Looking back to look ahead

For the past few years, I’ve sent this letter to my studio friends (you) in the beginning of the new year rather than as a Christmas greeting. It’s really helpful to look back a bit to start looking forward and set the intentions for next year. I’ll share some highlights and add a few miscellaneous tips from my best of the year list at the end!

Best this year was our summer trip. I would stretch it to best ever. Me, my husband and our two boys drove to the south of France, Occitanie, and stayed at a remote stone mansion high up in the Pyrenees. We came back with so many beautiful experiences from our undisturbed mountain views, enormous amount of hours spent in the water (and stones collected from different beaches), an adventurous drive back over the alps and of course some Pine tree spots to remember (image above) and collect for the book I’m writing.

Les Objets Artisan Collection
We started delivering bespoke Sequence orders to interior design projects!

To develop products under your own brand as a small designer maker studio takes a lot of time, money and dedication. Therefore I feel so proud and happy that the first project bespoke Sequence screens were delivered to interiors created by talented interior designers and architects. It takes faith and an early adopter-mentality to trust and go first, so I’m grateful to the studios who found and chose us. I’ve previewed photos from one of them, and they looked great. Looking forward to share them with you. In the meantime enjoy this beautiful set by Helene Holmstedt for Lantliv magazine. Requests via agent Dahl Agenturer.

Pine Tree in Kyoto, photo: Charlotte Ryberg

A continuing love affair
Working on my book For the Love of Pine

Last year I started working for real on the book I’ve been thinking about for quite some time. I was a little surprised at what came out when I did some deep writing as a continuation of the explorative project with the same name. It all became more personal than I thought, and I wasn’t really sure on how to deal with that. Now I’m slowly but steadily am finding my voice in this project, have laid out the structure and now I very much look forward to c0ntiue the work. Maybe I’ll share snippets here and there for a dialogue with your during early 2025. Cheer me on will you?

And as many of you know, For the Love of Pine is also my artisan perfume. While I do take bespoke orders, the limited edition scent box is out of stock. An elevated version (same formula, new packaging and experience) will be released spring 2025. I promise you will be the first to know.

A few projects from 2024 that defines what I love to create

Waste is not a luxury. Caring is.

There’s infinite possibilities in telling stories with design. During a really great photoshoot with photographer and long-time friend Ea Czyz (yes please hit us up with more concept-photo-video-collabs in 2025) in his studio in Stockholm, I developed storytelling videos around the subject of restarting fashion (Omstart Mode), the new permanent exhibition at Textilmuseet in Borås. Interior designer for the exhibition was a long time collaborator, Marcia Harvey Isaksson, SqCircle, and I was assigned to create the exhibition graphics, branding and co-develop the concept.

For this project, I also gained foundational skills in motion graphics – and lust for more (since my concept often wants to move, tell stories and do things..), let’s explore this further in joint projects in 2025.

Colour as a visual tool for thematic storytelling and paint as a medium has always been at the core of my work.

As a Board Member of the Swedish Colour Centre Foundation (Svenskt Färgcentrum). 2024 we celebrated 60 years and also 10 years of the colour competition Prisad Färg, with the avant garde event – Celebrate Colour. Catrin Vagnemark (Founder and Creative Director BVD) and I took lead with a team of this hard-working board, in creating and designing the event, generously hosted by O-P. Interactive artwork with young designer William Wahlström (image), award ceremony for Prisad Färg including honorary prices for excellence in use of colour.

I’m so grateful for superb creative collaborators!

One of them is Anna Vogel, business coach for female creative entrepreneurs, and my partner for DREAM LAB. This year we welcomed a wonderful group of creative women to her new studio space at Södermalm, Stockholm. Dream Lab has proven to be all about openness, fun, frustration, liberation, big dreams, sharing and high high spirit. We’re actually quite amazed on how good this concept has turned out to be and how it has developed. Looking forward to explore it further 2025 with you, Anna. Hit us with proposals for your teams, events or if you wish to attend one of our intimate sessions.

To look back and in to the future.

Last year I started working with a dream client – Vasamuseet. The museum is undertaking its biggest challenge since it was salvaged, and I was chosen as the concept and exhibition designer to create the spatial experience telling the story about this very important and costly work, and to raise the funds needed. Will share more as the building actually starts in a few days!

Conscious, hard working, professional and dedicated to create a more sustainable future.

Act of Caring is a material care brand and exactly the kind I love working with. I am happy to follow their journey growing, as their brand designer.

Here at Maison & Objets, showcasing the new Care Routines Kits and other new products I designed as part of an elevated rebranding. During early 2025 you will be able to get your hands on many other products with the new design. A thematic colour scheme, a simplified and elevated thorough design for a clearer character with a focus on the material you wish to care for. For the brand’s presence at Maison & Objet we also created bespoke JOIN tables in atelier/bar table version, in Act of Caring’s foundational brand off-white colour, and a brass detail.

I’ve had some wonderful days here at our cottage by the east coast sea of Sweden. Spending time outdoors (finally snow here) has soothed my stressed being due to a personally challenging situation. Writing to you also lifts my spirit to get back to work! Look forward to a creative, inspirational, collaborative, big dreams 2025. In the meantime, I share this:

Une Liste de 5 – BEST OF 2024
A few miscellaneous favourite things from last year

BEST PODCAST – Fashion Neurosis by Bella Freud. I’m not a huge fan of podcasts, as I think they’re often too chatty. This one though, was a favourite from guest one, Rick Owens, (he’s the reason why I found it in the first place). The host Bella Freud asks interesting questions, the conversation is calm, present and honest. The guests are all esteemed and intriguing creatives in their own different ways. Hit me with your favourite!

BEST CREATIVE INPUT – the best inspiration for me, I’ve always found, seldom comes from design, but rather from food experiences, nature or even better music. Jazz is my go to when it comes to…well anything basically. Best this year was Colin Stetson at Fasching, where I’m a member and try to go as often as possible. Red light on velvet textiles and instruments set up is the absolute best kind of anticipation.

BEST (yes I dare you) OYSTERS – I love gardening, picking edible wild plants, and cooking, and especially combining them. One thing I love experimenting with is oyster dishes. This one is from a gathering with friends this summer at our cottage. A mignonette foam, diced gooseberries and coriander flowers. It just landed perfectly. Get back to me if you want a more detailed description.

BEST DESIGN – I’ve always had this love & hate relationship with design and the design business. A studio that inspires me, that I connect with is Formafantasma. At last year’s Milano Design Week, I especially enjoyed their collaboration with Prada – Prada Frames. Deep, intimate conversations with small groups around different thematic focus subjects in a magnificent Bagatti Valsecchi Museum. Will you go to Milan this year? Should we set up a group tour?

BEST HOTEL is not a hotel, but a home swapping service. We use Behomm – for creatives and design lovers – which has gotten us to many lovely creative homes in New York, Paris, Antwerp… (if you want an invitation, which you need to get going, let me know, no affiliation, just a really good thing).

Last year I rediscovered my love of writing, so 2025 I will dedicate myself to writing my book and communicating with you more frequently and with greater ease via this holistic design journal.

Starting now, it will come in a shorter and more anecdotal version each Sunday, looking ahead to the week with anticipation. Another thing I wish to achieve is meet-ups with fellow creatives sharing and lifting each other. So here’s to finding and using one’s voice!

Last year it was also time to let go of our beautiful studio space where amazing shared memories were made for three years. Where next chapter for my studio will be, is yet to be explored. Shared? More production space? Portable? Ideas?

Bonne Année!

xxx
Charlotte
Founder and Creative Director