Qian Jiang came to Sweden in 2011 and was immediately taken with Scandinavian design and craftsmanship. He particularly noticed the traditional carpenters’ benches that are used in Sweden. The benches have wooden screws which are used to tighten and loosen the grip on a piece of wood being sawn, chiselled or drilled. He runs his design practice under the name Studio Dejawu.

Born 1919 (died 2010) in Anderstorp, Småland. Early in his career it was clear that Bolin had no desire to take over the family farm. After a series of casual jobs, he decided to start his own metal foundry instead. Thanks to his native stubbornness and feeling for form, Bolin managed to be successful in his field. The Nostalgi and Classic hat and shoe racks make it clear why.

Born in 1969 in Uppsala; studied industrial design and sculpture before becoming Creative Director at the No Picnic design studio in Stockholm. For Essem Design, Bergfeldt has designed the Mama wall hook – a classic piece awarded the ‘Outstanding Swedish Design’ prize.

Born 1956 in Stockholm. Mats Theselius works at the crossover between art and design. He has been a professor at HDK School of Design and Crafts and is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts. For Essem Design, Theselius has designed the Funk hat rack and shoe rack.

Born 1974 in Malmö, but now lives and works in Trelleborg. Borselius, who has a journeyman’s certificate in cabinet-making and trained in design with Carl Malmsten Furniture Studies, started Borselius Design in 2002. He has won several design awards and two of his products are displayed in the National Museum in Stockholm. For Essem Design he has designed the Papa wall hook.

Born 1985, lives and works in Helsingborg. He trained in design with Carl Malmsten Furniture Studies and opened his own studio in 2011. For Essem Design, he has designed the Clothing House coat stand.

For more than ten years, the Bedow design studio has been challenging the mundane to create something extraordinary. Their playful, minimalist approach to design has been widely acclaimed, with projects and clients from all over the world. For Essem Design, Bedow has created the Index shoehorn and the Tillbakablick mirror.

Born 1975, lives and works in his home town of Gothenburg. Karlsson studied industrial design and architecture in Sweden and abroad and now works as a designer for the architects Krook & Tjäder.   For Essem Design, he has designed the Vincent combined hat and shoe rack and the Gloria wall hook.

Born 1914 (died 1998) in Sjöarp outside Gnosjö. Karlsson had a great interest in nature and animal life and spent a lot of time in the forests of Småland. He collected butterflies and was expert at preparing specimens. During his military refresher training in Karlskrona, he saw a stag beetle and took it home to the foundry. With this insect as his inspiration, he made a mould for the boot jack in recycled aluminium.

Born 1981 and grew up in the seaside town of Påskallavik in Småland. Klippinge studied sustainable design at Linnaeus University in Växjö, where he still lives and runs his own studio. He specialises in designs for industrial production of furniture, lighting and functional everyday items. For Essem Design, Klippinge has designed the Tamburin hallway collection.

Born 1966 in Uppsala, trained at HDK in Gothenburg. Alongside a career as an interior designer at an architect’s office, Hjelm has established himself as designer under his own name. His products include lamps for Fagerhults Belysning and a range of furniture for Johansson Design. For Essem Design, Hjelm has designed the Point wall hook.

Anna von Schewen founded her design studio 1997 in Stockholm. Since then she has collaborated with some of Swedens leading design companies. The nature of her work has given her a solid reputation as one of Swedens most progressive, experimental designers. Her work range from furniture and objects to exhibition design, interior and architecture.