Inside story
Quality, functionality and longevity are the core values that underpin this Swedish brand, whose furniture aims to bring people together
Swedish furniture brand Lammhults’s steel-bending roots are at the heart of its quirky and covetable creations
‘We make furniture for meetings,’ says Peter Jiseborn, CEO of Lammhults. ‘Our aim is to design pieces that create better spaces to meet.’ It’s a philosophy that feels pertinent after a global period of prolonged separation, and the newest designs by the Swedish manufacturer visibly encourage the act of congregation. ‘Sunny’, a collaboration with the Stockholm-based multidisciplinary Note Design Studio and Lammhults designer Gunilla Allard, is an uber-comfortable seating solution. It takes inspiration from California’s Eames House, while the characterful ‘Corso’ easy chair by Peter Andersson has a sculptural, looped frame and is designed to work in any social or informal environment. These signal a more innovative direction for the company, whose roots lie in steel bending – a technique that remains prevalent in its designs today.
Founded in 1945 by Edvin Ståhl, the company takes its name from the village in which it originated, deep in the Swedish furniture production heartlands. ‘At this time, it was a mechanical workshop and a sub supplier to the furniture industry,’ says Jiseborn. ‘But after several years, Edvin Ståhl decided he wanted to contribute to the world
'OUR NEW PRODUCTS HAVE THE SAME QUIRKY CONFIDENCE AS BEFORE'
of furniture.’ In 1955 he designed ‘Taburett’, a minimalistic stacking stool that is still in production today, but the real breakthrough came at the end of the 60s when Lammhults began working with Börge Lindau and Bo Lindekrantz, a duo that produced some of the company’s most iconic pieces. These include the ‘X75-2’ folding steel and canvas chair and the ‘S70’ range that once featured a number of pieces, including ashtrays and coat hangers, but has now been refined to a hat stand, a chair, a stool and a sofa. ‘When I arrived at Lammhults two-and-a-half years ago, we decided to take a playful approach,’ explains Jiseborn. ‘What we are doing now is more reflective of what the company was producing with Lindau and Lindekrantz – they were quirky. Our new products have that same confidence.’
Now, the 75-strong firm continues to collaborate with a stable of guest designers including Johannes Foersom and Peter Hiort-Lorenzen, the duo responsible for ‘Trioo’, another new design. Like much of Lammhults’ furniture, this chair uses high-quality materials to prolong its longevity, with parts that can easily be disassembled, replaced or recycled. ‘We have a programme called RE:USE that aims to help restore products, to give them a longer life,’ explains Jiseborn. ‘But the most important thing is to always make innovative, classic and functional designs that customers really want to keep.’ lammhults.se