Leaving sketches behind: Tessa Sundqvist

Name:  Tessa Sundqvist 

Age: 24

Hometown:  Helsinki, Finland

Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m a Swedish speaking Finnish furniture designer that was born in Sipoo but grew up in Helsinki.  Currently I live in Turku, but I don’t know where I’m going to live in the future.

I graduated from secondary school 2006, and then I traveled with bus every day from Helsinki to Porvoo for three years, so that I could become an Environment construction Artisan (Miljöbygge Artesán).

When I graduated from Borgå hantverks- och konstindustriskolan vocational school in 2009,  I still wanted to study more about design, so I applied to Novia University of Applied Sciences 2012 and will graduate 2016. 

What got you interested in studying furniture design?

My career probably started when I was 5 years old when I started to build playhouses in the forest. From that it developed into many hours of sketching fictitious furnished apartments and houses and now I’m studying to become a Furniture designer.

You as a designer / What kind of jobs interest you?

I have always been fascinated by different shapes, patterns and modern architecture. In all my designs I have gotten my inspiration from them, but also from everything that I see in my every day life.  My designs are modern and graphic, but if I design something for a costumer it depends on what the customer’s wishes are.

My dream has always been that I would get a job in an interior design agency or to someday run my own business, where I would design furniture and interiors.  That’s why I will try to get as much experience that I can get from my studies, by getting interesting internships and by putting all my effort in every project I participate in.

From what angle will you be approaching the theme "Senses"?

The sense that I have used in my table is touch, because you can feel the grain that goes in different directions and the joint between the triangles on the tabletop under your fingertips when you touch the surface.

What do you hope for or expect from Stockholm Furniture Fair 2015?

I will get the experience of having my own design displayed at a fair. And I hope I will get new contacts from my own field and hopefully find potential working partners.

Can you name a piece of furniture that has made an impression on you and why?

I have always been a huge Alvar Aalto fan. Alvar Aalto is one of Finland’s most known furniture designers. I have written at least three written assignments about him in school and I have been on an internship at a factory that produces Alvar Aalto's furniture.  I like Alvar Aalto's furniture because the furniture's shapes are clean and they are timeless.

This furniture is one of my favorites, designed by Alvar Aaalto, Stool 66.