MORAKNIV IN COLLABORATION WITH SWEDESE – CELEBRATING CRAFTSMANSHIP IN A NEW EXHIBITION
Morakniv and Swedese have challenged nine designers to, with the help of a carving knife, put their mark on a stool made from scrap wood. The result is nine craft stories that we want to tell with the exhibition 'A Tribute to Craftsmanship'.
In a time when craftsmanship often goes overlooked, the project returns to basics: a knife, a piece of wood, and hands free to work. Morakniv and Swedese aim to celebrate craftsmanship, honoring the creative process, and recognizing the craftmanship that permeates Sweden’s history and the walls of our factories.
Nine designers have been challenged to imprint their vision on a wood stool made from scrap wood from construction sites. Some participants are craftsmen, others furniture designers, and some create fashion in everyday life. The wood stools have been carved, shaped, sweated over, and refined.
The result: nine stools, nine expressions, and nine stories of craft to be told through the exhibition 'A Tribute to Craftsmanship'
Dates
3–5 February: the stools were launched during Stockholm Design Days.
13 February–4 April: the stools will be showcased at the Form/Design Center in Malmö as part of En hyllning till hantverket.
From 15 April: the stools will be displayed in Swedese’s showroom in Vaggeryd.
This autumn, the exhibition will travel to other parts of Sweden. The stools will then be auctioned by Crafoord Auctions to benefit the aid organization Vi-skogen.
“This is more than a design project. It’s a story about the power of craftsmanship, the importance of sustainability, and the future of creativity,” says Linus Davidsson of Swedese.
“For Morakniv, this tribute is an important initiative. It affirms not only the power of hands and creativity, but also that the simple, meditative act of whittling may be more relevant than ever,” says Madelene Jonsson Öhlin of Morakniv.
Participating designers
Molly Sjöstam – Craftsperson
Jenny Soddu – Craftsperson
Maria (Erixon) Levin – Designer and founder of Nudie Jeans
Rasmus Wingårdh – Designer
Erik Nohlin – Designer
Louise Hederström – Designer
Roger Persson – Designer
Simon Mattisson – Designer
Matilda Lindstam Nilsson – Designer
For more information, contact Madelene Öhlin at madelene.ohlin@morakniv.se
About Morakniv
In 1891, Frost-Erik Erson founded his knife factory in Östnor, just outside Mora. He built on a long tradition of craft in a region where knife-making runs deep in the roots of everyday life across generations. In Dalarna, the conditions were ideal: access to iron, wood for handles, and water power that powered both forges and grinding mills. Today, all Morakniv knives are still produced in Östnor, where time-honored technique meets modern production. Our heritage lives on through the people who work here. They pass on knowledge, shape the culture, and build Morakniv’s future.
About Swedese
In Swedese’s factory in Vaggeryd, Småland, the craft is part of the walls. That has been true since founder Yngve Ekström, together with his brother Jerker, moved their furniture company there in the mid-1950s. Yet Yngve’s craft story goes further back. Before creating design classics like Lamino, Yngve was a wood carver. In the family basement he worked at the woodcarver’s bench by day, carving ornaments for table legs and chairs, and by night cutting fine wooden bowls and sculptures.