The botanically inspired bowl went well with the textile range in the same collection, where designer Maria Åström had created botanical patterns with leaves that were both classic and modern.
Monika Mulder was born and grew up in the Netherlands, and studied industrial design at the Eindhoven Design Academy. She started working for IKEA while still studying. When she designed the bowl for the STOCKHOLM collection, she had already contributed products to two IKEA PS collections, among other things.
The 2006 STOCKHOLM collection was the fourth since 1985. The products had become popular, perhaps mostly among second generation IKEA customers. The 2006 collection was launched under the heading, “Super quality! Super materials! Super expensive?” and the following text, for example: “When we created the STOCKHOLM collection, we really went all out. We used flax, velvet and mohair. We really threw ourselves into the exquisite world of fine quality. So you really will find extra everything. But it also turned out frightfully expensive, by our standards. Even so, it’s still light years from what truly exclusive stuff costs elsewhere. Quite simply, it’s super great!”
In the press material for the collection, IKEA wrote that Monika Mulder “… sees herself as a link between people’s dreams and the possibilities that manufacturing and technology offer. She feels it’s important to be receptive to changes, shifting conditions and different needs. To find the heart of a product, she often starts from herself as the user.”
In 2007, Monika opened her own design studio in Gothenburg, but continued to work with IKEA as a freelance designer. The STOCKHOLM bowl has also been made in a gold-coloured version.
