Folkform for Bruno Mathsson International in Bukowskis Shop
In 2020, Bukowskis is celebrating 150 years as a vibrant and modern auction house. During the year we will invite you to take part in fantastic auctions, curated exhibitions and dynamic collaborations.
Buy the Folkform Taburett Anna in Bukowskis Shop here >
Each month, we will launch a new curated collaboration in Bukowski's Shop - the given place for design furniture, carpets and jewellery that you can click home and buy right away. In this year's second collaboration, we have been honored to sell the stool Anna, a new interpretation of the art and design duo Folkform for Bruno Mathsson International – an external collaboration that is the furniture manufacturer's first in many years.
The classic stool Anna was initially designed in 1945 by Bruno Mathsson, one of Sweden's most internationally known designers. Mathsson was born in 1907 in Värnamo and learned the carpentry profession in his father's workshop, as the sixth-generation furniture carpenter. In his father's workshop he learned the profession from the ground up and there he got a well-developed sense of the properties of the wood. Mathsson was extremely productive throughout his career, creating functional, timeless and beautiful furniture with solid craftsmanship and high quality materials. He has spoken about his design himself; "Furniture should be made with such art that sitting in them becomes no art."
Folkform was founded in 2005 and consists of designers Anna Holmquist and Chandra Ahlsell. At the start, the Stockholm-based duo became known for their experimental work, where they wanted to challenge preconceived notions of what is considered valuable in particular regarding materials. When they create a product, Anna and Chandra work closely with the manufacturing processes and they always have a consistently craft-based starting point rather than working with the latest technology. During the fifteen years of operation, Folkform has received a number of prizes which paid tribute to their innovative design objects and exhibitions. Today, their work is represented in the National Museum's permanent design collection in Stockholm, as well as in the Museum of Architecture and Design in Oslo.
In June 2019, Folkform received the Bruno Mathsson Prize, which is the largest design award in the Nordic countries and awarded annually since 1984. The jury's motivation was:
”The 2019 Bruno Mathsson Prize will be awarded to Chandra Ahlsell and Anna Lovisa Holmquist in art and design duo Folkform, for their urgent investigations of how materials and manufacturing methods are valued in contemporary furniture production. Prestigious and process oriented, they immerse themselves in the traditional industrial and craft knowledge that is at risk of being lost, creating new artistic and distinctive expressions. Their projects are often realized in free processes, driven by equal measure of curiosity, courage and integrity.”
"Taburett" is the name of an upholstered chair with no backrest and in the new interpretation of the stool Folkform wanted to challenge the classic shape drawn by Bruno Mathsson in the mid-1940s, by using combinations of materials and sewing techniques in new ways. The upholstery is made with leather from ancient Tärnsjö Tannery and goes in the same dark brown shade used for the benches that Folkform designed for the National Museum in 2018. The legs of the stool are also lacquered and comes in a beautiful dark tone and will be marked with a unique sign with Folkform's stamp. Anna and Chandra themselves say that they fell in love with the shape of the stool, which Bruno Mathsson aptly named Anna.
The stool has an eye-catching and soft shape that creates a wave when placed together. The seat is available in five different designs and goes again in the pattern in which the "Patchwork" museum benches are made, which Folkform designed for the National Museum. The seat of the stool Anna is inspired by Bruno Mathsson's furniture from the 1970s.
Photograph: Erik Lefvander
The stool Anna was shown for the first time in her new performance at the Stockholm Light & Furniture Fair furniture fair in February. In 2020, Anna's stool will be sold exclusively for a full year in Bukowski's Shop.
Buy the Folkform Taburett Anna in Bukowskis Shop here >
Visit Folkform's website here >
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