Ilse Crawford's rug collection for Kasthall pays tribute to the Swedish landscape
The natural landscape surrounding the Kasthall factory in Kinna, Sweden, informed the patterns and colours used by Ilse Crawford for this collection of rugs.
Crawford has created five designs for the Grönska collection, which was launched by rug brand Kasthall during Milan design week.
The collection is informed by the London-based designer's desire to "bring more green into our interiors".
Each of the five rugs is made using different weaving and tufting techniques. Crawford believes this reflects the way landscapes change throughout the year.
"We explored the colours and textures of the Swedish landscapes but also the typologies (meadow, glade, furrow, farmland and vegetable patch) and their variations through the seasons, in a series of rugs that bring these into our homes and public spaces in a beautiful, abstract and more accessible way," Crawford told Dezeen.
"The colour green brings a sense of life to our interiors, has a positive impact on our health and in the right shades is perceived as natural," she continued.
Crawford wanted the handmade collection to feature a range of different colours as opposed to one block colour to accurately reflect the changing seasons.
"Rather than isolate block colours we experimented with many different combinations to achieve the nuanced colour and depth found in the natural environment, across different types of landscape, and throughout the year," she said.
"A rigour that means there will be a version that will work in any context, commercial or domestic, any light, north or south, natural or artificial."
One rug, named Åker, features horizontal block stripes in varying textures and tufts, including the cut and loop pile and bouclé pile. It is made of a mixture of linen, wool and mélange yarns.
"These blocks work together to conceptualise the textures and colours found in farmland that surround the Kasthall factory in a beautiful and abstract way," Crawford said.
The Täppa wool and linen rug features a tufted, striped pattern.
"For the hand-tufted rug Täppa, the soft and tactile surface is achieved using a combination of wool and linen and a special technique combining cut and loop pile. The natural linen also serves to soften the block of colour," said the designer.
The Ång woven rug is dispersed with thin lines of white-haired yarn and light green stripes, while Glänta has a plain colour with light flecks.
"We experimented with over-dyeing on natural melange hair yarn, as a result, the yarn adds depth and complexity to the finished design. This is combined with chenille lines to make a thin flat weave design that is an entirely new category for Kasthall," said Crawford.
The Fåra rug appears to have irregular stitching with an exposed white wool base. "Fära uses a newly developed bouclé yarn in pure wool, chosen for its beautiful irregular quality," she explained.
All the rugs in the Grönska collection will be part of Kasthall's permanent range, except for Åker, which is being produced in limited edition of 50 rugs in total.
Crawford's rug collection was shown at Salone del Mobile furniture fair during this year's Milan design week. Elsewhere in the city, Robert Stadler will present 200 objects from Vitra's archive in a huge installation at La Pelota, while trend forecaster Li Edelkoort will collaborate with Google to explore how digital devices can be more sensorial.