Copenhagen-based colour house Blēo, known for its water-based and non-toxic paints, has teamed up with innovative British design duo Barber Osgerby to create a dynamic new collection
Danish paint company Blēo might only be a year old, but the roster of creative partnerships it has amassed in that time would be impressive for even the most long-established firm. From world-renowned starchitect David Chipperfield and fashion designer Cecilie Bahnsen to Dutch artist Sabine Marcelis, the company has collaborated with some of the most notable names in the field of design and beyond to create bespoke shades to add to its collection.
“There’s something very strong and powerful in seeing our palettes next to each other – you very quickly see which palette belongs to which designer,” says Blēo founder Anne Grønskov. “It’s their signature colours, the designer’s universe, that you now can play with at home.” Blēo takes its name from the Old English word for ‘colour’ and was founded by Grønskov in Copenhagen in 2023.
The company works with local producers in the Danish capital to create paints that are 100 per cent water-based and non-toxic. Grønskov launched the company as a response to what she saw as a growing appetite for an alternative to whitewashed walls. “In Scandinavia, where we like neutral tones very much, we definitely see people becoming more bold and trying to create a more personalised home. It’s also an easy, and cheaper, way to update your home compared to buying new furniture.”
For its latest collaboration, Grønskov teamed up with British design duo Barber Osgerby to create a palette of 18 shades. “Asking Barber Osgerby to do a colour palette for Blēo was a dream come true,” says Grønskov. “I’ve been a fan of theirs for many years. I think they are some of the best designers out there today, and I have half a dozen of their Bellhop lamps spread around my home.” The palette is a spectrum-spanning array of shades, from the striking scarlet of Pyrrol to the understated earthiness of Ochre. Creating these exact hues, notes Grønskov, was a painstakingly precise process. “Some of the colours we tested six or seven times before we got that specific green, blue or yellow.
For Jay Osgerby, who founded his design firm with creative partner Edward Barber in 1996, it was this exacting attention to detail that made working with Blēo a particularly exciting proposition. “Their dedication to innovation and quality craftsmanship provided the perfect partnership for pushing the boundaries of traditional paint and exploring new avenues in colour design,” he says. “Collaborating with Blēo allowed us to delve deeper into colour exploration, analysing the relationship between colour, light and space.”
The resulting range of paints is named Still Life, which Osgerby explains was inspired by the design duo’s focus on the interplay of colours on canvas. “Just as still-life paintings capture the beauty and essence of everyday objects through a meticulous attention to detail and colour, so our collection aims to encapsulate that same richness and depth in each shade. The name reflects our commitment to creating timeless, evocative colours that will bring a new life to any space.”
Images by Blēo
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