Approach

It begins with form. My approach to a design is deeply personal and springs from a fascination with art, crafts and beautiful shapes. I love it when everyday objects are functional and sculptural and offer good experiences, creativity and a quality feel.

Form follows function, is the modernist dogma, and I am a great admirer of the modernist idiom. However, my own design process almost always begins with a beautiful form, a material or an aesthetic expression. Details are crucial, and sometimes, a specific detail give rise to form and function. 

As a trained goldsmith, I have an affinity for the small scale, details and craftsmanship. When I travel, I typically study and photograph craft processes and objects, including textiles, ceramics and metal objects. I find inspiration in Japan in particular – not for making similar products but for a particular way to look at and analyse objects. I surround myself with objects I find beautiful, including tools, fishing tackle, bicycle parts, tin soldiers, lace bobbins and tiny drop-shaped porcelain vessels for bird cages. I collect forms, scan them mentally and add them to the universe of form that my designs spring from. A specific detail on a car, a pebble on the beach or the perfumebottles I have been collecting since I was a child. Currently, I am working on a series of lamps inspired by 1950s milk cans. 

Ergonomics is also an aspect of form, but not necessarily ergonomics in a traditional sense. For example, I love kitchen utensils, but it is not enough that they are pleasant to hold. The Japanese knives I have in my kitchen are not ergonomically correct in a typical sense; they are ergonomically correct in the sense that a detail, a material or a beautiful form makes me conscious of what I am doing in the moment. That feeling is one that I seek to translate into design.

I love everyday objects and strive to give things a clear and natural form, so that the user says ‘of course!’ rather than asking ‘what’s that?’. I find beauty in old, iconic, simple forms. A product should not have design written all over it but should follow a natural historical development – reaching back to a time when the sole focus was on making good utilitarian objects. Everyday tasks– chopping, cutting, cooking, stirring, electronics – hold a great design potential. But our everyday life should not be so overly designed that it makes you go, ‘wow, what a stylish design!’. Instead, design should blend into our everyday life to produce a subtle sense that you are handling quality design, created with attention to detail.