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Malin Isaksson at the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2012

02.15.12 | By
Malin Isaksson at the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2012

Malin Isaksson

One of the fantastic things about the Stockholm Furniture Fair was the amount of student and graduate work on show, and one of the fantastic things about the student and graduate work on show was Malin Isaksson. The Swedish-born gilder and framemaker had two pieces in the show, Gilded Butterflies (above) and He Who Laughs Last, Laughs the Longest (below).

Malin Isaksson

Both pieces are part of a project called “levande hantverk” (living craft), intended to show how traditional craft techniques can be applied to contemporary design.

Malin Isaksson

The mirror was made by applying gold leaf to the reverse of a sheet of glass; a method known as “verre églomisé,” used for centuries by sign makers and mirror makers. The butterflies were made of lace covered with gesso; a white paint mixture consisting of a binder mixed with chalk, and gilded with 22 karat moon gold. The frame itself was made of plaster, clay, and gesso.

Malin Isaksson

The skull was water-gilded with 23.75 karat gold and made of plaster, clay, gesso and bole. Water-gilding is one of the oldest ways to apply gold leaf to objects and dates back to the earliest civilizations.

Malin Isaksson is currently studying gilding, faux painting and woodworking at Folkuniversitetet Hantverkscentrum.

Our trip to Stockholm for the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2012 was supported in part 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.