Smaller Objects: Sharing Economy for Design

Design label Smaller Objects, founded in 2015 by architects Mårten Claesson, Eero Koivisto and Ola Rune, launched its second collection at Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair. The collection includes nine objects from acclaimed international designers.

The new collection consists of a stone wine cooler, hat rest, luggage tag and a trivet by the founders Claesson Koivisto Rune, designer’s notebook by Nendo, mesh bowls by Jin Kuramoto, stoneware bowl by Ingegerd Råman, espresso cups by Luca Nichetto and a set of pillows by Giulio Cappellini.

Household product brand Smaller Objects differs from traditional producing, editing and selling design objects by the model of compensation the company offers to designers of the products. Instead of the traditional compensation of 2–5 per cent, the participating designer for Smaller Objects will receive 75 per cent of the list price of each product.

“To realize the designers’ ideas we have been inspired by the sharing economy,” says Eero Koivisto. “Unlike the more traditional setup, the Smaller Objects designer is financing his or her own production and will at the same time receive a larger percentage of the list price.”

As such, the company works on smaller production facilities and on a smaller scale than mass-producing design companies.

”We are seeing a growing interest for the smaller scale of things”, says Ola Rune who compares Smaller Objects with the slow food movement. ”We are working with smaller suppliers, smaller editions, far from the mass production industry.” •

Main image
Luca Nichetto: Little Big Ear espresso cup (2016) for Smaller Objects. Produced in Italy.