Stockholm Design Week 2011: Interview with Front

Front Page by Front for Kartell

As part of Stockholm Design Week 2011 Kartell presented the magazine rack Front Page by Stockholm design studio Front.

Clever word play and all…..

Although formally launched at Milan 2010 Front Page is only now making it’s way into the shops and as such presented a wonderful excuse for a Front “home gig”.

Having already worked with producers such as Moroso, Established & Sons or moooi, Front Page is Front’s first product for and with Kartell.

At the product launch in the Stockholm Kartell Flagship store we caught up with Anna Lindgren from Front to discuss the cooperation with Kartell and Stockholm.

(smow)blog: How did the cooperation with Kartell arise?

Anna Lindgren: Kartell was one of the companies we really wanted to work with – and so we tried for a long time to get a meeting with them in order to show them our portfolio. And then they saw some of our work as part of an exhibition in a gallery in Milan. And so in the end they contacted us.

(smow)blog: And then did they say – “Please make a magazine rack, we like the pun” or how did things develop?

Anna Lindgren: No, no it was much more that we were allowed to come to them and were given the chance to present different ideas that we thought would suit Kartell. And then it came to a discussion from which Front Page evolved. But Kartell also like to develop long term relationships with designers and so they also wanted to see that we could work on a range of different products that could work for Kartell….

(smow)blog: … and so there is a series of Front prototypes lying in the Kartell HQ basement …

Anna Lindgren: (laughs) No not exactly, but we are working on new projects that we hope could be ready for Milan this year. But it is not certain…

(smow)blog: And so from Front’s perspective the cooperation was successful?

Anna Lindgren: Definitely !

(smow)blog: We are currently in the middle of Stockholm Design Week, is that something Front have to be part of or is it something that you do because you want to?

Anna Lindgren: Some years we haven’t done anything! And this year it was the case that we had shown the magazine rack at Milan and then it was great that it was finally coming into the stores and so it’s nice to celebrate that. But we think Stockholm furniture fair is a very interesting fair and the design week is getting better all the time and so it is very interesting to do something here. Especially because it’s more convenient for us!

(smow)blog: And a final question. Is Stockholm a creative city where as a designer you can work, or do you have to leave Stockholm to achieve things?

Anna Lindgren: Stockholm is a very nice city to live in and work in. It’s big but not too big and there are a lot of creative people here in the city. And so for us Stockholm is a very good base for our studio.

Front Page - The Kartell magazine rack that thinks it's a pun

Kartell Stockholm present Front Page by Front