This coming spring’s edition of Young Designers, Formex’s platform for new talent, is set to consist of 21 selected participants from a variety of categories. Below are some of the experimental and ground-breaking products that will be on show, including handicrafts made from iron netting, designs with emotional functionality and shaped, sustainable soap.
Johanna Forsberg bends iron netting into exclusive works of art. Using her hands, she creates sculpts objects such as torsos, candlesticks, lamps and birds. Each item is unique. She completed her first sculpture whilst she was still at high school in 2001, and later on decided to dedicate every waking moment to becoming an artist and entrepreneur. Since then, she has worked with her passion full time.
“My roots are in Västerbotten, which is also where I have my workshop. The inspiration for the pieces I produce comes from the people I meet and the beauty of the nature around me. I’m fascinated by the contrast between strength and fragility, counterpoised side by side. I think that the netting captures this idea in a very special way.”
Le Soap was founded in 2015 by Karl Fredrik Mattsson, Björn Carlberg and Peter Eriksson, all of whom have an advertising industry background. Mattsson is previously known for his art projects, including the fake coins ”horkarlsmynten", whilst Carlberg was the man behind Kjell, a puppet TV series currently running on TV4, where he plays all the characters. Eriksson has been responsible for a number of successful advertizing campaigns over the years. Now they have come together to make their product debut with Le Soap.
“We initially wanted to produce a line of shavers that were more feminine, as we believed the current range of products out there was so masculine,” says Carlberg. “Each time you got in front of the mirror, it felt as if you were standing and shaving with a German diplomatic car. But, after a while, we realized that we were more interested in everyday consumables. Soap is a consumable, but it has also evolved into something of a status symbol, especially now as the interior design tend has become equally deeply rooted in both the bathroom and the living room. That’s why we wanted to create an attractive soap that is truly organic, not a product that’s just pretending to be kind to the environment, and which delivers added value. Our soap achieves this as every bar sold generates money for BRIS.” Le Soap is Ekogarantie-certified and is approved by The Vegan Society.
Stoft is a multi-disciplinary design studio that was started in Malmö in 2013 by Jenny Ekdahl, Ola Nystedt and Joel Herslow. The aim of the design is to bring an emotional function to the products, above and beyond the functional and financial focus that usually governs design processes today. They have an experimental approach to the development of new products and frequently base their methods on traditional manufacturing techniques that they combine with new ideas and concepts. Stoft always strives to work closely with producers and craftsmen, and seeks to promote small-scale and local production.
“We’re exhibiting at Formex for the first time, and we’re excited about the thought of being able to reach out to a new audience in this way, with products we have developed and produced on a small scale, in collaboration with a number of Swedish manufacturers. We hope that the fair will result in us developing great contacts and interesting meetings, and that Young Designers will act as a springboard for us to reach out with our design concepts.”
Young Designers, Spring 2016:
Ateljé Johanna Forsberg
BahKadisch
Bez Bukvy
Cajsa Wessberg
Camilla Edfors Art and Design
EmmaKisstina Illustration
Eola
Form from - a nomad design studio
Future Days
Glimbling
Havsglas Sverige
Ida Tengvall
Langaeble Stockholm AB
Le soap/Le company Sthlm
Qvist Jewellery
Saga Melina
Smooth Life
Sparv Accessories
Stoft studio
Vandorff
Else Therese Lundgren
Products that have not yet been produced by an established company are submitted in application for Young Designers. The same designer is allowed three exhibits in the area, but each must be for a new product. Adjacent to Young Designers is the Next Step exhibition, for exhibitors who have come a little farther along in establishing their name in the industry. Young Designers is being organized for the sixteenth time and Next Step for the twelfth time.
Formex will be held on January 20-23, 2016, at Stockholmsmässan.
For more information, please visit www.formex.se or contact:
Christina Olsson, +46 8 749 44 28,christina.olsson@stockholmsmassan.se
Catarina Oscarsson +46 8 749 43 66,catarina.oscarsson@stockholmsmassan.se
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