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The Red Thread Collection clockwise from above left:
Surface explores the cracking of the earth; Beneath tells the story
of the incredible power of the liquid, burning heart of our seemingly
solid landscape. Splash combines raised silk on a wool ground to a
satisfyingly liquid effect. Dissolve is a tale of transformation and of
tarnishing. A metal surface is changed over time by the effects of the
environment around it. Diamond takes a very humble material and
makes it extraordinary. Out of the disturbance of perfection comes
something even more beautiful, the Drop rug.
AWARD WINNING DESIGN
The final rug, the Red Thread, was JAB’s idea. “When we
described how each rug told the story of material change,
of the reality of what lies beneath, of our desire to explore
texture and truth in each rug as we do in each of our projects,
Michael Constable, the originator of the project with JAB UK,
asked if we could design a rug that captured our notion of the
‘Red Thread’ as we had described it to him.” The Red Thread is
the simplest rug of them all. A silk cut pile that runs through
a neutral wool ground: it is an invitation to every client to find
the rhythm of their own story and to map it out.
Above: Design imitating life - Staffan traces the rug thread through the
rug. Right: The Red Thread materialized
GRAND DESIGNS
Back to Britain, glass statuette placed proudly in the entrance
to the Design Store, Staffan and Keisha are finalising the latest
collaboration with one of the country’s oldest and best-known
manufacturer of beds and mattresses, Vi-Spring. A new headboard will be launched in Decorex this year. There is talk of a
range of marble basins with another British manufacturer and
Staffan has his sights set on an eponymous range of furniture
that he will design over the next few years and manufacture in
Britain. So if you’re trying to find Staffan and can’t reach him
at the office, head over to the V&A or perhaps Tate Britain. If
you see a tall Swede wandering the halls with furrowed brow
and a sketch book, chances are you’ve found him.
Staffan Tollgård Design Group
Grosvenor Waterside
Gatliff Road, London
SW1W 8QN
www.tollgard.co.uk
020 7952 6070
Photography by JAB Anstoez,
Richard Gooding and Contardi
Says Staffan: “We ask for the point of departure and the end,
and a clue as to whether their story has been straight to the
point or a meandering tale that has made the most of the
canvas afforded to it.”
The collection was launched worldwide at the 2015 Cologne
Furniture Fair to great acclaim. Two of the rugs were winners
in the Interior Innovation award and the Diamond rug was
awarded a coveted ‘Best of the Best’ award – one of just 15
products selected from the thousands at the Fair.