9
BENEATH THE SURFACE
Staffan’s next collaboration was a series of rugs for
international fabric and flooring company JAB Anstoetz.
Together with Senior Designer Keisha Hulsey, Staffan
crystallised a concept that has underpinned his design work:
the Scandinavian notion of the ‘Red Thread’. “I have used
it as a powerful metaphor to describe the journey towards
the creative DNA of each project we have worked on – the
heart of the matter that connects interior, architecture and
environment; the visual or creative motif that tells our client’s
story using the language of design.” The creative journey
towards these eight rugs therefore began with a question.
“We asked ourselves what our red thread was. What was it
that we as designers found truly interesting and inspiring; what
was it that we wanted to explore in this unique opportunity?”
They found the answer in the fundamental matter of each of
their projects: story-telling and the truth of materials. A rug is
an artwork in two dimensions. Yet beneath this flat finished
sculpture is the story of the maker, the natural elements and
the originating design process. Staffan explored how each rug
could tell the story of the artistry of JAB Anstoetz’s artisans,
of the processes that make their rugs so creatively rich and
valuable. At the same time they used the metaphor of change
and of revelation as a vehicle for these techniques. The earth
is ripped apart to allow a seam of volcanic silk to erupt to the
surface; the flat wool sea is disturbed with concentric carved
ripples; the alchemical effect of water on metal bleeds one
colour into another, a story of time and transformation.
Above clockwise: Staffan approving the first samples at the JAB Anstoetz factory; colourway planning and sample selecting in the design studio;
the Scratched rug being hand-finished in Thailand
Below: The Scratched rug complete; Intricate details and layers of the Scratched rug