Glimpt

Glimpt is a nomadic Swedish design studio, founded in 2010 by Mattias Rask (born 1985 in Göteborg, Sweden) and Tor Palm (born 1982 in Halmstad, Sweden) in Vietnam. The pair met when they were studying at Carl Malmsten Furniture Studies—part of Linköping University in Stockholm. They graduated together in 2010, each with a Bachelor’s Degrees in Furniture Design. What brought the two designers together was their mutual love of exploration—both literally, in the sense of travelling the world and exploring what different geographies, cultures, and local aesthetics have to offer in the way of inspiration; but also in terms of material and process experimentation and how the exchange of knowledge and experience with artisans, craftspeople, and designers around the globe can be mutually beneficial. To this end, Glimpt was a nomadic studio for the first seven years of its life, moving between Vietnam, South Africa, Peru, and Romania. In 2017, the duo finally decided to settle in Sweden and establish a physical base for their studio near Halmstad.

Working closely with the local design and maker communities across a range of geographic and cultural contexts, Glimpt has developed an oeuvre that is decidedly more colorful and embellished than what one might expect from a studio with Scandinavian roots. And yet there is a certain sheen, an aura of exactness that does seem to echo from the founders’ homeland and its venerable design legacy. It is the marriage of craft, color, and flair with precision and attention to detail that sets Glimpt apart. The Forbidden Fruit Series (2011) is a perfect example; created in collaboration with the Potter’s Workshop in Cape Town, South Africa and hand-painted by Xhosa artists, these dreamy, pendant ceiling light fixtures are bursting with character and verve whilst retaining a refined attitude and harmonious color-palette—collectors can choose from a dynamic blue or a more subdued white with black and blue accents.

Glimpt has collaborated with Italian design heavy-hitter Cappellini to produce the Superheroes (2012) family of seating furniture, inspired by their travels in Vietnam. They also had success with Prehistoric Aliens (2014-2016)—a series of exceptionally crafted wooden furniture stemming from a collaboration with artisans from Artesanos Don Bosco in Peru—when it was included in the exhibition New Territories at the Museum of Art and Design in New York in 2014 and 2015.