by Charlotte West

published in LOFT The Nordic BOOKAZINE Summer 2008 Issue, Volume #6
See here for subscription details - members of FoD are eligible for a 10% discount!

The list is long: Anna Holmquist, Ann Wåhlström, Carina Seth Andersson, Cecilia Hertz, Chandra Ahlsell, Monica Förster, Nina Jobs, Pia Wallén, Sara Szyber and Ulrika Mårtensson. They’ve created everything from blankets and bottles to space shuttles and sex toys, but what these ten women have in common is that they number among Sweden’s top female designers.

Several recent events have brought the role of women in Swedish design into focus. In 2004, all all-female team of designers at Volvo created Your Concept Car (YCC), the world’s first automobile for women. In March 2007, Chez Pascale gallery in Stockholm initiated the publication of 17 Swedish designers – Chez Pascale, a book about 17 women in fields ranging from industrial to graphic design. The book inspired an exhibition that has since traveled to New York, Prague, Vienna and Bratislava. Both the YCC and 17 Swedish Designers are a testament to the many female designers who are currently active on the Swedish design scene. Women have long dominated textiles, and later on handicraft and ceramics, but they are also increasingly visible within architecture, as well as industrial, product, furniture – and even space – design.

Their current prominence is to a certain extent related to the growth of the Swedish welfare state throughout the 20th century. Family-friendly social policies, including generous maternity leave and daycare, have allowed women to balance work and home life, contributing to one of the highest female employment rates in the world. Interior architect and designer Sara Szyber, who was also the project manager for the 17 Swedish Designers exhibition tour, explains that the one of the consequences of such political and economic equality has been the emergence of strong female designers. “I think it is of great importance that the Swedish model has created the circumstances for Swedish women to develop their lives on their own terms,” she says. For many female designers, developing their lives on their own terms has meant going into business for themselves. Companies such as IKEA, in combination with smaller Swedish manufacturers, have offered a domestic market for their products at the same time that globalization has opened up international outlets.

Many of these women take advantage of the freedom afforded by freelance design. They work on large- and small-scale projects, both personal and commercial, and experiment with techniques and materials outside of their core disciplines. Furthermore, operating independent studios has also led many to approach their work with a certain degree of interdisciplinarity, and their design thus reflects a cross-fertilization between different fields. But at the same time that these ten designers show a great versatility in the breadth of their individual portfolios, many also reference the minimalism and functionalism commonly associated with Swedish design. They subscribe to the notion that “less is more,” creating an unadorned aesthetic and a certain scaling down of their design, at the same time trying to preserve the essence of their objects. As one woman describes it, they possess “a simplicity and clarity both in lines and materials.”

Even in the simplest forms, however, another common characteristic is their playfulness and sense of humor – “design with a twist” as several of them put it. While they all recognize the influence of the past on their work, some also explore the intersection of traditional handicraft and modern technology, while others look for new applications for materials and techniques. One of the central issues related to such innovation is sustainability; some of them ask if a product is really necessary, and if so, how it be might be made in the most environmentally-friendly way.

Although the diversity of their work makes it difficult to put them in a single category, they all share an awareness of their common history and a desire to move forward and make their own mark on the face of Swedish design. While their approach to design ranges from the very traditional to the ultra high tech, they remain committed to their craft and a desire to challenge themselves and their clients. Telling their stories through the objects they create, these ten women have truly become the leading ladies of Swedish design.

This Report is part of an article that was published in LOFT The Nordic BOOKAZINE Summer Issue 2008 Volume #6.

It was written by Charlotte West, American writer and journalist living in Sweden. Please feel free to check out her website www.curiosity.se for further info.