{"id":201453,"date":"2022-10-04T10:14:26","date_gmt":"2022-10-04T14:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=id_news&p=201453"},"modified":"2022-10-18T14:37:44","modified_gmt":"2022-10-18T18:37:44","slug":"swedish-house-mafia-ikea-furnishings","status":"publish","type":"id_news","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/designwire\/swedish-house-mafia-ikea-furnishings\/","title":{"rendered":"Swedish House Mafia Shares Insights on the Making Of Their New Collection With IKEA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A guitar rests behind one of the Swedish House Mafia x IKEA chairs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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October 4, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Nicholas Tamarin<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>Courtesy of IKEA<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Swedish House Mafia Shares Insights on the Making Of Their New Collection With IKEA<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

In a match made in brand\u2014and band name\u2014heaven, Swedish House Mafia and IKEA have teamed up on an exclusive collection launching globally this month. Featuring everything from furniture to a turntable and even slippers, Obegr\u00e4nsad was created to enable rising creatives in music and digital arts to build a home studio at an affordable price. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite being platinum-selling artists with their smash hit Don\u2019t Worry Child<\/em>, SHM\u2019s collection is primarily powder-coated steel\u2014although IKEA designer, Friso Wiersma, compares it to an old pair of jeans \u00e0 la Bruce Springsteen. With a classic black aesthetic and minimalistic, sleek design that supports the technology and how it is used, Obegr\u00e4nsad, which means unlimited<\/em> in Swedish, targets music fans, producers, and DJs with accessible but still professional equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an exclusive interview with Interior Design, <\/em>Steve Angelo from Swedish House Mafia represented the DJ trio, while Wiersma and IKEA creative leader, James Futcher, spoke for the Swedish design behemoth in a conversation that covered everything from IKEA hacks to the eclecticism of Prince.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interior Design: What does IKEA mean to Sweden?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve Angelo: Everything. Sweden is built off IKEA so we\u2019re very, very proud. Sweden is a small country, and we have an ability to make noise outside of these borders, so it\u2019s important for us. Everywhere we go, we see IKEA, and it resembles home. Even me living abroad for my whole adult life, I always reminisce being back in Sweden by going to an IKEA. And I introduce Swedish culture to my kids by going to an IKEA. My kids were born in L.A. so, for us, it meant a lot to go occasionally to IKEA. For us Swedes that lived abroad, we could always go there to get our candies, our cinnamon rolls. We buy our Christmas and Easter food. It\u2019s like my safe place being abroad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Obegr\u00e4nsad collection\u2019s record player is ABS, aluminum, and silicone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The chair is powder-coated steel and polyester.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

ID: What did it mean for you, personally, growing up?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SA: I didn’t grow up in a wealthy family, so we could buy great design stuff and have a nice home with little means. And as a musician, it meant even more because I didn\u2019t have any money to buy desks or furniture for my studio or my home. I couldn’t do anything. So, we always used to hack IKEA furniture. I remember an old desk I had. It had a mount for printers in middle, and we bought two of those so we could install speakers. It helped me a lot through my teenage years and my first apartment. IKEA has always played a very big role in my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ID: What do you see as the similarities between furniture design and music?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SA: They both start with passion. You have incredible people behind every piece of furniture. You have ideas. You have inspiration, motivation. You have drawings. And it\u2019s the same creative process. I love design because it\u2019s the same thing as making music. Everything starts with an idea, and then it\u2019s a solution to get to the goal. It has the same synergies. It gives the same emotion as making songs. How do we solve the problem and get to that place where we create something that we’re all very proud of and that we can make available for the masses without robbing people?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The desk is particleboard, paper foil, and powder-coated steel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

ID: What are the departures from design and music in the creative process?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

James Futcher: Whatever we do at IKEA, we have principles called democratic design. It\u2019s about making something with a great form that looks beautiful. But many people can do that, so it needs to function in the right way, and that\u2019s where we’ve talked a lot about gaining this knowledge, about making music. It needs to function. We need to make it out of the right material, so it has the right quality. We need to make sure we take care of the planet. We need to really work with sustainability. But I think the bigger thing at IKEA is the low price. We want to make things accessible to the many people with thin wallets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ID: If this collection was an album, what would be the hit?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SA: The vinyl player for me is revolutionary in a sense of making it accessible to everybody. I’m a big fan of vinyl. I grew up playing vinyl, and it’s a huge part of my culture and I want to introduce the physical medium to younger generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Swedish House Mafia\u2019s Steve Angelo leads a creative meeting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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His in-house counterpart was Ikea designer Friso Wiersma, a graduate of the Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands who has also worked as a boatbuilder.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

ID: We talked about IKEA being important to the Swedish identity, but why is furnishings and design so inherent to the Scandinavian identity?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friso Wiersma: It’s more a cultural matter than an aesthetic. I think for Swedes, there\u2019s not necessarily a rule on aesthetics, but there are rules on how you approach something. It’s very strong, and it’s very minimal, and those words are also very inherent to IKEA. We can be quite bold but also quite minimal at the same time. If you see the products in this collection, they all have that duality which is a big part of Scandinavian design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SA: I think it\u2019s about sophistication. And for me, minimalism is the ultimate sophistication. But just because it’s minimal, doesn’t mean that it’s boring. For me, it’s bolder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FW: Just because minimal doesn’t make it simple, it takes very elaborate work to get there. Especially in furniture design. And it’s also a lot about killing your darlings and taking things away. How do you make, something strong, something iconic, something memorable that is still functional and value driven. And I think we connected really well during the collaboration, because the guys from Swedish House Mafia were already very used to working together, and that’s also how we work at IKEA. We never do something as individuals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ID: One last ridiculous question for you all because we\u2019re American: If this collection were an American pop star, who would it be?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SA: I’m trying to think of which American singers. And all I can think about is Brits moving from England back in the ’70s. I feel like this is a [David] Bowie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FW: There’s something like Bruce Springsteen in it\u2014it\u2019s a simple pair of jeans. I mean, there’s something very bold and simple and minimalistic about it as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SA: You know what? I have to jump back in. There’s a little bit of Prince in there too. We\u2019re becoming very eclectic now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The LED lamp is powder-coated steel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"The
The laptop stand is powder-coated steel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A guitar rests behind one of the Swedish House Mafia x IKEA chairs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"Shelving
Shelving that accommodates vinyl record albums is particleboard, fiberboard, and paper foil.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"The
The record stand is powder-coated steel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A pair of fluffy slippers is included in the collection.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The clock is ABS, polystyrene, and tempered glass.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n