Älvsjö Gård showcases experimental and limited-edition pieces by designers

Älvsjö Gård showcases experimental and limited-edition pieces by designers and makers navigating between small-scale work and industrial design. This year also features a guest appearance by designer Carsten in der Elst and statement pieces by artist Fabian Bergmark Näsman.

The platform Älvsjö Gård got its name from the 15th-century manor next to the fairground, where the first edition premiered in 2023. This year, designers, makers and independent artists showcase new work in a designated area inside the fair instead. Among them is the artist Fabian Bergmark Näsman, whose work blurs the boundaries between the natural and supernatural, and designer Nick Ross, who premieres new work in his statement series Primitive Arrangements.

Other exhibitors this year includes designers Gustav Winsth and Alexander Lervik, debuting a collaboration where virtual reality has played a vital role in the design process, and the always explorative Jenny Nordberg. The German designer Carsten in der Elst showcases his Graywacke Offcut series in Sweden for the first time.

EXHIBITING

GNILMYD KCAB ANN-SOFIE BACK & MATTIAS DYMLING
Gnilmyd Kcab was founded by fashion designer Ann-Sofie Back and marketer Mattias Dymling, who create accessories for the home and office. “I was curious about how my thinking translated into interior design, and see it as a natural progression of me as a fashion designer,” says Back.“I found it very inspiring to move away from the body and into the home.” For Dymling, the home should be an ongoing conversation and he wants the objects the duo design to be a part of that conversation.

DDNG DESIGN
Didi NG Wing Yin is a Helsinki-based artist and designer born in Hong Kong. His artistic creations focus on craftsmanship and material culture, aspiring to broaden the concepts of woodworking and contemporary design by emphasising the essence of wood in its materiality through conceptual thinking, experimental surface treatment and carving techniques. His passion for woodworking has always focused on exploring the honest expression of the material.

CARSTEN IN DER ELST
Germany-based designer Carsten in der Elst is showcasing his Greywacke Offcut Collection for the first time in Sweden. The series is made of industrial by-products sourced from a company that quarries and manufactures stone, specifically Lindlar Greywacke; a variety of hard and dark sandstone used to manufacture pavement stones. Uneven and rough, the chairs and tables evoke the materiality and texture of large rocks.

NICK ROSS
Nick Ross is a Scottish-Swedish designer based in Stockholm. His work revolves around the intricate tapestry of history, investigating events that have shaped specific cultural positions. He has collaborated with numerous international brands including +Halle, Rimowa, Audo, Karakter, Niko June and Louis Vuitton. At Älvsjö Gård he is showcasing his Primitive Arrangements series in cast metal and wood, inspired by early forms of architecture.

DAVID ERICSSON
Swedish designer David Ericsson has a special fascination for chairs and much of his research revolves around seating. At Älvsjö gård he showcase Molnas, two chairs blending pragmatic thinking with the slow hand of a decorative painter. Also on show is parts of his research project ”Wrong Construction at the Right Place”, executed at the school of Malmstens at the beginning of the pandemic.

ALEXANDER LERVIK / GUSTAV WINSTH
Swedish designers Alexander Lervik and Gustav Winsth have used virtual reality to design a collection of three armchairs. The metal armchairs are on show at the fair along with the VR design process that produced them. Visitors are drawn into a virtual space and can experience the design journey up close.

FABIAN BERGMARK NÄSMAN
Fabian Bergmark Näsman’s sculptures look like a combination of sci-fi plants, fitness equipment and playground architecture. Behind the flawless surface of his art lies a sincere interest in the process of organic form finding. The sculptures are like related species whose evolution Bergmark Näsman actively promotes through constant modification and the multiplication of individual elements.

JENNY NORDBERG
Jenny Nordberg is an industrial designer based in southern Sweden. She works in an exploratory and interdisciplinary way to expand the contemporary notion of design. Whether working on an experimental, conceptual or commercial project, her practice is always driven by a search for alternatives and counterstrategies to irresponsible mass production. Stylistically, her work icharacterised by a clever combination of brutalism and minimalism.

KAJSA MELCHIOR
Kajsa Melchior is a designer and sculptor based in Stockholm focusing on spatial and material investigations. Her work has a design critical approach and sits on the borderline between furniture and sculpture. With an interest in geology, many of her sculptures are made from sand that has been exposed to forces such as wind and water.

SIZAR ALEXIS
Sizar Alexis is a Swedish-Iraqi designer who experiments with objects that convey a sense of stillness and serenity yet have a strong character through their geometrical shapesand the raw beauty of the natural materials he works with. Alongside his material-driven approach, Sizar brings personal and cultural narratives into his work, in combination with a deep interest in brutalist aesthetics and contextual inspiration from the rich cultural and architectural heritage of ancient Mesopotamia.

MATSSON MARNELL
Matsson Marnell is an interior design studio with a holistic approach. Led by Katarina Matsson and Magda Marnell, the studio combines extensive experience from the realms of interior design and fashion. The pair specialise in crafting unique environments and high-end collectibles with a strong personality and minimal environmental impact. With the aim of maximising existing resources, they create spaces that promote long-term wellbeing, focusing on circularity, sensibility and creativity.

Images show items from (left to right) Kajsa Melchior, Fabian Bergmark Näsman and Nick Ross.