NATHALIE LAHDENMÄKI AND NAOTO NIIDOME
Young Designers of the Year 2008Nathalie and Naoto, where does the design of a product usually start? From personal initiative or a commission?
Naoto: "There can be different starting points. Designing can begin with truly abstract things: a feeling, colour etc. running around in my head that I try to develop into a concrete object. Sometimes it proceeds from the material itself. When you happen to find a fine material you immediately start to develop ideas for new works. Sometimes I feel I want to make, for instance, a wooden chair for a change. In a commission, the starting point comes about quite soon after the brief, but I often make a relatively precise analysis of my competitors, existing products, things that are current and topical. The material remains behind the door.”
Nathalie: "In studio work, the theme does not always matter so much as long as a vessel is created that serves its purpose. The various stages of work are important, with the form created by your own hands, and also the discovery of proper technical solutions so that the objects can also be replicated in some sensible manner. The aesthetic comes along with the work, when the idea is gradually transferred into the final material. The idea of the object will only emerge in the final result. There’s often the interesting thing about commissions that client may ask me to design something that I wouldn't have thought of myself."
What is important in a vessel?
Nathalie: "Well, a vessel is a truly personal object. A cup for instance: you hold it in your hands and it touches the mouth. It’s important that the user finds it to be beautiful and comfortable, or dear in some other way.”
Naoto: "The important thing about a vessel is its essence and character. It has to be a thing of beauty even when empty, though usually a vessel is matched with something that fills it: drink, food or some other substance. I think vessels are at their most beautiful when in use, when their function also comes forth."
What then is important in clothing?
Naoto: "Fit is important in garments. By fit I mean that the person wearing the garment feels to be him or herself when dressing in it. Of course clothing must also function in practice. Clothing is like a second skin and also part of the wearer’s identity. Garments do not come to life before they are worn by someone."
Nathalie: "A good piece of clothing… At the studio I have a good old sweater that’s come apart under the arms, but it is warm and it breathes. I’ve repaired the holes at the elbows once, but there’s no point in repairing it under the arms… Of course I wear it only in the studio! I buy new clothes quite rarely, but I admire beautiful garments. Every now and them I try to buy myself something that lasts. Then I have relatives who know how to knit woollen caps, socks and other things, it’s wonderful! I sometimes sew myself. I used to darn socks if they were to dear to me, but unfortunately I can’t be bothered any more."
Nathalie, what is difficult in designing a vessel?
Nathalie: "There’s nothing difficult about the three-dimensional design of a cup. But you have to add something special to it, otherwise it’s not needed."
Naoto, what then is difficult about designing a garment?
Naoto: "The difficulty of clothing design is that there are different users. At the level of patterns, measurements have been standardized according to average body sizes, but in addition to this according to colours, shapes, styles and so on… Tastes can be standardized and not everyone can be satisfied. I feel the clothing designer’s task is to provide alternatives for dress and not to force anyone into a specific style, although it seems at times that it’s gone in that direction."
What’s it like to be a young designer in Finland in the 2000s, Nathalie?
Nathalie: "It can be difficult! There have been major changes in professional identity over the past decades. For example, in the production of ceramics and glass, which I know best, craftsmanship has traditionally predominated. Production still entails several stages requiring work by hand, although automation has largely been sought in manufacturing. Therefore, the industrial manufacture of ceramics has in recent years been systematically moved (to maximize profits) from Europe to countries of cheaper labour, mostly in Asia, as in so many other fields.
"Today, design, production and marketing criss-cross from one part of the world to another. Taking production out of Finland leads to well-known problems. In the design stage, there will not necessarily be any discussions between the workers of the factory and the designer in the important test production stage, and communication takes place through representatives. Not to mention the problem that goods are flown all over the world with everyone trying to get into the same ”international” market!
"Conditions in factories interest designers and consumers alike. Sub-contracting agreements seek to ensure that everything is in order. As I understand it, however, it is almost impossible for the designer to make sure that contractual obligations are followed.
"These important and difficult issues are everyday matters for designers pursuing an international career. In the present situation, the ”traditional” responsibility of the designer actually decreases and the work may seem conflicting. The ecological and ethical acceptability of design are matters that interest contemporary designers.
"People are in fact becoming increasingly interested in where a product is made, by whom, and how. Therefore, it can be great joy to notice that an item of clothing that you've bought was made in a dress-shop nearby. Appreciation for small workshops is growing at a very fast pace. For example in fashions in particular, many young designers have started their own small business, primarily to employ themselves as designers, while also providing employment for craftspersons, which is a good thing. The small scale of all activities is in fact a virtue.
"I don’t like the word ’strategy’. Many companies also in applied art and design seem to place their trust in it – taking as their example corporations in any field whatsoever. It’s as if they were in some kind of war, or playing a game at the very least. A strategy is first created, then it’s tested, and the process is described and reported. It takes a lot of time and money. In reality, it would just be better to dare to trust those designers who have sensitivity and the necessary talent. The ability, for instance, to express beauty and reassurance in everyday objects.
A designer has to be obstinate in Finland in the 2000s.”
And what do you think about being a designer, Naoto?
Naoto: "It’s difficult to compare yourself as a designer to those of some of other period, because I haven’t experienced those times. When Finland was becoming independent or in the post-war years of reconstruction, designers no doubt had their own efforts and status.
"Now in the 2000s I would say that the young generation has a happy ’designerhood’ (if there's such a word). Technology is highly developed and there are pretty much boundless opportunities at least for technical realization. Like in a candy store! Designers and creative people in other areas of culture are supported and encouraged quite well, also at the government level.
"The downside is the ever-faster pace of things. There’s no longer time to pause to think at length about what you're doing, and everything becomes focused on achievement. Of course, I believe everyone is doing their best. Finland is also a small country with relatively few companies seriously utilizing high-standard design. This means a surplus of designers, which leads to competition. The situation is also made difficult by the fact that design work cannot be distributed evenly. In other words, it’s not at all self-evident to find work as a designer if you’ve graduated in design. Different designers have their specific style, their ”brand”, and companies seeks designers of certain kinds and names that are already familiar. This inevitably leads to monopoly situations.”
Finnish or international? Do you barrack for Finland?
Naoto: "Both one and the other. To barrack for Finland you always have to have an opponent or someone to compare with (I won’t say Sweden here). Bringing forth the national aspect calls for an international environment and international understanding. A bit like the Olympic Games, which are highly international and global. Every designer comes from somewhere and has his or her own background, and I don’t think a global, unvarying design style will find success. While continuous international interaction will make the idioms of form similar in different countries, I don’t think a Finnish designer would get very far internationally, for example, by imitating a Dutch designer, although this might be appreciated in Finland as a fresh approach. Originality is needed elsewhere.”
Nathalie: "Nationality is no issue for me; I don’t even find it interesting. But of course, living in Finland, I have adapted to local conditions: the bright light of summer, the various stages of greyness lasting six months and the darkness of winter, for example, are all fine things.”
Sensitivity and beauty – what are they and how do they emerge in your work?
Nathalie: "Might sensitivity be something like understanding that anything can dissolve and fall apart at any time? Sensitivity helps in distinguishing beauty from ugliness. I think it is expressed in the results of the work, if you have been faithful to your intentions in the design and manufacturing of the piece…”
Naoto: "It is very difficult to define sensitivity, what it really is. My works have been commended or criticized for being sensitive, but I still haven’t really internalized it through what I do. I do try to find beauty in design work. They say that ”beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, and no doubt beauty, e.g. with regard to forms, is first defined through the designer’s perception. There’s also a kind of law-like regularity to beauty. It’s not enough for someone just to regard a thing as beautiful, you always need others to agree and understand that beauty. This is a precondition for gaining recognition. Anyone can be the best artist in the world, but in concrete terms this is measured by the number of supporters.”
What do you think of one another’s work?
Nathalie: "Naoto’s Kleopatra chair is a work of assurance. It reminds me of a sharp kitchen knife in its functionality. The creases in the handrest make it human. And of the garments, ”Ensikohtaaminen” [First Encounter] is so comfortable to wear and its illustrations are of a charmingly warm spirit. It looks like a scene from a fairy tale. But Naoto’s work isn’t just elegant furniture and garments. He is very good at taking care of things, he just picks up a phone and arranges things, even doing it all in a calm and friendly fashion. And he is also said to see all the colours, at least that’s what he says! Naoto seems to be working all the time and he doesn’t get tired, because he likes it so much. And you can see from the works that he has focused on them. It’s impossible to imagine that he would just scribble something."
Naoto: "Nathalie is highly faithful to her own views and work. Underlying her sensitive objects are her assured working of materials and a calm span of development that you cannot help sensing and admiring. And an unbelievable sense of form and material. Nathalie’s works reflect at the same time a respect for tradition and a new kind of experimentation. Her world of colours pleases me personally and there may be a similarity in this respect…? I’ve heard Nathalie been described as sensitive, but I see a passionate ideologue and philosopher underneath her charmingly placid exterior."
Can you let go in design?
Naoto: "Of course you can, as long as you keep to your domain and to good taste. It’s healthy to test your limits from time to time, and there’s no need to be afraid of failure."
Nathalie: "I don't think I could… For me, letting go is to let a pot take a random shape, though in a controlled manner. Or visual motives in objects; they come anarchistically a bit by chance: power line posts, a traffic environment, mountain scenery, or boldly, simply a flower!"
What inspires you right now? What doesn’t inspire you?
Nathalie: "Walks calm me."
Naoto: "A kind of one-off thinking at present. I’m a bit tired of managing on the terms of commerciality, although sales figures do have their own fascination."
What next?
Nathalie: "I’m preparing works for a solo exhibition in Helsinki next autumn. It will include pieces that are larger than usual for my scale, and installations. I’ll forget about the function of objects at least for a while."
Naoto: "Whatever happens to come along…"
Transl. Jüri Kokkonen
(22.4.2008 AV)