…and a year goes by.

It’s been a while since the last post. I’ve been working on several projects during past year and I will publish a mixed-sallad sort of post about some of them.

Most of my time was occupied by Fairytales in Craft, a project I started with Ola Andersson, Annika Wahlström and several other colleagues. It is a project aimed at children; a hybrid between immersive theatre, adventure playground and craft workshop, installed in an ex-industrial building called Långeds Mekaniska in Dals Långed, Sweden. Last summer we did a pilot, and this year we’re continuing the summer program for local and tourist kids.

There’s a full story, more photos and a movie here.

We’re also working on a travelling version of the show, which will hopefully be taken on tour in this thing:

The red bus is called Abellis Magiska teater and has been touring Europe for past 30 years as a travelling puppet theatre. Its original owners, Anders and Fatima, are looking for someone to continue the legacy of their bus, and Not Quite art collective (which I am a part of) is probably the new owner. The show that we’re working on will be based on a story by renowned Norwegian children writer Gro Dahle. The illustration below is from her book ‘Sinna Mann’, illustrated by Svein Nyhus.

Every once in a while my daughter comes up with a new project idea. A while ago, with a few friends she built a streetfood-cart which she called ‘Lilla Drink’ and used to sell lemonade from. Now they’re building a treehouse. I help them bring the materials and try not to interfere more than that. The top 3 most popular activities are painting, painting and painting.

And as much as I love winter cycling, I’m happy to say the spring has finally came to Sweden. Goodbye, winter!

 

 

 

Smoker Barrel No. 3

Lakeside photos of Smoker Barrel No.3. This one has an outside oven and is intended for cold smoking. Made in elm, with oxidised oak lid. Photos by Martin Gustavsson.

Black serving boards

Fresh from the shop: serving boards in oxidised oak.

Smoker Barrel No.3

Workshop photos of Smoker Barrel No.3. It’s the last in collection of three different barrels, which will together form a family of smoke-animated objects.

I’m exhibiting An Imaginary Heritage project at Stockholm Furniture Fair 2016. Come visit us in Greenhouse, VH03:19, from 9-13 February 2016.

The Next Big Things

Smoker Barrel No.1 is published in January issue of Wallpaper magazine, among the best graduation projects in 2015. Thank you Wallpaper! Online version is here.

Smoker Barrel Movie

Food Furniture: Smoker Barrel No.1

Barrel-making was for many centuries a strong tradition in a coastal area of Croatia where I grew up. However, within only few decades, barrel-making faded away completely, when plastic and stainless steel replaced wooden barrels as cheaper and more practical solutions. At the same time, awareness of local food traditions began to rise.

I used barrel-making (also known as coopering) as starting point in search for both new forms of expression, as well as new functions and uses. Through evolution of centuries-old technique I was hoping to create new interest in tradition and sense of local identity it represents. And yes, I like Hayao Miyazaki.

Wooden food smoker is both a storytelling piece, as well as usable piece of outdoor kitchen equipment. As a functional piece, it corresponds to contemporary trends of reviving food as social event, and desire to explore new tastes in ingredients. Lastly, the object contains a somewhat ironic character trait when it comes to invented tradition, and I can imagine scenario where it would be deliberately falsely presented as an actual historical piece of kitchenware.

Ceramic fire-pit (which you don’t see on photos but you will soon) was made by Croatian artist Mladen Ivančić.

Photos by Biba Šehović Jelušić and Martin Gustavsson.

Pinta

Pinta is a project I did in collaboration with my friend Ola Andersson. We’re exhibiting it at Stockholm Furniture Fair from 3-7 February 2015, as a part of Survival: The Craft of Adaption project.

Pinta is a playboat for kids of preschool and early school age. It offers various play possibilities on the inside, while being rich in imaginative powers on the outside.
Pleasant tactile experience of cork and textured wood, combined with gentle rocking movement, create a cosy womb-like enclosure. Its image is a visual reference of all the grand adventures: from pirates to early explorers like Columbus and Magellan. Pinta recalls boat on an open sea, boat as a shelter and boat as a product of woodcraft traditions.

Our friends Martin Horgan, Juan Cappa, Petter Olsson and Adrian Coen helped with the build.

Photographs by Steven Polak.

Writing desk for three girls

I was asked to make a writing desk for three girls who are starting school this autumn. The magic appeal of mid-century modern was in this case just too hard to resist: desk is a sequel of a long line of simple and beautiful writing desks, inspired primarily by 1952 Helmut Magg’s desk, but also recent pieces like Phloem Studio’s beautiful Laura desk. So here’s a preview of two desks I just finished, one in walnut with green formica top, and another one in white ash with ivory-coloured top; the third one will be in walnut with black top. I wanted to create a desk that would fit the world of a seven year old girls, while not being too childish, rather a heirloom piece that can follow a person through life. And yes, I wanted it to be subtly feminine, hence the gentle curvy lines and soft contrasts. More photos soon.

Food Cabinet in Cleft Ash

A project in collaboration with Röhsska Design Museum in Göteborg: an interpretation of Ferdinand Boberg cabinet from 1900. Intended use is food storage, hence the pull-out chopping board and ventilated doors with wire mesh. Made in ash wood, with generous help from Martin Horgan, Juan Cappa and Adrian Coen. Forged iron hooks by Jokum Lind Jensen.