Spot On: FURNITURE

Sara Wright Polmar,  27, Norway

School: Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo, Oslo National Academy of the Arts

Department: Interior architecture and furniture design

Specials: Furniture

Design background:

Bachelor in Teacher Training Art and Design spring 07

Currently in my second year of my bachelor in Interior Architecture and Furniture design

Important lessons learned during your education:

I have learned a lot by being in the workshops, by physically working with the materials. You discover a lot of things you did not expect or couldn’t see until you have an object in front of you. Enthusiasm and believing in what you are doing is also very important – if you don’t believe in it, others probably won’t either.

Did you do anything prior to your education to strengthen your skills and to get into your school?

My education in Teacher Training Art and Design is extremely valuable to me, even if I never become a teacher. There, I got to work with many different materials and techniques, and learned a lot. I also met brilliant and inspiring students, and that has been an important part of my own development. I believe that all the things you do and learn, even if they don’t seem relevant, are important in some way or another.

Project title: Stack

Length of project: A little hard to say, as it was something I did outside of school. I thought about if for a while before I had the time to actually work on it.

Concept: Stack is a hall stand that invites you to contribute to the shaping of your own surroundings. The loose wooden cylinders can be stacked onto a solid core in any desired order and exchanged at will.

Inspiration: Stacking toys

Materials: Metal core with oak and pine cylinders

Keywords for the visual design: Playfulness, variation, individuality

How is your work process when you design?

I always start by writing down keywords, to sort my thoughts and ideas. Then I sketch, of course, and as soon as I can I start working with mock-ups and

scale modeling. To me, this is the best part of the design process.

Which part of the process is the hardest for you to work through?

The creative process is fun and exciting, but it is also exhausting! When you feel like you are going nowhere, and when you have no idea what you are doing – it’s frustrating, but an important part of creating something good! It can also be hard to stay enthusiastic though the process, it’s easy to become blind and have doubts when it comes to your own work.

In your experience, are there specific skills that would be helpful to master?

I wouldn’t mind being more skilled at 3D drawing- and I would have loved to have a background in cabinetmaking.

What are your strengths?

I am enthusiastic and independent – I like figuring things out on my own.

What are your weaknesses?

I can be too impatient and work a bit too quickly. I think I need to work on not being afraid to “wander around” in the process without knowing what I am doing.

Do you turn to specific areas for inspiration in general?

I spend a lot of time surfing the Internet, and also find inspiration in random things in my surroundings.

Any designers you find inspirational?

Ray and Charles Eames (playful, yet elegant), The Bouroullec brothers, Cathrine Kullberg. A lot of young Norwegian designers are doing interesting stuff.

Other students you find inspirational?

I was really impressed with a lot of the work in the Greenhouse area at Stockholm Furniture Fair, there are definitely a lot of inspiring students! And Kristine Bjaadal- her master assignment from KhiO is wonderful!

Is your work process based on a special approach towards design?

Humor and playfulness is important to me, design shouldn’t have to be serious. I want my surroundings to be uplifting and interesting, both visually and functional. I wish to incorporate this in the work I do.

Do you have a dream scenario for you and your design in the future?

If I can make a living working with furniture design I would be really grateful. I would love to have a workshop and studio, where I can make prototypes and maybe one-offs.

Has it always been a dream to work with design?

I have always known that I wanted to do something creative, but not necessarily furniture design.

Why did you choose this specific specialization?

Solving problems, and working with materials, colors and forms make me happy!

Were can we find more information about you?

My-soon-to-come website

www.sarapolmar.no

Contact info:

sarapolm@khio.no