Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 46
Occupation: Architect and product designer.
Instagram: @jonaswagell
Hometown: Stockholm
Studio location: Stockholm
Describe what you make: I design furniture, products, lighting, and objects.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: Somehow, the most recent work always feels the most important to me. I love the process of seeing things take shape and eventually being seen and used by people around the world. Objectively, I suppose the JWDA lamp collection for Danish brand Menu that’s been a bestseller since its release in 2014 and more recently the Julep sofa collection for Tacchini in Italy have both been fortunate projects.
Describe the problem your work solves: I try to create furniture and objects with inherent qualities both in terms of aesthetics and craftsmanship. My work is minimal and form-driven. I use simple shapes interpreted through my own visual vocabulary in a strive to achieve objects liberated from immediate trends.
Describe the project you are working on now: We recently finalized our first collaboration with L.Ercolani—a new sub-brand to renowned British furniture manufacturer Ercol. The Grade sofa collection is an elegant seating family with classic lines and outstanding quality. With the company’s 100-year history of refined woodworking and craftsmanship, the sofa symbolically stands on this heritage with an elegant base of solid hardwood.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: We just extended the Julep sofa for Tacchini, introduced now in October, and will release a new light for Menu and sofas and more for Wendelbo in Denmark in January 2021. We’re also planning to launch two different chairs for Swedish brand Mitab. There’s also more work in progress with Design Within Reach for the U.S. market. Lastly, I designed two lighting collections as part of a new ambitious collaboration I’m super excited about; a brand which I believe will be the next big thing from Scandinavia.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: Music, strong coffee, and my pens and sketchbook.
What you do when you’re not working: Running, cooking, taking photos, or building things.
Sources of creative envy: Anyone who can play a musical instrument.
The distraction you want to eliminate: Social media and general procrastination, I suppose. At the same time, I’ve come to realize this often gains my creative process.
Concrete or marble? Concrete for architecture, marble for objects.
High-rise or townhouse? Townhouse.
Remember or forget? Remember.
Aliens or ghosts? Ghosts.
Dark or light? Dark.
