Ditte Maigaard
Auteur : Kris | 10-16-2010
A breath of fresh air to traditional Danish furniture Design.
I jumped on the occasion to interview Ditte, a young Danish design star, who is breaking away from the classics in furniture design. I loved her ‘Split Personality’ sofa which is just that, full of personality.
Danish furniture design today remains heavily influenced by the golden age designers in the 50’s and 60’s: Arne Jacobsen, Børge Mogensen, and Hans Wegner.
According to Ditte, it is unfortunate that these same designers, now deceased, set the agenda today.
“The consumers have a tendency to only invest in the ‘classics’. New furniture design must therefore remain within this classic category even before they hit the market. This limits the development of Danish design.”
One way that Ditte is providing a breath of fresh air to traditional design is her positive attitude toward sustainable development. She actually likes the challenge to work with environmentally friendly materials and is inspired by using faire trade materials from developing nations.
Living proof as I found her in the middle of India, where she is getting hands-on experience with manual textile production methods. ‘In India, the use of colour is astounding, and I hope to bring some of this back when I return in 3 months’ She is also looking for other materials with which to design future products within the Indian communities.
‘There are many parameters to consider as a designer when a product has to be environmentally friendly. But this is a positive challenge that I look forward to solving.’
What do you enjoy most in your work?
For me design is very much about storytelling. The product must fulfill more than one function: it must give the user a feeling of coherence with the product.
This can be expressed in different ways; working with surfaces and structures are something I enjoy and these add a texture – ‘a need to touch’.
When I design, I go through a long process.
A new project is in the beginning exciting and fantastic.
From a design brief, I spend a long time on research to try to define the task as detailed as possible. Following this is a sketch process or modeling process where I start to work with form. This is a very open process.
What other creations do you want to share with us?
Little Fellow Chair (2009) (created width Sofie Brünner)
It’s Alive Curtains (2008) (created width Shannon Leser)
Who has influenced you?
Design has interested me since I was very little. I used to draw interior architecture for houses with my cousin who was at the same age as me.
She later became an architect, and I chose first to visit graphic design and then my real passion, product design.
Both my parents have their own companies, and both are strong individuals. This has certainly also influenced my choice of career.
What does your dream home look like?
Simple, high ceilings, bright and with contrasts. Wood would be used both inside and out, and it would have a view to the ocean with a forest behind it. Isolated, yet close to a city. You did say dream home!!!
My current home already has a lot of these things. Big open rooms, bright, and includes some of my own work.
Off Road Wallpaper (2008)
What is your favourite film?
As a genre, I like movies where you have to think – even after the movie has finished. An example is ‘12 monkeys’. Since I am also a big esthetic, I enjoy movies where a lot of thought has been put into scenic details like interior, clothes, landscapes, colour etc. An example is the recent ‘A single man’ and ‘Pleasentville’ (which also has a great plot). Finally, I enjoy historic movies from ‘Ghandi’ to ‘Julie & Julia’. And hopefully, a good movie has a happy ending…
Your favorite article of clothing?
Jeans!
Newly washed jeans with snug fitting is the best. Classic blue, tight around the waist and with boot cut legs are my favorite.
A male artist who inspires you?
The Brasilian artist Henrique Oliviera inspired me when I was working with the Split Personality Sofa.
He creates the most amazing special installations with completely unique shapes and surfaces that really capture the room and seems very alive and dynamic.
Thank you Ditte for daring to break with tradition and launch some very creative furniture designs. We are looking forward to see what you bring back from India.
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