Gothenburg college HDK’s Academy of Design and Crafts exhibited a duo of shows during Milan Design Week; showing at this year’s Ventura Lambrate, Stories by the Water — which we focus on today — is a collection of works from 12 furniture design students, each tasked with interpreting local Swedish traditions and history through design.

The chosen region of Dalsland is a traditional Swedish province; around 450 km² of its total area made up of water — canals, lakes, rivers — most of which are connected by the Dalsland canal. It’s this canal that has played an important role in the development of life in the area.

The students, from countries like Sweden, the Netherlands, Venezuela, the UK, Taiwan and Croatia, created their pieces using the connection they’ve developed to the region whilst undertaking their studies there, and these influences are plentiful in works like Sophie Hardy’s Breaking Surface; a round table with faceted edge that reveals over sixty layers of paper, harking to the importance of the paper mills in the Dalsland society.

Luka Jelušić

Wei Ying-yu