Ikea’s latest collection, Viktigt, is a world away from the stereotype of flat packed, throwaway furniture.
Viktigt, which means ‘important’ in Swedish, is a collaboration between one of Scandinavia’s most well-known glass designers and ceramicists, Ingegerd Råman, and Ikea designers Nike Karlsson and Wiebke Braasch.
All the products—including furniture, baskets, rugs, lamps and bowls—are handcrafted and use natural materials. The collection manages to be both timeless and on-trend as clean lines and neutral colours (hallmarks of Swedish design) combine with the natural elements.
“Pieces made from natural fibres are as far from standardised design as you can get,” says Karlsson. “It’s handmade. Every chair and basket is different—that’s what intrigues me the most.”
At heart, Viktigt is a celebration of the craftsmen and women who create beautiful products, catering to those who want more than a cheap chair they will eventually throw away. If the buzz around this collection is anything to go by, customers are eager for products with a sense of heritage, even from mass-market retailers.
“This collection is about craft, it’s a project between the craftsmen and the designer,” says Råman. “It has lots of energy. And looking at the objects now—the things we did—for me, it represents love.”
To gather inspiration the designers travelled to meet with makers in their factories, and Råman says this was a highlight of the process that expanded her way of thinking.
“Trying to learn a new craft and working with foreign materials has been such fun,” she says. “I’ve always loved baskets but never known how they were made. So, meeting the craftsmen on site in Asia and Europe was truly inspiring.
“I gained an insight into their professional skill. It was a journey in all kinds of ways.”
Although she is already an icon in her home country, Råman’s designs will be available to millions of people across the world for the first time through the Ikea collaboration, but she hasn’t let the huge audience influence her work.
“If I try to speculate about what other people need, I can’t concentrate on the work. I’ll do what I’ve always done, and have myself as the starting point.
“I don’t think I’m particularly unique. As people, we’re more alike than we are different.”
The limited-run range is available in stores now.
By Ruth Cooper
