The Future Is Local exhibition @ Rian designmuseum

3 February – 28 April 2024

The Future is Local is an exhibition that shows how the young companies Verk and A New Sweden are working to develop locally rooted production chains. The furniture company Verk and the clothing brand A New Sweden strive for as much as possible from raw material collection to processing, processing and final production to take place in Sweden. The companies are representative of a new movement in Swedish design, where the starting point is collaborations with domestic producers of materials such as wool, leather, glass, wood and steel, as well as with specialist craftsmen and factories. The exhibition wants to show that behind the words “Made in Sweden” stands a sustainable production that is anchored in collaboration and innovation as well as in traditional manufacturing methods.

 

Stolfabriken in Tibro is one of the long-standing Swedish furniture producers that manufactures the design company Verks möbler. Photo: Nicho Södling

 

The companies in the exhibition want to challenge the design and fashion industry and its tendency towards “greenwashing”. Rather than making mandatory adjustments, the companies are reshaping the entire process around design, production and logistics. It is not about going back to a purely artisanal production, but about manufacturing responsibly on an industrial scale. Instead of moving production around and relocating it to the place where it is currently cheapest, the companies build long-term collaborations with local raw material producers and manufacturers. Consumers are also challenged to think long-term. A piece of furniture, says Verk, should be valued based on the perspective that it should be able to be passed down. A New Sweden provides a fifteen-year warranty on its garments, where the company undertakes to repair, free of charge, any damage to the clothing that has occurred through normal use.

Toppimage: Wool jacket Findor from A New Sweden and the chair V.DE.01 from Verk. From the exhibition The Future is Local. Photo: Nicho Södling

 

Skepparesträtet 2, 311 74 Falkenberg
0346-88 61 25

Rian’s opening hours 
Closed 4/12 2023 – 2/2 2024.

3/3 – 28/4 2024
Wednesday–Sunday at 12.00–16.00
Evening opening at 12.00–19.00 the following Wednesdays:  14/2, 28/2, 13/3, 10/4, 24/4

Closed Mondays, Tuesdays, Good Friday, Easter Eve, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday