Bla Station: Evolution No.1 2019, 22 36

A truly unique chair
Fredrik Paulsen didn’t expect one of his art pieces to be turned
into an industrial product but with the reopening of Röhsska,
Sweden’s foremost design museum, it seemed the perfect
occasion. Invited to stage an exhibition with the title Unmaking
Democratic Design, Fredrik was more than willing to collaborate
with Blå Station’s design manager Johan Lindau.
”I don’t believe design has to be democratic, if by that we
imply accessible to everyone,” says Fredrik Paulsen, ”but that
term readily applies to my chair which is a people’s chair, truly
sustainable, flat packed, and sold at a fair price.” The chair
appears to be as basic as possible, heavy on the raw material.
But the first impression is deceptive; there is a great attention to
classical geometry with the slightly inclined backrest and not
too flat seating. Or as Fredrik exclaims: ”Comfortable, but not
too comfortable! I want my love for construction to include
everyone. You should understand the construction, how the
chair is put together: no surprise moment, no magic, it’s almost
an anti-design, an engineered product.”
Fredrik Paulsen definitely prefers to work in wood that enables
him to experiment. This time it is beech, these days a neglected
but nonetheless perfect wood material for furniture, technically
dense and very hard. The exclusivity lies not in the material
itself though but in the work invested in each product. Fredrik
has pre-empted the wood trend now in vogue but sustainability
issues are of course close at heart for a Swedish designer.
”We do have to reclaim the concept of Democratic Design
from IKEA, they try to make us believe it’s all about low cost, but
who is paying at the other end? The real costs are transferred
elsewhere in the form of appallingly low wages, and with
mother Earth as a dumping ground.” And in another jab at the
global Swedish furniture giant, Fredrik does offer a real surprise.
Instead of yet another mass-produced standardized chair, all
Röhsska chairs are uniquely handcrafted objects whilst at the
same time industrially produced. The chair’s backrest and seat-
ing in pine or oak plywood will be clear lacquered or tinted in
different colours. A unique version will be made for the Röhsska
Museum with seat and back tinted in two different colours, and
with a surprising third colour where they meet.
Fredrik Paulsen | 2O19