Fancy Freemover

Posted by Tiffany on November 2nd, 2010    Add your comment »

Maria (on the right) with sister Charlotta. photo: www.fromsthlm.com

The thing that always strikes me first when I see Maria Dahlberg is her sprightly personality, brimming over with unflagging energy. This, of course, followed swiftly by the second thing – her designs – which seem to exude all the same positive energy that their designer does.

From her tall curvy candle holders in all the most amazing colors, that manage to be sexy, playful and sophisticated all at once… to her sometimes strict, sometimes freewheeling textile patterns… Maria sets out to bring mood and personality into everything she does. And she does a fantastic job of it!

photo: www.fromsthlm.com

Enjoy our in-depth interview with designer Maria Lovisa Dahlberg of Freemover, an up-and-comer who we will certainly be seeing a lot of in the years to come:

FS: What were your childhood and early design influences like?

MLD: I grew up just outside of Gothenburg. My parents were interested in design, architecture, new cultures and traveling, as well as in sports. My father worked abroad for some years, and when I was a baby we lived in Saudi Arabia.

Some of Maria’s inspirations: tiles at Copenhagen airport and a concert program from Helsingborg. photo: Maria L Dahlberg

MLD: My father introduced me early in life to the beauty of Scandinavian design. I was only six years old when once, in a furniture shop, he tried to explain what made Danish design so nice and elegant. I thought he was a bit strange but I could tell that it was important to him. After Saudi Arabia my father had a very Scandinavian modern house built for us and we all liked that place very much.

Thinking back I believe my father influenced me a lot when it came to the importance of design, even if our taste was not always the same. It’s he who I named my “Rolf” candle holder after.

Maria’s textile patterns at Formex. photo: www.fromsthlm.com

FS: How has your father helped shape your design perspective?

MLD: My father was 50 years old when I was born but he wanted to be a very modern person. For my father the functional part of design made it beautiful. I’m different in that I can skip practicality for an artistic experience… For me the visual experience is something in itself, and if functionality can be added it’s a bonus. Or if you turn it around, the function of the product may be the “visual experience”.

FS: Travel has also been important, no?

MLD: We traveled a lot as a family. In high school I went first to Australia as an exchange student for a year, and then to France. Living abroad affected me in many ways. I became more than Swedish and never only Swedish again. When I came back to Sweden I always wanted more.

Maria looks for inspiration around the world. photo: Maria L Dahlberg

Because I wanted to see the world and work in a creative way, I chose the Jönköping international business school that offered an international entrepreneurial program. I studied in Toulouse, France and in South Africa, earned my MBA (with a focus in design management), and took a job in Rome for awhile.

I came back to Sweden then, to an area just outside of Stockholm, where I started my own design company. Calling it Freemover made so much sense to me because I like and feel as if I belong to so many places.

After four years in Sweden I got the opportunity to do a master of Fine Arts at the School of Architecture and Design in Bangkok through a Swedish foundation. For the past three years I have lived in both Sweden and Thailand, and traveled a lot in between as well. In October I completed my my studies in Bangkok, and that brings us to now.

Maria takes inspiration from a sculpture in a park in Bangkok. photo: Maria L Dahlberg

FS: Where are you based now and what are you focusing on?

MLD: My company is currently located in Sigtuna outside of Stockholm, but I work from many places around the world. I use photography for inspiration, and I can explore anything, anywhere; from architecture, nature, colors of cars, the color of water etc. I also collect color samples and materials for visual diaries. Usually I collect these things during my travels and then figure out how to apply them to products when I get back to Sweden. One of my most recent candle holder colors is a dark blue-green shade I started liking when I was in Hong Kong…

Maria’s roof deck-cum-office in Bangkok, and some tiles she was inspired by in Hong Kong. photos: Maria L Dahlberg

A range of blue and green shaded candle holders in Maria’s collection. photo: www.fromsthlm.com

FS: Is there anything that you need to have around you in your studio or creative space?

MLD: I don’t really work from a studio so much now but this is because I choose to travel and it’s not so practical. I can work on my own or with people around, but it can basically be anywhere as long as it’s not too messy or noisy.

Graphic work I can do anywhere… Rome, at a friend’s house, or maybe TCDC (The Thai Creative and Design Center a super, super place!) in Bangkok. When I’m in Sweden I like working at my mother’s place in Gothenburg and around Stockholm as well of course.

Inspiring silhouettes on a Stockholm morning. photo: Maria L Dahlberg

I need a good atmosphere and lots of inspiration. Stockholm is great for Scandinavian 50’s Retro while Gothenburg has more Art Deco (which I’m looking for right now). My latest inspiration is from Brussels where I went looking for Art Noveau /Jugent styles along the lines of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Sometimes, what you find while you’re looking for something else is the best unexpected inspiration.

Colors and combinations of them are important for me. I can spend many hours in shops selling paint. I can collect color inspiration around the world but I will only actually work with product colors when I’m back in Sweden or Scandinavia. Scandinavia is the best place for this type of work since the color of daylight is very special and it makes the work more fun and encouraging.

Inspiration from Australia and Cairo. photos: Maria L Dahlberg

FS: How did you decide to go into design?

MLD: I think color, shapes and materials always spoke to me, so I knew one way or another I would work with it. But as I also wanted to be an entrepreneur and see the world, entrepreneurial international business studies was a good complement to my more artistic side.

Inspired by colors and shapes around the world, including this vase from Singapore. photo: Maria L Dahlberg

FS: How do you describe your design style- and is that also how you would describe Freemover?

MLD: My design style now is spicy with a contemporary interpretation of Scandinavian retro. Freemover is an arena where my view on style, design, color, material and art takes place, but it also represents my philosophical views and values that are the real inspiration behind my style. Therefore Freemover is more to me than a style- it’s a way to live.

“Spicy with a contemporary interpretation of Scandinavian retro,” describes Maria. photo: www.fromsthlm.com

FS: How does a design come together for you? Do you have a clear idea of the design you have in mind when you start or does it just emerge?

MLD: I work with design from an art perspective, and I’m less focused on the practical purposes of objects. Most of my pieces fulfill the purpose of being a visual experience (items for decorating, that add style or feeling). In order to make that experience I will let shapes, colors and materials lead me in the direction that they seem to want to go.

Most important for me is to know what experience or feeling I wish to create, and then I’ll look for the right combinations that will get me there. My own personal mood can influence what I feel like creating but it may also be a request from a customer.

Colors and textures from Hong Kong. photos: Maria L Dahlberg

I start by trying to know a component, such as a material I wish to work with or a shape I want to create. If I want to express a certain shape on a product, I will consider what color and shade will help reinforce the experience of that shape, etc. Or it may be the other way around – I have a color I wish to work with and I then ask myself which shape will bring out the experience.

FS: What are you having the most fun with right now?

MLD: Now I have some new ideas on colors I’d like to try and see how they turn out on a specific product and in combination with other products. Also I’ve got a few ideas on graphical patterns for textiles, which in turn may lead to what could be good products for those patterns…

photo: www.fromsthlm.com

How do you like to imagine people using your candle holders in their homes?

MLD: I hope people are using the pieces in a way that helps provide them with good memories. And maybe then later they’ll remember those good memories by looking at the candle holders. At my last fair, a colleague in the interiors business told me that he got a pair of my candle holders, and that each day when he ate breakfast he looked at them and it made him happy. The way he told me about his experience of something so simple as a candle holder made me very glad to see that the work I’ve put into that product is contributing to someone’s happiness. As I work a lot with getting the colors and feeling right, it’s nice to hear that they’re doing their job.

Colorful candle holders complement original artwork by Rein Nyman. photo: www.fromsthlm.com

FS: What is your biggest challenge now?

MLD: As an independent designer there is a lot of work to take care of around your brand and design. I’ve been very lucky that things have turned out well for me and my brand and company are growing. This means a lot of nice opportunities but also a few decisions to make and practical issues to solve. The challenge right now is where to take Freemover next…

photo: www.fromsthlm.com

FS: And what can we expect from you next?

MLD: I’m never so sure where Freemover will go or lead to, and that is the nice thing about being one person. All I expect from myself is that I’ll find a way that feels good to me.

Thank you Maria!

Bring colors perfected by Swedish sunlight into your home with Maria’s mix and match candleholders. In the shop this month only!

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