Studio Visit
Designer Nick Ross on materials, methods and courage
In Nick Ross’s work, concept and execution coincide in a pared-down and precise design language. By allowing the materials and production constraints to guide the process, he creates objects where limitations become a driving creative principle – and where every detail is carefully considered.
The Scottish-Swedish designer Nick Ross has, since founding his Stockholm-based studio in 2014, established a consistent and personal design language. Educated at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen and Konstfack in Stockholm, he moves between historical references, such as archaeological artefacts, and contemporary production. The result is objects that combine a pared-down aesthetic, material awareness, and a strong presence – design in which concept and physical form are inseparable.
I try to keep my work as clean as possible. In some way, I’m searching for an essence in every object, where as little as possible has been added without it losing any of its presence. It’s a difficult balance, but I believe that’s often where strong design emerges. That sense of purity is something I try to carry through everything—from material choices to how an object is actually produced.
My starting point is almost always rooted in ancient archaeology and historical artifacts. That’s often where the first impulses come from. But when it comes to pure design references, I have a soft spot for the late 1980s and early 1990s. Philippe Starck’s early works, Martin Szekely, and Pierre Charpin. A lot of French design, but also Japanese design from the same period, like Rei Kawakubo, Shiro Kuramata, and Shigeru Uchida. More recently, I’ve also started collecting some more obscure objects by Jonas Bohlin from roughly the same era.
My starting point is almost always rooted in ancient archaeology and historical artifacts. That’s often where the first impulses come from. But when it comes to pure design references, I have a soft spot for the late 1980s and early 1990s.
It varies, but I don’t sketch very much. I usually shape the core idea in my head and then move fairly quickly into 3D, where I can work directly with proportions and scale. For me, sketching is more a way of taking notes than an actual part of the design process.
Perhaps the P-L 01 chair for NIKO JUNE. It came about during the pandemic in 2020. When everything felt so uncertain, I wanted to use that time to create something as uncompromising as possible, yet still something that could be produced locally with relatively simple means. For me, it also became a symbol of moving forward with courage during a time when much was falling apart—to act rather than withdraw. It is very much a result of both its context and the moment in which it was made.
It can be both, but I often think the most interesting objects emerge from the material itself or from the production process. Limitations are almost always the best form of inspiration.
At the moment, I’m working on completing new projects for Salone del Mobile in Milan and for 3daysofdesign in Copenhagen. In April, I’m also presenting a larger sculptural seating object together with V1 Gallery at Market Art Fair.
Courage.
Previously sold at Bukowskis
