AUGUST 2019 ELLEDECORATION.CO.UK 41TRENDSWORDS: KARIN OHLSSON-LEIJON PICTURE: JOHAN LINDSKOG
Crispbreads seem an unlikely inspiration, but not for the freethinking
French-Swedish partnership of Fredrik Färg and Emma Marga Blanche.
The pair are the force behind ‘The Baker’s House’ ( below), the exhibition
staged in a 19th-century residence and former crispbread factory during
this year’s Stockholm Design Week. The 12-strong collection of furniture
and accessories it presented was the talk of the town, and rightly so.
Blanche grew up in France, but the show’s atmospheric location is
deeply connected to her Swedish roots. During the 19th and early 20th
centuries, her family ran a crispbread (knäckebröd) factory in the capital’s
Södermalm district. The elegant residence above – built by her great-
great-grandfather in the 1880s – was where she spent her holidays.‘We’re
telling the story of my family,’ says Blanche. New pieces include the
‘Julius’ armchair and sofa produced by Gärsnäs, tables inlaid with a star
motif from the parquet floors, and the ‘Heart’ and ‘Knäckebröd’ lamps,
both of which were inspired by the factory’s baked goods.
Although Färg & Blanche design together, they approach projects
very differently. Blanche is more theoretical, deconstructing the design
process before sketching, while Färg likes to dive into the hands-on
work. ‘You’re less nervous when there’s two of you,’ says Blanche, who
met Färg a decade ago, when they were both exhibiting independently
in Berlin. ‘I’d made a stool that contained powerful magnets. I couldn’t
take it on a plane, so I requested a list of other Swedish exhibitors and
asked whether I could hitch a ride with anyone. Fredrik said yes.’ Cue
a roadtrip that turned into a romance, which blossomed into a creative
partnership. Their studio was established in 2011 and, that same year,
the duo burst onto the design scene as co-creators and participants in
Stockholm Design Week’s ‘20 designers at Biologiska’ exhibition. Since
then, they have created pieces for Johanson, Design House Stockholm
and Northern, plus ceramics for Petite Friture. Their ‘A Stitch in Time’
textile collection for Bernhardt Design has just been released, too.
‘It’s in collaboration that innovation and ideas are born,’ says Blanche.
What’s coming next? Nobody knows. ‘Our primary goal is to surprise
one another,’ they conclude (fargblanche.com).THE ONES TO WATCHFÄRG & BLANCHE
Meet the dynamic creative duo delighting
the world (and each other) with their designs