Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Christmas Gifts from Sweden – Our Top Tips
Last year, the result of Freemover’s collaboration with Swedese on some new designs for its celebrated Lamino armchair was unveiled.
Shining Scandinavian daylight on a bold freemover With a penchant for colour coordination and a strong strategic intuition, Maria Lovisa Dahlberg is the brain behind the candle holder so popular that it is now approaching international design icon status. Represented in 400 interior decoration shops worldwide, including The Conran Shop and Skandium, her company Freemover has reached an eight-million SEK turnover since its inception just over a decade ago, and now she prepares to launch her brand new webshop. By Linnea Dunne | Photos: Freemover
“It seems a lot of people think that you’re either a creative or a business person, but I’ve had the chance to combine the two,” says the entrepreneur who has studied both design and economics, lived in seven countries to date, and did a work placement at the Australian department store David Jones at the tender age of 16, learning all about marketing, photo shoots and fancy magazines. “In some ways I’ve been lucky, but I’ve also always been hungry for knowledge and keen to 64 | Issue 82 | November 2015
test what I’ve learnt to see if it works. And most often, it did.” Determination and focus are present throughout the Freemover story, the entire venture being self-funded from the get-go and the growth carefully managed by accepting plenty of help from both mother and sisters. And sure enough, it has worked a treat – but being business-minded in a world of creatives can be tough, says Dahlberg, who prefers
the entrepreneur label to calling herself an artist: “It’s almost taboo to talk money in design and art circles in Sweden, but I can’t pay rent with gratitude alone!” Inspired by the world – and her father The Rolf series of candle holders, a modern interpretation of an old ’50s classic, made sure that paying rent would not be an issue. Initially launched at DesignTorget in 2004, the simple yet striking design became a huge hit, and with its three heights and countless colours it is now somewhat of a collectable. “I like the movement the combination of different heights creates, and the modern yet classic colours have been key to the concept’s success,” says Dahlberg, adding that her penchant for colours is a time-consuming vice as much as an invaluable skill. “I can spend hours on end