Folkform's production novellas
Folkform's production novellas
The art- and design studio Folkform, Chandra Ahlsell (b.1973 ) and Anna Holmquist (b.1978) first entered the public spotlight with their experimental work with materials, especially Masonite where flowers and plants are pressed into the boards – giving them a brand new expression.
The Folkform studio has also become an international name and has received several prestigious design awards. Their work can be found in the permanent design exhibition at among others Nationalmuseum in Stockholm and in The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo.
Besides working at the Folkform studio Chandra Ahlsell is a lecturer in design at Liu Malmstens and Anna Holmquist is working with interdisciplinary design research, focusing on materials. In April 2023 she received her PhD- Doctor of Philosophy at Konstfack and KTH- Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Her doctoral thesis was called Production Novellas.
The bruno Mathsson Award
In 2019 Folkform received the Bruno Mathsson Award “for their keen research into how materials and manufacturing methods are valued in contemporary furniture production. Their work is focused on process and without prestige they tirelessly gather knowledge and engage in more traditional modes of production that otherwise might be lost to future generations. Through this process they create pieces of unique artistic expression, informed by free and unconstrained processes.” - the jury´s statement.
As a token of their appreciation Ahlsell and Holmquist honored the designer Bruno Mathsson (1907-1988) with a congenial interpretation of his classic stool Anna from 1945. With thicker padding and different sewing details, they wanted to give the stool a contemporary look. It was produced in a limited edition, and sold through the auction company Bukowskis.
This article was written by Lars Bülow
