Louise Hederström is a furniture designer based in Malmö. After graduating in 1998 from Beckmans School of Design in Stockholm, she now has an extensive business as a designer. Her clients include some of the most respected manufacturing companies in Scandinavian design, such as Offecct, Skagerak and Maze. Louise regularly participates in exhibitions in Sweden and abroad and has also repeatedly been an instructor for various design education programmes. She also works together with upholsterer Carina Grefmar under the brand Grefmar+Hederström and they are represented by the gallery Hostler Burrows in New York.

What inspired you to start making?

Boredom. My parents were farmers and worked hard. I had quite a lot of time for myself and discovered the satisfaction of being creative. Knitting, crocheting, sewing and fixing stuff. Creating my own world, often to the tunes of Elvis Presley. That feeling is still the best thing about this profession, to be able to bring something out of one's own mind.

Which direction do you see yourself going in the future?

We will see what the road leads but it is usually not completely straight.

What are the ingredients for great design and what's really exciting you at the moment in design?

Great design reflects its contemporaries at the same time as it can withstand aging both with its shape and function. It often takes a little time to decide how good it really was and how it affects new generations. But it must have character, its own personality.

I think we are in a super interesting turning point where creators and smaller companies show the way towards how we can work with production in a sustainable way. Large companies that are guided by quarterly reports and only profit interests must keep up and dare to think long-term.

 The story behind the Product: PLUTO

UNIVERSE Swedish Ninja + PLANET Louise Hederström = PLUTO. A playful balancing act.

During Southern Sweden Design Days 2022, Swedish Ninja are excited to present PLUTO , a new pendant lamp designed by revered Malmö designer Louise Hederström.

"I have always seen Swedish Ninja orbiting in its own universe - where design has a unique expression. The Pluto pendant is my tribute to the pursuit of daring to think freely. 

We are all familiar with the globe shape, but how could it be presented in a new way? How could balance be found with a pendant that doesn't take up too much space but still gives space to a room?

While I commonly find inspiration from nature, this time I gazed further afield and thought about how dependent we are on the entire balance of the universe. How everything plays a role, despite what humans might think. Pluto, seemingly insignificant at the far end of the solar system and demoted in 2006 to ‘dwarf planet’ status, continues to play a vital role in keeping our solar system stable."

- Designer Louise Hederström