West Sweden - oozing with design expertise

AEO is a brand which allows its founder, Anna Elzer Oscarson to experiment and explore a rich variety of materials, something of a specialty for her. The resulting products are crafted with considerable skill; inviting objects she hopes the user will want to keep close to them for life.

Carina Cresta's ceramics and art is given extra emphasis thanks to her work strengthening the bond between children and their historial design roots. Her necklace, Daddy is Crying forms a link between her past and who she is today. Each bead carries the symbolism of negative thoughts transformed into beauty. Its elements can be added to and extended as the designer goes through life.

Strid's label is based on using fashion as a means of self expression. Her experimental tailoring is often combined with art to create iconic pieces with a strong lean towards the avant-gard while being infinitely wearable. The essence of her pieces is to create by hand as much as possible, keeping production as close to home as possible.

Karl-Oskar's work delves deep into the reasoning behind material sourcing and manufacturing decisions. His Archiquarium has been made to give the simple goldfish a simple, classic modernistic abode, made from heavy-duty pine, 8mm glass and a crisp Formica shell.

Fredén's enticing textiles exude quality. Often lifting from nature for her inspiration, the designer seeks to make each piece unique while using hand-made techniques to keep her design process raw and organic.

Annika Svensson's stoves are designed and produced in her studio in Göteborg. The whole manufacturing process is made by hand. The tradition of tiled stoves comes alive in an exciting blend of art nouveau, folklore and popular culture.

With a growing number of commissions and awards to his name, Holm often works around double meanings and functions in his pieces. Many of his items take their influence from something we may have all seen but perhaps not pondered as much. Holm's stool lifts its shape from Duc d'Albe's old anchoring tripods, hammered deep into the seabed; which now see more use from Seagulls than boats.