Meet the future of design in Älmhult

Published 14 February 2023

Waste is transformed into thought-provoking design when Sweden’s design stars of the future get to decide.

How can thought-provoking design be created from what we would normally call waste, or even rubbish?
This is one of the question that has been in focus for Young Swedish Design in its 25th year. IKEA Museum has curated and co-produced the exhibition with Svensk Form, which showcases works by some of the most promising young Swedish design stars. The exhibition premieres at IKEA Museum in Älmhult, Sweden on 2 March.

This year’s Young Swedish Design exhibition has a distinct circular theme. The works by this year’s participants all show how materials can be reused, and how we can learn more from nature as a problem-solver. The exhibitors have been inspired by what we might normally refer to as leftovers, waste – or just plain rubbish. The pieces take shape from what humans and bark beetles leave behind. Waste from the sun and baby clothes is put to good use, and knowledge from earlier constructions is redeployed.

“Young Swedish Design is an important platform for innovative young designers, who show a variety of ways in which good design can be expressed. IKEA has been involved from the start 25 years ago, and as a producer we’re proud to be able to help innovative ideas find their way to more people,” says Anna Sandberg Falk, Curator at IKEA Museum.

Young Swedish Design is Sweden’s biggest design competition for young designers. It is an annual distinction, awarded by a panel of judges and also a touring exhibition, which showcases the latest works from the young design scene in Sweden in furniture, fashion, handicrafts, architecture, industrial design and graphic design. Since its launch in 1998, it has become the leading platform for innovative designers at the start of their career. Also in Älmhult, we present the winner of this year’s IKEA scholarship: Simon Bågstam.

“I have a background as a boat-builder, so my lounger is based on ancient Scandinavian boatbuilding tradition, which is called clinker construction. The materials and building techniques are based on methods from Viking times,” says Simon Bågstam, IKEA scholarship winner in Young Swedish Design 2023.

The grand opening at IKEA Museum in Älmhult marks the beginning of an extensive tour for the exhibition, beginning on 2 March at 10:30 with a discussion about design involving IKEA Design Managers Eva Lilja Löwenhielm and Johan Ejdemo from IKEA of Sweden, Mats Widbom, Managing Director of Svensk Form, and others.

Young Swedish Design winners 2023

Karin Bäckström – Seemingly ordinary
Mia Bøgedal Troelsgaard – 2-in-1 designs, Distorted to fit
Martina Claesson & Luisa Wirth – ON/OFF Grid
Axel Danhard – På nya spår/Along New Tracks
Olof Davidsson – Spread
Matilda Envall – The Story of a Dress
Ebba Hedlund – Actissance
Lars Høie – Letters from Utopia
Natalia Ikebara – Hemi
Lovisa Ingman – Efterlevnadsliv/Life of Compliance
Christoffer Jansson – Uncanny Spaces
Sophie Jungkvist – Woven change, Shifting expressions
Laura Kjær – Super Superficial
Jasmijn Kooijman – Dansa min docka/Dance My Puppet
Hedvig Ljungström – Mother Elizabeth
Frida McDavitt Wallin – Sandhagen 2
Simon Mattisson – Granland
Taurai Valerie Mtake – *madímì
Maja Möller – Knuten/Fastknuten / Tied/Firmly Tied
Olle Sahlqvist – Biomimicry Furniture Design
David Selander – Fotografier från Stockholm/Photographs from Stockholm
Oliver Weglinski – Carbon Care Work
Simon Bågstam – Essing “IKEA scholarship”

Tour schedule 2023

2 March – 16 April, IKEA Museum, Älmhult
26 May – 4 June, Sara Kulturhus, Skellefteå
2 September – 5 November, The Textile Museum of Sweden, Textile Fashion Center, Borås
16 November – 11 February 2024, Malmö Museer, Malmö

The Young Swedish Design exhibition 2023 is a co-production between Svensk Form and IKEA Museum. The project is presented in association with IKEA of Sweden, the City of Malmö, Stockholm Furniture Fair, Swedish Wood, and a raft of exhibition organisers and scholarship providers.

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