interview :: kneip - confessions of a design geek

This article was published 11 years

I was in Oslo last week, where I met Jørgen Platou Willumsen and Stian Korntved Ruud – founders of craft, design and art studio Kneip. From a 365 day spoon carving project to a studio piled high with rescued materials, they were full of suprises, so I was keen to find out more about how they work ahead of September’s 100{ff546b69e23b1524d799f96c6ba7a638e1f677053b0a2a1568b05315fd5f8fc7} Norway, where they will be exhibiting their functioning weather vanes and more sculptural pieces.

What inspires your work?

We get inspired by a lot of different things. It’s dependent on the project, and what kind of result we are looking for. But some common interests for the both of us are nature, geometry and materials.

Talk me through your design and making process.

We are very hands-on throughout the process. We have a lot of different machines in our studio and we want to learn as much as possible. Both of us have experience in different fields and try to use these influences to make Kneip a diverse studio that works across a variety of disciplines ranging from art and design to crafts. We constantly collect materials like trash, waste and timber wood from the forest. Sometimes it gets a bit messy, but we have a big storage space full of different parts, wood, metals and so on.

What’s your favourite part of the process?

It’s a difficult question because many of our projects have such different approaches. We think it’s really satisfying when an idea starts to materialise, and from there we often go directly to the materials to see if the concept or idea has potential or not.

What’s your favourite tool and why?

We think that has to be the block plane. It’s a magical feeling working with a sharp plane. The sound, the smell and the feeling of the blade cutting perfect slices of the wood.

Tell me about a really good day and a really bad day in the life of Kneip.

We both have in common the thing that a good day is a day when we have produced something. A final product or a materialised concept or idea. When it gets really good, it’s when we discover something new. For instance, an experiment resulting in an unexpected reaction. A bad day for us is a day without materials and tools.

What defines good design?

Good design for us is often a functional object with a surprising or aesthetically motivated choice of material.

What are you most proud of?

We are proud of what we have achieved with Kneip so far. Everything is happening really fast for us now, and after several years of hard work it’s really nice to see that it’s paying off.

What advice would you give to an aspiring designer?

Follow your intuition. Work hard, and have fun along the way.

What’s your favourite colour?

Blue.

What are you most looking forward to about exhibiting at 100{ff546b69e23b1524d799f96c6ba7a638e1f677053b0a2a1568b05315fd5f8fc7} Norway as part of LDF?

We are looking forward to meeting new and familiar people. It would also be nice to get in touch with galleries in London. 100{ff546b69e23b1524d799f96c6ba7a638e1f677053b0a2a1568b05315fd5f8fc7} Norway is a great exhibition and we are proud to be part of a show with so many talented people.