Lintex, 2015-2019
The Slough Sessions.
Some years ago I was invited by Swedish manufacturer Lintex to work with solutions for the contemporary office space.
With guidance and art direction from architect Christian Halleröd they had for a long row of years developed the company to become a very refined player in the field of work place oriented systems, all produced in their impressive Nybro plant.
"We are not interested in anything new. We do white boards and sound absorbers, nothing else. And they should be magnetic" stated the company founder Carl af Ekenstam at our first meeting and I honestly then felt a bit unsure if this could lead anywhere. But it made an inspiring challenging framework for me and in a exciting way I really understood what they meant. Lintex is a very focused manufacturer where depth is the most important and being narrow makes them concerned about the detail and constant refinement in a highly fascinating way.
Every year since our first encounter in 2013 we have had refreshingly nerdy discussions around topics such as adding a fabric quality (they still haven't), going in to whiteboards with round edges (they have), add electric components (big no no) and what colors in their glass white board collection that attracts customers the most and analyzing why they are so popular. Whatever it is it can’t be the naming. Only at Lintex you can seriously consider naming a new grey color ”Melancholia" (pity enough it was cancelled last minute).
Together we have also explored all aspects of where an office device turns in to a piece of furniture (Lintex of course don't do furniture) and when a piece of furniture no longer can be called that. The outcome of all this is often anonymous but highly essential products in the word's best sense, silently existing to serve in the everyday work environment.
The Slough Sessions.
Some years ago I was invited by Swedish manufacturer Lintex to work with solutions for the contemporary office space.
With guidance and art direction from architect Christian Halleröd they had for a long row of years developed the company to become a very refined player in the field of work place oriented systems, all produced in their impressive Nybro plant.
"We are not interested in anything new. We do white boards and sound absorbers, nothing else. And they should be magnetic" stated the company founder Carl af Ekenstam at our first meeting and I honestly then felt a bit unsure if this could lead anywhere. But it made an inspiring challenging framework for me and in a exciting way I really understood what they meant. Lintex is a very focused manufacturer where depth is the most important and being narrow makes them concerned about the detail and constant refinement in a highly fascinating way.
Every year since our first encounter in 2013 we have had refreshingly nerdy discussions around topics such as adding a fabric quality (they still haven't), going in to whiteboards with round edges (they have), add electric components (big no no) and what colors in their glass white board collection that attracts customers the most and analyzing why they are so popular. Whatever it is it can’t be the naming. Only at Lintex you can seriously consider naming a new grey color ”Melancholia" (pity enough it was cancelled last minute).
Together we have also explored all aspects of where an office device turns in to a piece of furniture (Lintex of course don't do furniture) and when a piece of furniture no longer can be called that. The outcome of all this is often anonymous but highly essential products in the word's best sense, silently existing to serve in the everyday work environment.