The LINK, Issue 334, February 2017

ISSUE 334 SCANDINAVIAN DESIGN

L THE

INK

THE SWEDISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR THE UK FEBRUARY 2017

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CONTENTS THE LINK • ISSUE 334 • FEBRUARY 2017 SCANDINAVIAN DESIGN

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A LEGACY OF SWEDISH MODERN - The Story of Svenskt Tenn Feature

THE JOY TO BE VINDICATED Feature

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THE LIFE OF NORDIC DESIGNERS - Inspirations and Challenges Feature

SCANDINAVIAN DESIGN - A Matter of Mindset Feature

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A JEWELLER’S WISH Feature

BANKS NEED TO BE MORE SUSTAINABLE Editorial

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NOTHERN CELEBRATIONS ON THE SOUTH BANK Feature

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW Feature

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GOING IT ALONE, TOGETHER Member Entrepreneur

FINTECH, EDUCATION AND LOGISTICS Member Highlights

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YP PAGES

BEING A YP OUTSIDE OF LONDON YP Feature

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48 SCC PAST EVENTS Event Photos

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A LEGACY OF

SWEDISH MODERN T H E

S T O R Y

O F

F a n n y

T E N N

S i l t b e r g

Book end, Lion, Svenskt Tenn

W o r d s :

S V E N S K T

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he story of Svenskt Tenn is a long and winding one, as colourful as a Josef Frank pattern and as rich in inspiration DQG HϪRUW DV WKH PRVW ÀQHO\ FUDIWHG SHZWHU OLRQ ,W EHJLQV LQ VPDOO +MR LQ WKH PLGGOH RI 6ZHGHQ DQG winds its way through Vienna and Paris, via the United States, to 6WUDQGYlJHQ $ LQ 6WRFNKROP 7KH LQWHULRU GHVLJQ VKRS KDV EHFRPH D GHVWLQDWLRQ RI SLOJULPDJH IRU VRPH DQG WKH GHÀQLWLRQ RI FODVVLF WDVWH IRU PDQ\ 7KH /,1. PHW XS ZLWK 6YHQVNW 7HQQ WR ÀQG RXW ZKDW KDV NHSW WKHP DW WKH KHDUW RI WKH Swedish design scene for over 90 years.

It’s 1975 and Estrid Ericson is getting older. Not necessarily more tired, but older. The 81-year old designer and entrepreneur is trying to figure out what to do with her beloved company and life’s work, Svenskt Tenn. By now, the small pewter workshop that she started in 1924 has grown into a colourful flagship store on Strandvägen in Stockholm. The large and loyal clientele can’t get enough of the handcrafted pewter decorations and interior creations, not to mention Josef Frank’s exquisite furniture designs and colourful patterns.

Svenskt Tenn has already become somewhat of an institution, the front runner of “Swedish Modernâ€?, and Ericson is determined to keep it that way. But she has no children, and Josef Frank, her lifelong collaborator, had passed away a couple of years earlier with no one left behind to carry on his craft. As luck would have it, the solution came in the form of Kjell and Märta Beijer’s Foundation.

At the end of 1975, Ericson sold the company to the Foundation on one condition; that they would strive to carry on the company’s legacy forever.

Forty years later, Thommy Bindefeld, the current Marketing Director at Svenskt Tenn, describes this as one of the defining moments in the company’s history. “When Ericson sold the company to the Foundation, that was the best thing she could do for the future of Svenskt Tenn,� he tells The LINK. Today, Svenskt Tenn is a flourishing company, firmly established on the Swedish interior design scene. The fact that the owner is a foundation enables Bindefeld and his colleagues to take the company into the future at a pace that preserves the legacy Ericson was so keen on keeping. “There is no private owner wanting to make a profit out of the foundation and its aim is to secure the company for the future. Of course we need money to run it, but everything that we earn on top of that goes to research in medicine and ecology via the foundation,� Bindefeld explains.

In the last 20 years, those earnings have not been disappointing. During that time, almost 150 million SEK has been

raised to the Beijer Institute of Research via Svenskt Tenn. And so, what started as an entrepreneurial notion in the 1920s, will now benefit generations to come.

H I S T O R Y Estrid Ericson was born in Öregrund in 1894 and grew up in Hjo, a small town outside of SkÜvde. In the late 1910s, she moved to Stockholm to study to become an art teacher at what is today Konstfack (University College of Arts, Craft and Design). But Ericson’s ambitions went further than that and in 1924 she started a small pewter workshop together with her friend Nils Fougstedt. Using a small inheritance from her father, the partners could set up shop shortly thereafter and at the end of the year, the Svenskt Tenn store opened its doors to customers for the first time. According to the RÜhsska Museum in Gothenburg, who specializes in Swedish craft history, the timing couldn’t have been better. The design ideals at the time were rapidly shifting towards more pragmatic and strict aesthetics. As a result, pewter saw a revival as a material since it was

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The LINK FEATURE seen as a more “honest” alternative to electroplated nickel silver, which had been popular until this point.

The success of the shop was instant, and quickly recognised internationally.

At the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris in 1925, Ericson and Fougstedt were awarded a gold medal for their designs. The prize led to further opportunities back home and soon, Svenskt Tenn could expand and hire more designers. It was the starting point of the long-lasting tradition of tying skilled craftsmen to the company.

A little over five years after its inception, Svenskt Tenn had gone from a two-man pewter workshop, to an interior design shop with 35 employees. In 1927, Svenskt Tenn had outgrown its initial premises and the shop was moved to its now famous address; Strandvägen 5A.

“

Most of our craftsmen have worked with Svenskt Tenn for generations. Many are third or second generation craftsmen that work with us and their fathers or grandfathers worked directly with Josef Frank”.

In the 1930s, Ericson reached out to the man who was to become the most influential and productive collaborator to Svenskt Tenn of all time. Josef Frank was an Austrian architect and designer who had caught her attention early on.

Once he started working with Svenskt Tenn, its offerings widened to not only cover pewter, but furniture and whole interior settings too. Frank moved to Sweden in 1933 together with his Swedish wife. His contribution in terms of furniture designs, patterns and lamp constructions makes up a huge part of Svenskt Tenn’s offering to this day, and his name is closely connected to the brand. Not least in the form of his colourful and intense patterns, which many associate with his name.

Throughout his time with Svenskt Tenn, he produced nearly 200 unique

patterns, and to Bindefeld, these are somewhat of a treasure to have in the archive. He is amazed by how timeless Frank’s designs are, and how it is hard to tell if they were designed in the 30s or last year. His own personal favourite, is the print “Miracle”.

“It is one of Josef Frank’s best prints. I think that was his own opinion as well because he has said somewhere that it was miracle that he could repeat the pattern so seamlessly. He had an extremely architectural way of doing the repeat, how the print runs. When you look at Miracle, you can’t see where the repeat begins or where it ends - he has done it in such a subtle way,” Bindefeld explains.

Together, Frank and Ericson steered the company with a strong sense of integrity for decades. Today, if you buy something at Svenskt Tenn, it is practically guaranteed that you will return home with something generally perceived as being of a classic taste. That correlation however, hasn’t always been a given. Röhsska Museum explains that it is quite extraordinary how two people who often broke the norms around them, became the precept for good taste.

In their creations, they were often at odds with the prevailing design ideals.

Between the 1930s and 1950s for example, functionalism dominated the Swedish design scene. Practicality was of the essence and any abundant decoration or extravagances in interior design were to be avoided. Frank and Ericson on the other hand, had a more individualistic and emotional view of the home. And so, colourful patterns were mixed with classic furniture, cheap artefacts from Ericson’s many travels were mixed with precious materials and the interior setup was allowed to carry meanings, moods and tell stories. In 1958, Frank coined the expression “accidentism”. He meant that the city, the house and the home should indeed be carefully planned, but look almost as if they came to be by accident. This ideal shines through in everything that Svenskt Tenn does and at the time, it was a sore point for the establishment.

W H A T A D I F F E R E N C E A D E C A D E M A K E S After having sold the company, Estrid still played an active part in it for many years, but passed on the title of CEO

to Ann Wall in 1979. Wall had studied graphic design and marketing and under her leadership, the company entered a new era. The company took on a contemporary form and slowly but surely, the business grew to new heights. Because for all the fame and good reputation the company had at the time, it still didn’t show much profit. Through new collaborations and strategies, Wall eventually turned the bottom line from red to black.

“Ann Wall put on exhibitions, she collaborated with new contemporary designers and she relaunched and launched designs that Josef Frank had done that had not been in production earlier. She gave the company a fresh start,” Bindefeld explains.

He goes on to explain how Svenskt Tenn today has taken the best from the two different styles of leadership and continue to build on the heritage of both.

It is a balance between maintaining the historical part from Estrid Ericson and her strong sense of entrepreneurship, while still maintaining the level of business mindedness that Ann Wall brought to the company. He calls it a commercial cultural institution.

“We have both culture and heritage.

We manage an important part of Swedish design history but we are also commercial, so we always balance between being cultural and contemporary and between historical and contemporary. Because if we would only be historical and cultural we might as well be a museum,” he says.

M A I N T A I N I N G L E G A C Y

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The connection between Svenskt Tenn and the Swedish craft scene has always been strong. The lion’s share of Svenskt Tenn’s current product offering is designed and produced in Sweden by small companies dealing with glass and pewter manufacturing, carpentry and weaving. To say that Svenskt Tenn and their suppliers go way back, would almost be an understatement.

“Most of them have worked with Svenskt Tenn for generations. Many are third or second generation craftsmen that work with us and their fathers or grandfathers worked directly with Josef Frank. Or with Ericson of course,” Bindefeld tells The LINK.

8 Manhattan, Pattern design Josef Frank

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The LINK FEATURE

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We talk about locally produced food. This is locally produced design”.

To Bindefeld, encouraging and supporting Swedish craftsmen and women, is important. To him, it is a sad state of affairs that a lot of the Swedish craft skill that used to exist, has already been lost. He sees Svenskt Tenn as a counter weight to that trend.

“We try as hard as we can to support our suppliers and to give them orders in order for them to exist for their next generation. Some of them have next generation working, but it is a hard climate to be in,” he says.

In addition to collaborating with local craftsmen, Svenskt Tenn also tries to promote the Swedish craft scene in other ways, says Bindefeld. A couple of months ago, they put on a big exhibition in the store, showing the visitors five different craft workshops live in action.

Together, they make up a quarter of Svenskt Tenn’s entire production.

Assorted pillows, Svenskt Tenn

“We talk about locally produced food.

This is locally produced design and I think the interest for that is growing.

I think that the generation who is interested in locally produced food is also interested in locally produced design. The aim with this exhibition is

Between 28 January to 7 May 2017, the Fashion and Textile Museum in London is hosting the exhibition Josef Frank Patterns-Furniture-Painting.

The exhibition is a showcase of Frank’s life and work and was originally curated by Millesgården in Stockholm.

The LINK met curator Dennis Nothdruft to learn more about the exhibition.

also for people to realise that there is a craft tradition in Sweden at all,” says Bindefeld.

When asked to summarise the essence of Svenskt Tenn, Bindefeld describes it as a multi faceted diamond. It is a nod to the many factors that he believes have kept the company going for so long; its strong ties to the Swedish craft scene, the fruitful collaboration between Estrid Ericsson and Josef Frank, and the continuous partnerships with contemporary designers. It has proven to be a hotbed for long term success, ensuring that the products never feel outdated. And for the foreseeable future, changing location will not be an option either. Bindefeld is certain that having one shop as the only outlet, is part of Svenskt Tenn’s charm.

“We have no plans to open anywhere else. Some time ago, a magazine wrote that the best thing about Svenskt Tenn is that you have to make a pilgrimage to Stockholm to see it. That’s a good way to put it. We are a diamond but we like to keep things small and secret as well.”

Perhaps not the most well hidden of gems, but a diamond none the less, Svenskt Tenn has managed to build an institution around the subtle balance between being timeless and contemporary all at the same time.

TELL US ABOUT THE EXHIBITION, WHAT DOES IT ENTAIL?

The exhibition features the textile designs of Josef Frank and also a selection of watercolour paintings

by Frank that many have never been seen until this exhibition. Alongside the patterns designed by Frank, there are rugs and furniture. Frank stopped designing textiles by the early 1950s, which is when he began to paint.

HOW HAS IT BEEN RECEIVED IN SWEDEN?

The exhibition was an enormous success at Millesgården, and has been extremely popular with the visitors of the exhibition.

WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL?

This is, as far as we can tell, the first exhibition in the UK devoted to Frank’s pattern design. Frank’s work radiates positivity and optimism. As many of his most successful designs were created during World War II, this makes the work even more so.

IS IT ONLY FABRIC PATTERNS THAT WILL BE SHOWCASED IN THE EXHIBITION?

No, the exhibition will feature his watercolour paintings – including landscapes, varieties of still life, and dream houses – and also rugs, furniture and early textiles from Austria.

IF SOMEONE COULD ONLY VISIT ONE EXHIBITION THIS YEAR, WHY SHOULD THEY CHOOSE THIS ONE?

This is one show that will put you in a good mood! You will leave energised and eager for more colour in your life.

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what is..

Scandinavian Design?

WORDS: JOHANNA BJARSCH FOLLIN

SCANDINAVIAN DESIGN REFERS TO THE DESIGN MOVEMENT THAT

AND INTERIOR, BUT RATHER THE MENTALITY THAT GOVERNS

EMERGED IN DENMARK, SWEDEN AND NORWAY IN THE 1950S.

THE EXPRESSION WE SEE AS TYPICALLY SCANDINAVIAN -

MODERNISM

* AND INCLUSIVENESS CAME TO DEFINE THE POST-

MINIMALISTIC, NATURAL, INSPIRED BY NATURE, CLEAN AND PURE.

WW2 ERA, REUNITING A BROKEN EUROPE, BUT APART FROM ITS

THIS MENTALITY CAN BE FOUND IN ALL CREATIVE EXPRESSIONS

IMPORTANCE ON THE INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AGENDA, THESE

AND

CONCEPTS AND THE IDEAS THEY REPRESENT ALSO CAME TO

ARCHITECTURE, AND FOOD - SCANDINAVIAN FASHION BRANDS

CHARACTERISE THE SCANDINAVIAN DESIGN MOVEMENT.

ARE FAMOUS FOR THEIR EXCLUSIVE MATERIALS AND SIMPLE

CONTEXTS;

FASHION,

FURNITURE,

DECORATION,

LINES, SCANDINAVIAN FURNITURE THE LIKE, AND SCANDINAVIAN SCANDINAVIAN DESIGN HAS COME TO BE RENOWNED FOR ITS

CUISINE IS CHARACTERISED BY PURE FLAVOURS FINELY PREPARED

UNIQUE CHARACTER, BUT WHAT WE USUALLY CHARACTERISE

WITH EXCLUSIVE AND UNIQUE SCANDINAVIAN DELICACIES.

AS SCANDINAVIAN IS NOT NECESSARILY LIMITED TO DESIGN

Main Characteristics

Materials

Trends

The saying “less is more” was most likely first spoken by a Scandinavian. The Scandinavian expression is simplistic and minimalistic, unadorned and stylish influenced by the history of the countries in the north, industrialised relatively late and thus maintaining a penchant for traditional crafts. The tradition of craftsmanship and the cold climate has also affected the functionality prevalent in most Scandinavian design; Scandinavian fashion is made out of natural materials aimed for withstanding harsher weather conditions.

The materials are natural, such as wood, different stone materials, metals, glass and leather. The great respect for nature from the Vikings up north has resulted in an appreciation for the materials as they are, oftentimes used untreated and kept well visible. Wood in all forms and of all kinds is by far the most important and most used material in Scandinavian design, and has come to be one of its main characteristic features.

As in all creative and design contexts, there are and always will be trends even though the main guiding mentality of Scandinavian design remains the same.

Scandinavian design and Scandinavia in general has gained popularity the last couple years, within all areas where the mentality is applicable. One trend to spot in the gained popularity is that countries with a similar mentality as Scandinavia; English-speaking countries, the northern part of Europe, Japan and South Korea, tend to favour the Scandinavian expression.

Scandinavian interior design is characterised by large, spacious rooms with white walls, bare and untreated wooden floors, yet with a cosy and homely feeling. The light and space is a contrast to the dark winters in Scandinavia. The light interiors may be a reason why home is so important to Scandinavians; it is a safe and warm place in an environment with rough climate and long winters.

Colours Nothing bold, nothing brave - black, white and everything in between. The natural brown of leather and wood, grey scale, neutral colours and earthy tones are predominant. If any colour is added, it is most likely dirty pastels with a tone of grey that goes well with the grey, black and white. Roughly generalised, Scandinavian people do not wish to stand out from the crowd, a trait which is deeply rooted in the Scandinavian culture. Could this be the reason why Scandinavian design in all regards is dominated by neutral colours, a safe choice?

For the design movement itself, sustainability has become increasingly incorporated into the mentality and design.

Using sustainably sourced materials and having long-term thinking when it comes to design is an obvious statement and in many aspects synonymous with the Scandinavian brand.

* Modernism

Modernism is above all a collection of ideas and a way of thinking, but when talking about modernism in relation to design it has also came to represent a style.

The avant garde of the modernist heydays dreamed of a world of social equality, free from conflict, and these values characterise modernist thinking - a rejection of the past and a wish and desire for the new and innovative. Modernist design favour functionality with no ornaments, as opposed to what had dominated the design sphere pre-modernism, and clarity and simplicity that combined with functionality symbolised equality.

Sources: Nordic Design Collective: www.nordicdesigncollective.co.uk Victoria and Albert Museum: www.vam.ac.uk

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POSES1 AND POSES3, TORIL BAEKMARK

The LINK FEATURE

T H E

L I F E

O F

N O R D I C

D E S I G N E R S

INSPIRATION CHALLENGES

&

Scandinavian Design has a unique feeling and expression and has long since been trendy outside the Nordics. At London Design Fair, held at Truman Brewery in East London in September 2016, Sweden and Scandinavia were well represented. The Swedish Pavilion, organised by the Embassy of Sweden, was one of the great attractions of the fair, exhibiting a number of Swedish designer brands. WORDS: JOHANNA BJARSCH FOLLIN

Nordic Design Collective, a marketplace for Nordic designers, had their own showcase and pop-up store at the fair with designs made by smaller and less well-known Nordic designers. Apart from just showcasing the products, available to buy on the day, Nordic Design Collective also held a Supertalk themed ‘The Life of Nordic Designers - Inspiration and Challenges’. This featured Nordic designers talking about just that; what are the inspirations and challenges with being a designer today.

The LINK spoke to Maria Richardsson, CEO at Nordic Design Collective, to get a brief of this Supertalk; what drives development within Nordic design at the moment, and what is life like for independent designers in the region?

INSPIRATION “A large majority of Scandinavian designers get their inspiration from nature and their immediate surroundings, something that becomes obvious when looking at designs, patterns and choice of material. Nature seems to be important for Scandinavians, which, when you think about, it comes naturally as the environment and the climate, the cold and the dark up in the Nordics has resulted in that a great respect and appreciation for nature is deeply rooted in our culture,” Richardsson tells the LINK Scandinavian design is easily identifiable, certain characteristics and traits that seem to be inherited through culture and history - but for a Scandinavian it is not easy to pinpoint what others perceive as typically Scandinavian. So which concepts and events in the history of the Nordics has resulted in the mentality that guides the Scandinavian design line?

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The LINK FEATURE “Folkhemmet, the Swedish welfare state that dominated the political agenda in the mid-20th century, has imposed the importance of equality in the mindset and culture of people.

Going further back to the peasant society, there was a strong tradition of craftsmanship as the Nordics became industrialised relatively late. As one had to make their own furniture, the Nordic tradition has resulted in a functional and simple style, simply because the design had to be simple to be easily manufactured and should be available to anyone,“ Richardsson tells the LINK. It appears that cultural history and traditions, but in some sense also politics, inspire and influence design and art forms.

CHALLENGES The labour market for designers has changed in the last decades; production companies work with freelancers instead of having hired designers, which is why becoming an entrepreneur within design has become increasingly common. Being a sole entrepreneur and designer, there are many sides of the business you must run by yourself, and finding the balance between running the business; administration, marketing, sales, and having the time to be creative in between is challenging to many designers. However, becoming an entrepreneur does not solve the struggle of surviving on the creative business, Richardsson says.

of being an entrepreneur, to spur and encourage the creative design industry in the Nordics.

SUSTAINABILITY Besides inspiration and challenges facing Nordic designers today, the Supertalk also brought up thoughts on current trends in the design world.

Sustainability has been a hot topic in the design sphere for quite some time now, especially in the Nordic countries which are all at the forefront of sustainability in most its aspects. Nordic designers are no exception, product designers emphasise creating products with a long-term thinking and that are sustainable.

Maria Richardsson Founder and CEO Nordic Design Collective

Sustainable design can mean a number of things, and Richardsson points out that most designers today already have a sustainable mindset. For Nordic Designers, already very sustainability aware, the choice to work with sustainable sourced materials in an environmentally friendly production, is already the obvious choice. Today, the focus has shifted more towards using ethically sustainable materials and being socially engaged in communities affected by your production.

“Oftentimes design, what you are actually good at, is what you do least, and many designers have no business experience which makes it difficult to make a living as a designer today,“ she tells the LINK.

Another, relatively new aspect of sustainable design is to have a long-term and sustainable thinking when it comes to the actual design. Working with high quality materials and timeless and classic designs for a prolonged lifetime is an upcoming trend in the design sphere, as well as designing multipurpose products. Many designers take an active stand against consumerism, and design products that are aimed to last, and that are easy to combine with other products and furniture.

Entrepreneurship has given designers more control and power over their own creating, but four years ago, Richardsson recognised that arts and design education does not include entrepreneurship and knowledge in how to run a business in their curriculum. She started Nordic Design Collective with the mission to help these designers with the business-side

“I have seen an increased awareness among designers in that their work in some sense support the consumer society, something they do not want to be part of, and hence being sustainable not only in the choice of materials but in all aspects of the design, is one of the strongest trends we see on the Nordic design scene right now,” Richardsson says.

Nordic Design Collective is more than just an online shop with beautifully designed products. It is a marketplace, passionate about supporting independent designers from the Nordic region and helping them to reach out with their designs to a larger audience.

While designers are passionate about designing but usually have no interest and most importantly no education in sales and marketing and how to reach out to clients, Nordic Design Collective exist to assist designers with the business-side so that designers can focus on what they are good at - designing. Besides helping individual designers to spread their products via the online shop, Nordic Design Collective also emphasise shining a light on the designer behind the product, showing their passion and dedication for design and telling the background and history of the person and product to further add value to their uniquely crafted designed products.

Read more about Nordic Design Collective and visit the webshop: w w w. n o r d i c d e s i g n c o l l e c t i ve . c o . u k

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When talking about Scandinavian design, parallels are almost always drawn to minimalism, open spaces, and graphic design that is clean, bordering on sterile - the sensation of a Northern winter wind interpreted through colour and form. But as it turns out, there is more to Scandinavian design than meets the eye. The LINK met up with White Arkitekter to talk about how designing with a Nordic touch is not only a style, but a whole way of thinking.

SC A N D I N AV I A N D ES I G N

- A MAT TER OF MINDSET

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In Sweden, White Arkitekter is one of the biggest architect firms on the market, with 12 offices across Sweden, Oslo and Copenhagen in Scandinavia - as well as the London Studio, and projects from Malmö in the South, to Kiruna in the North, where they play a key role in the relocation of the entire city. Since 2007, the firm has been increasingly active in the UK and last year, they opened their first office outside of Scandinavia in London. The project briefs haven’t been slow to come in and Linda Thiel, Partner in the firm and Head of the London Office, explains how this very intense year has taught her just as much about what it means to be a Swedish architect, as it has about navigating the British system.

they are used to working according to a different kind of system.”

Urban planning in Sweden is heavily influenced by the fact that the local municipality is often the landowner.

As a consequence, most planning processes start with a general strategy for the area as a whole and investors, property developers and construction enterprises don’t enter the picture until a later stage.

“We are strong proponents of the belief that, if you have open, well designed spaces where you have considered the materials, green spaces, and created a setting where people would want to move around in, then you automatically create a safe environment. The design is the foundation of whether or not you want to stay in a place or run away from it”, Thiel argues.

“Thanks to the fact that municipalities own so much land, we have been able to focus a lot on the common spaces back home. In the Swedish system, there is a consensus in what we aim to achieve when planning a new place, as well as regeneration areas. Well designed apartment buildings with amenity space, shared parking and recycling spaces come quite naturally to us. These principles date back a long way in the Swedish tradition of residential urban design,“ Thiel tells The LINK. The British system on the other hand, is rather the opposite. Municipalities often own very little land, making private landowners more active agents on the market. In this way, conflicts of interest sometimes arise between the need to maximise the value of a single property, and developing its surrounding area, which might be owned by numerous other landowners. According to Thiel, this is where the Scandinavian approach can be an opportunity to take on a more collaborative process.

“What I have seen since we started our first projects in the UK, is that we can come in as a bit of an outsider and say ‘Would you maybe consider this Scandinavian way of approaching the project?’. It opens doors that perhaps British architects struggle with, since

Thiel often comes back to one thing in particular; the public spaces.

And it seems to be between the buildings, rather than in them, that the Scandinavian approach can come into its own. For White, a holistic approach is key to designing a successful neighbourhood that will last for future generations.

She argues that sometimes, the actual buildings are secondary when it comes to planning. If you manage to plan for active streets, a good street space and houses that meet the surroundings in a good way, the potential for a successful area is much greater.

A good example is one of their most recent projects, the redevelopment of St Augustine´s Church and its surrounding neighbourhood.

The Diocese of London (DoL) has appointed White Arkitekter to redevelop and unlock opportunities on one of its key sites, located at the heart of the Grahame Park Regeneration Scheme, Colindale, in the London Borough of Barnet. White Arkitekter are responsible for designing a mixed-use redevelopment church and vicarage, as well as its adjacent housing. The area is socially vulnerable and to White, using the momentum of a redevelopment project is essential in order to reconnect the community. In winning the project brief, the Scandinavian approach to common space, was a crucial factor.

“We were offered the project largely because of our Scandinavian value based architecture and emphasis on dialogue and how people come together in spaces and places. And not least because our proposal focused heavily on the public realm and how to share it, building a community around the project.” Thiel explains.

Thiel goes on to explain how some of the other proposals for the garden square outside of the church, instead of being public, became private. To White Arkitekter, that contradicted the

whole idea of the project.

“The garden has to be public, because in order for the church to be able to build its congregation and be a safe actor in this area, it has to be an open space for everyone to be in. It is absolutely crucial”.

In that sense, the architecture goes beyond mere aesthetics, and becomes a form of social force. Thiel explains how the way that socially vulnerable areas are designed play a part in their demise. She explains that, by using only concrete, fences, and rationalising away green areas, trees, or anything that feels precious really, the incentive to be in and take care of an area is taken away.

“In cases like this, only those strong enough to claim the street will own it, instead of it belonging to the whole community,” she says.

In its essence, the idea of making beautiful surroundings in order to promote an equally beautiful society around it, is not new, nor very controversial. But as is so often the case, reality differs from theory. Thiel is aware that focusing on the common spaces is often easier said than done.

A common counter argument she often faces is high cost. Not only for the initial completion, but for the continuous maintenance as well. In areas where the local municipalities are already struggling and property developers don’t see it as an attractive investment, this way of thinking can often fall short.

In the end, it comes down to being humble and adapt to the situation. In that respect, the Swedish approach of compromising has proven to be the most successful.

White is not aiming to completely take over the UK market, but rather focus on the groups that are interested in their way of doing work.

“Of course we won’t be working with every property developer in the UK, it is more about finding those who in some way are interested in what we do. We feel there is a huge potential now, to become a springboard not only for people at our own company, but for many other Swedish actors as well,” Thiel says.

The future for the British public realm in other words, is looking bright.

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The LINK FEATURE

A JEWELLER’S DREAM Or how jewellery could change the world’s post-Brexit outlook on Britons WORDS: JOHANNA BJARSCH FOLLIN

BREXIT

W H AT I S T H E R E L AT I O N S H I P B E T W E E N J E W E L L E RY A N D I N T E R N AT I O N A L A F FA I R S ?

2016 was a year when most of us started questioning the future of international relations and collaboration, with the Brexit Referendum among the main reasons. If a ring can symbolise promises of mutual love, respect and support in a marriage, could jewellery help strengthening all kinds of relationships, and help maintaining a good relation going forward?

If you ask Keith Gordon at Ashwell Jewellery Ltd, he is convinced that jewellery can be a token of inclusion and love between the United Kingdom and the rest of the world. This is a jeweller’s wish; his hopes and fears in the aftermath of Brexit.

There once was a jeweller who lived in a small village on the English countryside with his wife and son. The jeweller, Keith Gordon by name, had worked with jewellery all his life, and together with his wife he ran a local workshop. Gordon, a man always looking for a new challenge

and new horizons was bored with the status quo, and when the son left for university, he decided to take his wife on a trip to Copenhagen, a trip that came to change their lives significantly.

As they passed jewellery store after jewellery store, Gordon and his wife realised that his newest collection had a similar design to most of the jewellery displayed in the shop windows. Gordon’s style has always been simple and clean, and during that stroll along the streets of Copenhagen it became obvious to them that the new range had a very Scandinavian feel to it. Standing on a windy shopping street, Gordon knew what his new challenge was going to be he wanted to create a market and expand to sell his jewellery in Scandinavia. He named his collection ‘Nordic Bubbles’ as a tribute to the challenge.

Several years and several trips later, Gordon and his wife have visited numerous places and cities in Scandinavia. The trips

are just as much about finding inspiration for the collection as it is about immersing themselves in the Scandinavian atmosphere they both have fallen in love with. The Scandinavian culture and the people made an impression on Gordon during that first visit in Copenhagen. It was love at first sight.

NORDIC BUBBLE BRACELET

“I think you have moments that you know will come to have an impact on your life.

When you first meet your future husband or wife there is a chemistry, you know

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The LINK FEATURE

"

Brexit makes me want to send out a message to the world that we still want to be part of the international community.

KEITH GORDON

that person will mean a lot to you. It may sound silly, but I felt the same when I visited Scandinavia the first time,” he tells the LINK. The decision to expand to Scandinavia was not only based on their simple jewellery design, but also because of that chemistry. The couple liked the Scandinavian culture and the Scandinavian people, and Gordon emphasises that the desire to create a relationship with this place and these people drove that goal and challenge.

2016 came to change the challenge Gordon had set up for the expansion to Scandinavia. It's now not only about expanding to Scandinavia to hopefully sell a few pieces of jewellery and get to enjoy the countries in the north. No, 2016 and Brexit gave the challenge a whole new meaning and importance for Gordon, and he admits that Brexit in a bizarre way has changed his dreams for the future.

“One year ago, my desire to expand to Scandinavia was purely about developing the market and making a business. Brexit changed that, Brexit makes me want to send out a message to the world that we still want to be part of the international community,” he says.

Gordon fears that the United Kingdom is sending out the wrong message to the world as they voted to leave the EU. This fear is now the main driver for the expansion to Scandinavia; he wants to show that not everyone in the UK wants to leave the community, that there is still a large part who wants to be included and who are inclusive. His quest to create

friendship through jewellery is completely genuine.

“Design is infinite and I hope the relationships created through it will be too. Whenever I design something, an engagement ring for example, I hope that the relationship it symbolises will last for a long time. The art of jewellery is that it is a product that engages, a product that

flattery. Going back to the stone age, a cave man found a stone on the ground and gave to his beloved to show affection. It seems like jewellery is eternal, a small link that symbolises something big; a desire to create a relationship.

“Through jewellery we can create friendships, and I hope that my jewellery can be that link between the UK and the rest of the world. Jewellery is love and friendship objectified - I haven’t yet made a piece of jewellery that made anyone unhappy, at least not that I know of,” Gordon says.

TRANQUILITY RING

cross nationalities and religion, and that is engaging. I think jewellery can play a massive part in connecting people and making them more inclusive,” Gordon tells the LINK. Some may dismiss Gordon’s ideas, but it is advisable to pause and reconsider.

Anyone who knows their ancient history can see that Gordon might be onto something.

“Consider the old power structures of ancient Egypt; on top were the Pharaohs, followed by the clergy and then jewellers.

Jewellers had an important role in their society and I hope that my little spot on humanity could be that I, a simple jeweller reached out to touch others and create relationships through my art,” Gordon tells the LINK.

Despite the prevailing despair if the aftermath of the Brexit Referendum, Gordon has a positive outlook on the future.

“I think the world will change again.

The younger generation, the smarter generation, is more educated and more inclusive. They have no prejudice; they don’t judge people by the colour of their skin or their sexual orientation. This inclusiveness is important, and it gives me faith to know that this generation will lead us in the future,” he tells the LINK. Jewellery may not save lives, and a jeweller cannot and should not expect to change the world. But Gordon hopes that his jewellery can be a token for showing the world that there are parts of the UK still inclusive. He cannot save the world, but he has an important message to send out - we still care about this relationship.

Jewellery might be the oldest form of

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Photgraphy: Morley von Sternberg

Photgraphy: Malin Johansson

The LINK MEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

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Photgraphy: Per Olov Jansson

The LINK FEATURE

Northern Celebrations on the South Bank IN 2017, A CELEBRATION OF NORDIC ART AND CULTURE WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE CITY OF LONDON. IN A SPECTACULAR FESTIVAL LASTING FOR A FULL YEAR, NORDIC ARTISTS AND COMPANIES BRING THEIR CULTURE TO LONDON AND THE WORLD-RENOWNED SOUTHBANK CENTRE. WORDS: LOVISA BERGSTRÖM & GUSTAV OLSSON

The story behind the Nordic Matters Festival begun with a firm belief in the power of the arts to portrait the world and leave us with a changed perception.

As the Nordic region continues to attract many in the UK, the Southbank Centre wanted to explore this further and share the Nordic values with audiences in the UK. “The Nordic region is a great and growing obsession for many in the UK. We wanted to delve a little deeper by exploring the full range of Nordic arts and culture throughout 2017, instead of a single festival of a shorter period. The Nordic Council of Ministers are generously helping to make this possible and Nordic Matters is one of the largest cultural partnerships of its kind,” co-programmers for the centre, Ted Hodgkinson and Tamsin Ace tell The LINK. The Nordic Matters programming will be embedded in Southbank Centre’s regular festivals throughout the year, ranging from familiar faces such as the Moomins and Lego to the hidden voices of the smaller Nordic nations such as Greenland and the Faroe islands.

“We also want to nuance the idea of a

‘Nordic utopia’, by placing the innovations and artistic creations in their proper context,” says Ace and Hodgkinson.

The theme PLAY will make up a central part of the programme, focusing on young people through encouraging their inherent curiosity and creativity.

“There’s a great belief in the importance of play in childhood and beyond in the Nordics, which leads to world class education and innovations in the arts, technology and more.”

Among other highlights there will be the Imagine Children’s Festival, a dream event for the young builders with enough bricks to build a whole city and hosted by LEGO, a Swedish Baby Rave and the UK debut of Finnish dinosaur heavy metal band Hevisaurus.

The festival will focus on two other key elements, namely sustainability and gender equality.

“We have identified these as areas that will teach us a lot about the region, while also being realistic about the challenges they still present,“ the co-programmers continue.

Other highlights to look out for during the year is bestselling author Neil Gaiman’s launch of his retelling of Norse mythology, comedian and performer Sandi Toksvig who brings a Nordic spin to Southbank Centre’s WOW-Women of the World festival and Festival of Love that will feature a much-anticipated sauna.

For more information about the festival, visit www.southbankcentre.co.uk

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GOING IT ALONE, TOGETHER Have you ever heard the saying that if you want to start a company, don’t wait for the right time, just go for it? Two people who took those words to heart are Cate Högdahl and Nelson Ruiz-Acal. Continue reading to get to know the couple who met at university and went straight on to found an internationally successful design agency together.

It was during their final year as industrial design students in Madrid that Cate and Nelson noticed they complemented each other well when working on projects together. Straight after finishing their studies, they bought a small house in Sweden and spent the winter renovating it. Högdahl describes it as a “make or break” experience both as a couple and as design partners.

“It was a fantastic experience. Luckily we not only survived it, but started Cate & Nelson Design Studio as an outcome,” she tells The LINK. Cate & Nelson is a multidisciplinary design studio working in a variety of sectors including furniture, lighting, product, interior and creative direction. With offices in Sweden, Spain and UK. Cate & Nelson create products and interiors to offer something over and above expectations.

According to Cate Högdahl, the duo draw their inspiration from an ongoing design dialogue, and through observation of daily life situations and needs that arise from product requirements, materials and spaces they utilise.

When asked if mixing business with pleasure and starting a company with a friend or a partner makes things difficult, Högdahl describes how it isn’t so much the relationship that you have that matters, but how you communicate with each other.

“Nelson and I don’t really think that it makes a big difference if you are friends from the beginning or not, as long as

An exclusive look at Cate&Nelson’s new range of watches - designed with a Scandinavian feel.

you are able to have an open and honest dialogue between the two of you and work towards the same goals,” she says.

The house renovation took place in 2006 and after that, the company grew quickly.

“Our first goal was to work with most Swedish furniture manufacturers and be able to find our designs in various interiors.

We then went on to open up an office in London and Spain and work on wider types of projects internationally,” Högdahl explains.

This would turn out to be an integral success factor for the company’s future, and Högdahl believes that they have gained a lot from using a continental approach from the outset.

“It makes us able to analyse each project from a wider spectrum. Our designs are distinguished by the studio’s broad range of skills, sustainability, honesty, high functionality and continental approach,” she explains.

Ten years after the company’s inception, the collaboration is still going strong and Cate & Nelson have exciting ventures in the pipeline. The LINK are proud to reveal the first sneak peek of the design duo’s latest project. This month, Cate & Nelson will launch a range of watches under their own brand, Cate & Nelson Watches.

Högdahl explains that in developing the range, she and her partner spent a lot of time creating a Scandinavian integrity in the design.

“These are watches developed with the design aware customer in mind, and the Scandinavian feel is an important focal point. For example, the wristband is created by Tärnsjö Läder, which is an artisan leather tannery in Sweden,” she says.

The official launch will take place at Stockholm Design Week in February.

The experience of embarking on the journey to become entrepreneurs has been challenging at times, but very rewarding, according to Högdahl.

“Having worked with many different types of companies within different sectors you realise that design is a very good asset in any kind of company. Either if it´s a company targeting design aware customers or a company that at first sight might not be connected to design at all,” she explains.

These experiences have also allowed Cate & Nelson to realise where their strengths lie, and what it is that has kept them competitive for over a decade. “ We would definitely say that by partnering up with us, you get a design studio that not only has a wide international network and access to different cultures, providers and resources. At the same time, you get the advantages of the detailed and personal relationship of a smaller company,” Högdahl tells The LINK.

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CATE AND NELSON ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The LINK MEMBER ENTREPRENEUR

WHAT IS ENTREPRENEURSHIP TO YOU?

For us it is about finding new business opportunities, work together with interesting partners and achieve common goals.

CAN ANYONE BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR?

Yes, if you are willing to work hard, experiment and expect failures as a part of your way to success.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS OUT THERE WHO WISH TO BREAK THROUGH WITH THEIR IDEAS?

Get a good strategy and be surrounded by good people.

Cate & Nelson on Social Media: WEB

http://www.catenelson.com cateandnelson

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The LINK MEET

Lena Bergström TEXTILE AND GLASS DESIGNER, ORREFORS WORDS: REBECCA MARTIN

Lena Bergström is an award-winning textile and glass designer, with roots firmly in Northern Sweden.

She had her first breakthrough in the early nineties with a collection for the Swedish textile company Ljungbergs and soon she was also hired by Swedish crystal manufacturer Orrefors, a collaboration that is still going strong two decades later.

“As a designer, being able to see something that I have visualised becoming a reality and experiencing the teamwork and trust between the designer and the craftsmen – that’s what I enjoy the most,” Bergström told The LINK. After graduating high school, Bergström landed a job as visual merchandiser for the Swedish department store Domus. She spent a few years there, learning about how to best highlight products through display, but soon realised that she wanted more and moving to Stockholm, she applied to the prestigious art school Konstfack. After graduating in 1989, Bergström started working as a freelance designer and today has an impressive CV, and a great track record of scholarships and awards to her name. When thinking of what it is that has made her the very successful designer she is today, she stresses the importance of mentors, of teachers, of people that have believed in her.

Today, she is as busy as ever, having recently exhibited here in London at the Vessel Gallery and with many new projects, both secret and otherwise, in the pipeline. The LINK caught up with her to speak Swedish design, keeping ancient craftsmanship alive, and what she finds the most rewarding with her work.

traditional craftsmanship, those make me enormously satisfied.”

Bergström describes herself as a person in love with materials, something that is reflected in her art. Working with different materials, finding and interpreting their own inherent qualities, is key to her work.

“Every material comes with its own fascinating qualities and its own challenges.

Glass may be magical in the sense that from a 1,200-degree hot and pliable mass you get, in its cold state, a stiff and transparent object – it is a bit like doing magic. Of course, a linen fibre may not go through that kind of transformation, but it would be impossible to choose which one I prefer, because to me linen has its own fascinating characteristics.”

Changing the subject slightly to the characteristics of a specific “Nordic” style, Bergström says that it is easier to reflect on what is ultimately a very broad subject if one approaches it with a historical perspective.

“Being encouraged to do crafts at home, to experiment, to see what I could achieve, I think that has had a major impact on me choosing this career path. Having people believe in me throughout my training. I always believed I could do it, but that just brought it home - this is the right way for me,” she says.

“In Sweden, we have always been very near to nature, a society of fishermen and farmers, creating objects from wood, moss and other natural materials, and there has been a great functionality in all we do, which is what people tend to associate us with.”

Despite the recognition that Bergström has met, it is the lasting products, those that are still on sale years after the initial design, that she is most proud of.

However, through immigration, through travel and other influences, the already existing culture has been enriched with new ideas, today creating a fusion between the stark and sometimes neutral Nordic style and more colourful and warm touches.

“Successful, long-lived products that people continue buying, and those that create work opportunities through safeguarding

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“What people perceive as our Nordic style, is most likely timelessness and

functionality, the purity in the objects. But this, as everything, is changing. Younger generations, perhaps with different cultural backgrounds, are adding to our heritage.

Personally, I am drawn to elegance and would like describe my style as simplicity with a twist.”

In the near future, Bergström has several ventures in the pipeline. She has created a new collection of carpets for Design House Stockholm, inspired by her roots in Northern Sweden, which will be showed at the Swedish Design Fair this spring. For Orrefors, she has created new vases in her Carat series, and as the Swedish glassworks Kosta Boda has its 275th anniversary this year, Bergström is involved in the jubilee exhibitions. In the pipeline is also several secret projects that she is not at liberty to reveal yet.

“What I can say is that among other things I get to work within a group of products I have never made before, so that is very exciting.

And that’s is really what I love about this job, that at times it can be nervous but also very exciting!

What would you do if you weren’t a designer?

Architect or inventor.

What would be your dream project?

Working with public spaces, creating glass on a large scale, in an architectural setting.

But also, something completely different, creating meeting spaces, combining serviced apartments for the elderly with day care facilities for young children.

One of Lena Bergström’s ‘Planets’ are featured on the cover of this magazine.

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“From a 1,200-degree hot and pliable mass you get a stiff and transparent object – it is a bit like doing magic.”

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