Published 25 September 2018 • Inter IKEA newsroom

IKEA is always looking for new talents to collaborate with. When we initiate collaborations we always look for partners that have talent and a creative mindset, but it is equally important with diversity and to explore new ways of working. The collection SOMMAR 2019, where IKEA has collaborated with a group of 26 artists from Växjö in Sweden, is scheduled to launch globally in February 2019.

“In our ambition to offer a range for the many individual people we must work with the many individual artists and also look beyond the established design arenas to find talent. With this collaboration IKEA has managed to find a unique form language which will work perfectly in this collection," says Sara Ottosson, Product Developer at IKEA.

IKEA wanted colourful, bold patterns and looks for the summer collection 2019 and found a perfect match with this group of artists that work in paper, textiles and sculptures. The collaboration was initiated in 2016 and since then the team have had several gatherings and creative workshops in order to create the works that have been converted into unique IKEA-patterns by an Art Director. These patterns are now found on products such as ceramic figures, kitchen towels and paper napkins.

In order to make this collaboration possible, IKEA has signed an agreement with the municipality of Växjö that is in charge of the activity centre where the artists make their creations.