String - 2022

ANNA VON SCHEWEN & BJÖRN DAHLSTRÖM

ARCHITECT ANNA VON SCHEWEN AND INDUSTRIAL

DESIGNER BJÖRN DAHLSTRÖM ARE A MARRIED

COUPLE WHO WORK TOGETHER AND APART. FOR

STRING FURNITURE THEY DESIGNED THE OFFICE

RANGE WORKS AND EXTENDED THE STRING

SYSTEM AND STRING POCKET BY CREATING

NEW PARTS AND CLEVER ACCESSORIES. THANKS

TO ANNA AND BJÖRN, TODAY’S RANGE OF

STRING PRODUCTS FUNCTION IN ALL ROOMS

AND CONTEXTS.

“At the same time, we’ve learned not to lose our focus

on quality by continuously creating new things”.

So, what’s the point of a creative approach at all? String

is a design classic. Doesn’t it all come down to a timeless

style, fulfilling timeless needs? “String provides storage”,

says Anna. “Everybody needs that. But the requirements

for storage change over time, so the solutions need to

keep up with the times”.

Anna explains how these solutions meet the require-

ments in different ways – practically, visually, even how

it feels to touch the furniture’s surface – but makes it

clear that their work is never just about being beautiful.

Everything is connected to function and how String can

be developed to allow multiple configurations that suit

an even wider range of room types.

One of the first designs they created for String

Furniture was the folding table for String System. Björn,

who is an industrial designer, particularly enjoyed

it, since a lot of effort was put into developing the

special hinges. An impressive focus on detail which

makes the folding table as smart as it is beautiful, in

line with the original concept behind String. Now, the

shelf could be transformed into a table in no time – a

stroke of genius understood by anybody who has tried

compact living.

Anna and Björn also accepted an assignment to

renew the shelves’ wooden boards, a development

that could pave the way for String’s future. The solution

emerged when the designers began experimenting with

thin metal boards, giving them punched-out holes and

folding up the front edge by 20 millimetres. “The fold

adds stability, and gives a visual similarity to the wooden

boards, which are 20 millimetres thick”, says Björn.

The punched-out holes add a light touch, and they

open up the possibility of new features: hooks, rods and

various accessories that can easily be attached to String.

“The metal boards actually add another key platform

to String”, says Anna. “A system within the system”.

A majority of the new accessories are even made out

of 5-millimetre metal string, just like the string used for

String wall panels since 1949. It’s an elegant way of

seamlessly connecting the past to the future.

When the designers created the office range Works,

they offered a solution to office designers wanting to

“disconnect” String System from the walls without

spoiling its characteristic lightness and transparency.

For example, the stand of the adjustable work table is

very slender, compared to traditional desks – a typical

feature used through the range

ANNA VON SCHEWEN & BJÖRN DAHLSTRÖM 75

The String shelving system was already an icon when

Anna von Schewen and Björn Dahlström began their colla-

boration with String Furniture in 2011.

This could easily have instilled a respect of paralysing

proportions, but instead they have shown a deep under-

standing of the heart of the brand. “When you take

on a phenomenon like String there’s a risk of focusing

too much on the obvious attributes. In this case, the

‘strings’ of the wall panels”, says Björn. “But if we just

developed a lot of products based on a 5-millimetre metal

wire, the outcome would feel quite bland”.

Another thing that they realised was the importance

of not rushing the creative process. “Björn and I have an

ongoing dialogue about String, and share a true ambition

to develop the concept behind the brand”, says Anna.