out and about :: twelve at stockholm furniture fair, 2015

Disegno founder and editor-in-chief Johanna Agerman Ross curated Twelve for the Stockholm Furniture Fair, an edit of established independent, Nordic designers. The theme for this year was Methods. “In recent years, the documentation of research and the practical method of making has become just as prominent a part of the project as the finished design itself,” she said.

Alexander Lervik highlighted the role that 3D printing plays in his work, showing the wooden armchair Nordic alongside its 3D printed prototype and a collection of 3D printed jewellery. “In 2009 I did a TEDx lecture about 3D printing in the year 2025,” he said. “Most of the things I thought would happen by then have already occurred.”

Anna Kraitz’s work showcases the method of narrative. “During a certain period, my daughter was an early riser,” she said. “That made me an early riser too. At dawn I would get dressed and braid my hair.”

Anki Gneib looked at the reinvention of tradition as her method – and showed her Super Trooper pendant lights and Star Trooper table light. An LED is integrated into an acrylic cross-section in the turned wood shade.

“A staircase in Robert Venturi’s Vanna Venturi House in Philadelphia leads nowehere,” said Petra Lilja. “That was the starting point for this project.” Looking at archetypes as a method of design, she developed a furniture collection for a summer house in southern Sweden inspired by the symbolism of the staircase, all made using locally sourced materials.

People People used crowdfunding as their method and showed the Transparent Speaker, a project that was successfully funded in 2012. “Today, anyone with a good enough idea can launch it on a global scale with very little resource, thanks to the internet,” said the designers. “It’s not the giants forcing stuff upon us, it’s the people choosing what deserves to be produced.” All elements of the speaker are visible and easily accessible for replacements to extend the lifespan of the product.

Working with the theme of morphosis, ByMars showed Mopmob24/28, a cabinet made from broomstick handles, Hat Lamp, which uses a sun hat as a light shade, and Swan Lamp with a curved neck made from a walking stick. “Objects can be used in different ways,” said ByMars founder Mars Hwasung Yoo. “By shifting a component or the usage of an object, it can break conventional perspectives and create another value.”

Lina Nordqvist’s work tends to focus on visualising stories and portraying moods, hence her method of scenography. The collection focused on furniture and objects from a theatrical perspective. “Architecture and the art of building is a big inspiration,” she said, “as well as the dramatic value of a visual experience.”

Jenny Nordberg took the theme of performance and showed two collections – 3-5 Seconds is a collection of tabletop accessories, each piece of which is made in three to five seconds, and 3-5 Minutes is a furniture collection made on the same premise. “Is it possible to make handmade items fast?” she asks.

“When developing a product I have a hands-on working process,” said Mia Cullin. “I prefer to work with physical models to have control of the process.” Mia focused on structures and modularity in design, showing a selection of smaller objects including cushions and a bag, alongside larger works such as a bench with a woven leather strapping seat and a wool felt rug formed from individual star-shaped pieces.

Glimpt used journeys as a method for design, showing a selection of work developed over the past five years and inspired by travels to Vietnam, South Africa, Peru, and Romania. “The human is an explorer,” designers Tor Palm and Mattias Rask said, “and that is what we see ourselves as, designers on an adventure exploring the world through design and crafts.”

Stockholm-based John Astbury‘s Piccolo lamp came about as a result of a conversation about hotel lobbies and is inspired by a call bell. “My method is based on dialogue, words, conversations,” he said. “Design for me is as much about texts as drawings.”

And finally, Folkform created the exhibition itself, using material as their method. Founders Anna Holmquist and Chandra Ahlsell drew on their studio’s fascination with materials to create a series of arches made from aerated concrete. “Each new material we work with takes some time to get to know, to get to know the feeling of it or how it acts,” they said.

Further reading for the especially geeky:

• out and about :: greenhouse, sff15
• out and about :: northmodern
• coadgbursary :: home london, jan15
• out and about :: desso best in class winner

The Stockholm Furniture Fair is one of four shows we’re covering for Issue 2 of Fiera Magazine, so keep your eyes peeled for lots more new design talent – preorder your copy of Issue 2 now.