“I know how other craftsmen think and that makes it easy to communicate. We share a common language.” So says Swedish designer Ingegerd Råman on collaborating with Vietnamese craftspeople to develop her rattan and natural fibre pieces for IKEA.

This communication has resulted in a collection steeped in human warmth. Rattan is a woven fibre that evokes the hands that made it and the climate it came from. Also featured are glassware and ceramics- Råman’s materials of choice in her previous work. As one of Sweden’s most renowned designers, Råman herself is an endless source of design quotes, “my work is always a link between simplicity, function and aesthetic values”.

IKEA is so famous for its labyrinthine stores, arguing couples and salvation in meatballs that it’s sometimes easy to forget about the furniture. Ingegerd Råman is here to remind us why we covet Swedish design.

IKEA’s last collaboration was with British Designer Ilse Crawford, and it looks like this collaboration is up to a similar standard. “Viktigt” means “Important”, and reflects the essential pieces in the collection which features glassware, baskets and furniture.

---

Image: Basket, Viktigt Collection, IKEA

With Summer approaching, rattan is set to be on everyone’s radar and it shouldn’t just mean garden chairs. We’ve got our eye on the simple, elegant dishes. At £9 a pop, you’d be a basket case not to buy.