Eva Schildt is an exciting designer to follow as she is an extremely versatile artist, with work ranging from furniture to glass to textiles. There is a touch of the whimsical along with functionality in her designs. Her Äng Vase won Design of The Year at the Elle Decoration Design Awards 2014.

Graduating in 2001 from the Beckmans School of Design in Stockholm, Eva’s clients represent some of the top names in Swedish Design such as Svensk Tenn, Design House Stockholm, Ikea, Skandium and Klong among many others.

 

What is it that got you on the path to being a designer?

I always liked drawing and dreaming. Longing for something, another world.
In combination with growing up in a very handy do-it-yourself family,
it is a crossover between dreams and making it happen I think.

Your range of work has been very wide and varied. Is there any
particular field of design that could be regarded as a favourite?

I don¹t think so, rather materials, I like metal. You can be very precise with the form, yet, I don¹t like metal so much because it is cold. So it is ambiguous.

Being such a creative person, how do you choose the idea for a design and carry that to the production stage? You must have lots of ideas!

In the end I think most ideas are discarded along the way. It is not
interesting enough, or does not work so well, or becomes too expensive. It’s
a process where very few ideas are realized. That’s just the way it is. But
the best you can do is to stay sensitive to all perceptions, it’s those
very delicate sensations that in the end will lead you to an attractive
design in all aspects.

You did a stint in Japan which you loved, can you tell me what brought you there?

I won a competition with Askul where I got to design a whole
range of interior accessories for offices, then I also worked with Cibone,
Actus and Uniqlo.
It was a good experience, the Japanese really like Swedish design and all
the values it stands for like ecology, craft, simplicity, and connection to nature.

As a mother to two very young children, how have you managed to find
space for that creativity with the demands of motherhood? You have
managed to produce some fabulous designs in the last few years!

Thank you!
I am happy with the Äng vase, an idea I had in mind for many years and
finally it took shape. There is not enough time of course, it’s always
best to go through your ideas before falling asleep. During the daytime there are
too many distractions.

You recently showed at The Stockholm  Furniture Fair. Could you tell
me more about the product you launched?

It was a serving trolley for NC Möbler. I think side tables are often quite
low to be functional next to an armchair so with Julia, we made it a good
height. Also the bottom tray is accessible easily because there is no
“bearing” part in the way. And I like the fact that it
is not all symmetrical, it has a direction and that is always interesting
in a space. Also I did their fair stand with a big back drop water color
which was fun.

How would you put Sweden on par with the rest of the  Scandinavian
nations with regards to design and creativity at the moment?

Always good quality a, sense for craft and materials. The Danes though have made some
good things the last couple of years.

There are too many designs to be included in this blog but here are some of them, starting off with the very first design, The Garden Bench.