Sculptural furniture clad with organic materials
- Craft, art and interior design run in Susanne’s family
- Her creativity is inspired by the perfect simplicity of nature
- She seeks to find harmony between extremes
Furniture designer and master upholsterer Susanne Sjögren starts her days taking a meditative walk along the sandy beaches of the Öresund strait, in the south of Sweden. “This is where I can hear the sound of my soul,” she says. Her atelier is located in a charming 19th-century building that was Höllviken’s old train station. “While I work, I can look out and see the sea, which is a stimulus to my creativity and a nectar for my well-being.” Indeed, her practice is centred on her passion for manual work combined with the silence that allows her to increase her self-awareness: “My mission is to create with my body, soul and spirit.” Susanne also offers services that include restoration, interior design consulting and the sale of beautiful and sustainable fabrics from Sweden and abroad.
Interview
- Do you remember when you decided you would be an artisan?
- I was 17, travelling alone from Sweden to Venice. Visiting the artisan workshops of the lagoon, I knew in my heart that I wanted to work with my hands. That is when I decided that I was going to live my life in my own studio.
- Can you tell us the most memorable moment of your life?
- It was in 2016, the first time I showed my works in an international art exhibition in Venice. To be there where it all began, 35 years later, made tears fall from my eyes: I felt so humble and proud. The circle had closed.
- Are you afraid your craft may disappear?
- In this fast-moving world, I hope the slow work of my hands – using materials that can be recycled and respecting our environment – will find its way. I believe that the authentic values of craftsmanship must prevail and last forever.
- How do you know that something is well made?
- When a work is made by hand, you may not know anything about the craft or the creative process behind it. But if that work is excellent and genuine, you can feel it with your body and soul. That is when you know that it is a masterpiece.
Susanne Sjögren is a master artisan: she began her career in 1990 and she started teaching in 2001
Where
Susanne Sjögren
