice is shaped through the instruments they choose to work with.
