Stian Korntved Ruud

Woodworker

©Stian Korntved Ruud

Fuelled by an inquisitive mind

Stian is inspired by nature and manmade urban environments
He enjoys teaching himself and experimenting
He likes to make his own tools, to open up possibilities

Through his innate fascination of how products are made and put together, Stian Korntved Ruud has always experimented, modified, repaired and destroyed the objects around him. After studying product design in Oslo, Stian decided to dedicate himself to his passion for making, and has since exhibited his work all around the world. He is now focusing on natural materials and enforced properties, designing and making both functional and purely aesthetic objects. His Daily Spoon project consists of 365 unique hand carved spoons made from various types of wood gathered from around the world.

Interview

When did you first think of working in craftsmanship?: It was probably while working in the garage with my grandfather, with a knife and a block of wood in my hands. I graduated with a BA in Product Design, and started on a MA in Tangible Interaction Design, but dropped out to work with art, craft and design by myself.
How did you choose this particular craft?: I struggle choosing one single craft. That is why I ended up mixing a lot of them. My mother’s father was a woodcarver, while my father’s father was a bus mechanic and my father was a tinsmith and engineer. I guess I ended up just in the middle.
Do you master any specific techniques?: Wood and metal joining and shaping in general. I like to rethink everyday objects, like spoons, tools and simple electronics. Through this I try to understand how things work and why they are made as they are.
How important are your tools in the creative process?: Making my own tools is an important part of my process, enabling me not only to understand why they are made as they are, but also to modify and alter the limits of the specific tooling and, with that, to open up new possibilities.

Stian Korntved Ruud is an expert artisan he began his career in 2014