Swedish design students Tor Palm and Matthias Rask wanted to utilise their woodworking skills in their final project for their Carl Malmsten furniture studies in Stockholm. The duo were also keen to collaborate with craftspeople to create a collection of furniture pieces.
In coming to South Africa, they wanted to give local people the opportunity to show off their skills while also highlighting their cultural traditions through their work. At Furntech, South Africa’s centre of excellence for the furniture industry, they found what they were looking for. Furntech focusses on skills development and aims to improve the quality of the South African wood and furniture industries.
During their four weeks in Cape Town, Palm and Rask developed a number of prototypes, along with the local artisans. The pieces are vibrantly reminiscent of South African culture. By combining different colours and techniques the pieces have a unique South African handcraft feel to them.
The Swedes also collaborated with the Potters Workshop, a ceramics workshop, where they worked with metal workers.
