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LDF13: Interview With Bjorn Andersson

Bjorn Andersson spent 10 years working as an architect on projects that took him all over the world from New York to Shanghai. He has recently relocated to Berlin to open his own studio and focus on industrial and lighting design. The launch of his first product range Cutting Corners at Tent London marks the official launch of Bjorn Andersson Studio. He has already been named “Newcomer product of the month” by German architecture and design site BauNetz and now it’s our turn to get to know him…

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What’s the most important thing to know about you?

Don’t talk to me before my morning coffee!

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When you were five years old, what did you want to be when you grew up? And now?!

I wanted to be an airline pilot and travel around the world. Now I want to be a designer and travel around the world!

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What inspires your designs?

Traveling, geometry, materials and processes. Cutting Corners was inspired by the process of playing with shapes and models: welding, and folding and playing with different lights, working with candles and LEDs and different shades. My design process is basically just playing in my studio, working in models. I am constantly trying my ideas in different scales. Models never lie. An idea could look great in a 3D rendering or a drawing, but when you build the model you know for sure whether it works or not.

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What do you do to overcome creative block?

Switching tools is always a good trick: sketching, modelling, painting… the important thing is to keep active.

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Describe a really good day and a really bad day in the life of Bjorn Andersson.

A good day for me is getting that rush from realizing I have a good idea, or that the result of my research actually surpasses my expectations. A bad day is when an idea gets more and more complicated the more I work on it, and even if I love it I have to scrap it because I don’t know how to solve it technically.

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What did it mean to you to be part of the London Design Festival?

I just loved showing at Tent. It was a great experience for me. I loved interacting with the other designers and visitors. They are all so supportive and inspiring. The interest from UK retail has been really flattering and overwhelming. Plus visiting London is great!

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What defines good design?

Good design is simple and complex at the same time. I like when it is clever without being too intellectual.

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What are you most proud of?

Having the guts to take time off from my work as an architect to follow through this product design idea. My first paper prototypes caught fire during a photo shoot. I thought the idea had burned and died right there!

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And finally, what’s your favorite color?

Stainless steel!

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Our trip to the London Design Festival was supported by Airbnb.com

Katie Treggiden is a purpose-driven journalist, author and, podcaster championing a circular approach to design – because Planet Earth needs better stories. She is also the founder and director of Making Design Circular, a program and membership community for designer-makers who want to join the circular economy. With 20 years' experience in the creative industries, she regularly contributes to publications such as The Guardian, Crafts Magazine and Monocle24 – as well as being Editor at Large for Design Milk. She is currently exploring the question ‘can craft save the world?’ through an emerging body of work that includes her fifth book, Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure (Ludion, 2020), and a podcast, Circular with Katie Treggiden.