Someone has said that her language of design is rooted in things Scandinavian. That her products represent the marriage of Nordic culture and tradition with today’s demands for form and function. That she expresses herself in designs that are meticulous in terms of their form and aesthetically austere. Simplicity personified. <strong>Kristina</strong> <strong>Stark</strong> spent two years at the KV Art College in Gothenburg, Sweden, where, in addition to painting and studies in colour and form, she also received tuition in sculpture. It was this subject that was later to define the course of her career. This three-dimensional work led her to begin studying at the University College of Arts, Crafts and <strong>Design</strong> in Stockholm. Not, however, with the ambition of becoming a sculptress. At least, not exclusively. <strong>Kristina</strong> wanted to work in three dimensions in a different way. To combine form and function. Not merely to devote herself to the appearance of a product, but also to the process of its production. After five years’ study she graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in Industrial <strong>Design</strong>. During this time she had also spent a year abroad studying product design at Central Saint Martins College of Art and <strong>Design</strong> in London. <strong>Kristina</strong> grew up on Sweden’s south-west coast between Höganäs and Helsingborg, but she lived and worked for many years in Stockholm before setting up home in Lund, just a stone’s throw from the university and the Kulturen open-air museum with its long and proud traditions. Here, overlooking the courtyard of one of the houses on Stora Tomegatan close to the centre of Lund, her studio and the company she now runs reflect the uncompromising attitude to quality and the small-scale approach that are the hallmarks of all that she does. The strength of will behind <strong>Kristina</strong> <strong>Stark</strong>’s individualism makes itself apparent in many ways. As if designing products was not enough in itself, she also maintains full control over the production phase. She makes it her business to do so – in both senses of the word. For many years <strong>Kristina</strong> has worked with domestic design, creating products for the kitchen and the table. Among those for whom she has undertaken commissions are <strong>Design</strong> House Stockholm, Boda Nova, Höganäs Keramik and Gense. But the most demanding of all her clients is probably her own company, <strong>Design</strong>: <strong>Kristina</strong> <strong>Stark</strong>. A selection of these products is presented here. Many of them have already become contemporary classics. For example, today her matchbox covers and candlesticks are design icons that you will find on sale in museum design shops and leading interior design retailers. For many people the name <strong>Kristina</strong> <strong>Stark</strong> is synonymous with metal, often in a trademark black lacquer finish. That may well be so, but it is not the whole story. She has also designed a large number of products in cork, glass and ceramics. These include, for example, her Klara drinking glass and carafe in mouth-blown glass. And here you can also see her new Café ceramic coffee pot with cups and saucers. A while back <strong>Kristina</strong> wrote to a designer colleague before an exhibition to say, “What motivates me is the desire to create things that work well in everyday situations, things that people need to use regularly and enjoy using. Things intended to be used time and time again. Day in, day out. Things that retain their attraction and appeal year after year.” In the same letter she also expands on her philosophy of design: “I enjoy solving the challenge of how to combine two forms, two adjacent shapes. The same applies to the urge that arises to take away a line here or there and then to realise how that process of simplification has actually added something essential to the whole. For me, happiness can be the sound of a cup being placed on a saucer. Or the feeling of perfect balance when I hold a carafe and hear how the water ripples as I pour it into a glass. The surface of the glaze on a piece of porcelain can inspire a similar sensation within me, as can the way it reflects the light. Not to speak of the relationships between proportions. I can find pleasure in the carefully calculated geometry of an arc that nestles comfortably in my hand – a detail, maybe, but its importance for the overall feeling cannot be overstated. How many times have I endeavoured to find the optimal form without any unnecessary lines and decorative elements? Eliminating what can be dispensed with – that’s where the challenge lies. It’s so much easier to add something than to take it away. Simplicity is a difficult goal.” Night Light Ljushållare Pulverlackerat järn Tillkomstår 2008