Local Scandinavian craft persons and manufacturers now see a new dawn, when customers have rediscovered their small-scale and handmade production — and are willing to pay extra for it. Now, they have a new platform and a new concept to reach out through.
— We want to connect our most creative minds with our most talented craftsmen, says entrepreneur Ruben Schildt.
With a background in product design, interior, and commercial industry, he and his father Sebastian have founded Subjective, a Stockholm-based interior design brand with the intention to highlight the local manufacturers that are still active.
— We’ve gathered some of Sweden’s best designers and sourced factories and small studios to make their ideas become reality and create lasting products with a personality and a story behind them. Subjective is as much about the products as it is about telling the story about the product and showing the process and people behind it. There’s a value to that which is somewhat forgotten. Every product can be a conversation starter or just a beautiful thing, that’s up to the owner — but the story is there, Schildt tells. He continues:
— One great example is Ebb, plates and bowls designed by Anna Lerinder and manufactured by Gustavsbergs Porslinsfabrik. The way those products are made is with a method that we really caught by the tail, a knowledge that would otherwise have been lost. We’re here to keep that craftsmanship and knowledge alive, and I’m extra proud that we’ve managed to do just that with one of our first products.
— By keeping our production at a small scale and flexible, we can adjust order volumes at the manufacturing level and in that way save material, resources, transports, and unnecessary waste. When we develop new products, we’re also questioning how we can minimize waste and if there’s any, what can we do with it? Can we use it in some way?
The first collection is made for and in collaboration with the Oxenstiernan restaurant, a small oasis located in one of the few preserved ore farms left in Stockholm, which Sebastian Schildt opened last year. Just like the restaurant, the Subjective brand embraces old traditions with a modern mindset.
— Back in the days, the focus was on quality, and somewhere in our consuming age, that focus shifted. I’d like to see how we can pick the best from both times, if we manage to marry the quality of old craftsmanship with the benefits new technology brings, I think we’ve found a perfect match. We use a lot of 3D printing and rendering when we develop new products and use CNC lasers when we engrave the final product. But I think it’s more interesting how we, now and in the future, can implement new tech on a bigger scale. In the coming years, we’re going to need a lot of innovation, in all categories, for the planet as a whole. When it comes to interior and goods, the most urgent innovation is the way we value our relation to those items. I know very few people that would go out and buy a plate and think: ”I could pass this on to the next generation”, Ruben Schildt concludes.
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