Gustav Winsth | ScandinavianDesign.com

Gustav Winsth is a Swedish furniture and object designer based in Stockholm. He trained in mechanical engineering before he studied design, and his work often starts with a manufacturing method rather than a form. Within a few years of graduating he collected several of Sweden’s main newcomer awards and launched products with Muuto, Lammhults and Gärsnäs.

Background

Winsth graduated from the Design Programme at Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm in 2021. His family name has roots in the Småland glassworks, where several of his relatives worked in Kosta. His first glass piece was VASE V.GW.01 for Verk, hand-blown in Stockholm in a skewed mould so that every vase turns out different.

Design approach

He combines the precision of an engineer with a free, sculptural attitude. His references range from Lammhults’ S70 series of the late 1960s to sci-fi sneaker soles, puffy down jackets and precise weld seams. The results play hard against soft and minimal against expressive.

Key designs

At Beckmans, Winsth and Teresa Lundmark designed the Dag daybed for Gärsnäs. Its swelling cushions rise out of a plain base in solid beech. In 2022 he received Lammhults’ scholarship at Ung Svensk Form. That gave him a year with the company’s development team and led to Tension, a steel trolley with ultra-slim shelves and custom castors.

With Alexander Lervik he developed the Reality armchair, designed together in virtual reality from their two studios. For Muuto he designed the Pleat Mirror, a full-length mirror folded from a single sheet of polished stainless steel. He has also designed for Hem.

Recognition

Winsth was named Newcomer of the Year at the ELLE Deco Design Awards 2022 and was nominated as Rising Star at the Scandinavian Design Awards 2023. In 2024 Form magazine named him Newcomer of the Year, and he and Alexander Lervik received Gamechanger of the Year at Residence Stora Formpris for Reality.

By Editorial Team, ScandinavianDesign.com