For Swedish interior design brand LAYERED, this year’s Stockholm Design Week also coincided with a major milestone, their tenth anniversary. And to celebrate, alongside hosting a star-studded dinner of course, they presented a very special exhibition.
Titled, ‘Ten Years Unfolded’ the immersive installation, set in a fictional gallery, showcased LAYERED’s journey from its founding through to the present day, sharing too, for the very first time five very special rugs to mark the occasion.
Catching up with their Founder and Creative Director Malin Glemme recently; I found out more about LAYERED, the new collection and what else we can all look forward to seeing from them in 2025.
Here’s what she had to tell me:
Shall we start with your backstory, what the inspiration for LAYERED was, and how you turned a passion project into a leading brand?
Before LAYERED I’d worked for over ten years in H&M’s Global Buying office, so when I was decorating my new home on a limited budget back in 2014 and was unable to find a sustainably produced quality rug I liked, I decided to design one myself.
This rug was later woven by an artisan hand-weaver in India and featured in a Swedish interior design magazine. It was when readers started reaching out asking where they could purchase it, I realised there was interest in this kind of design, and that is when LAYERED was born.
Now ten years on what do you think is the secret to LAYERED’s success, and how does this original vision still guide you today?
Our initial vision was to push Scandinavian design to the forefront of the global interior design scene, and I believe working with an incredible mix of Scandinavian and international designers and artists including Alice Crawley, Teklan, Bella Rune, Åsa Jungnelius and Lotta Agaton has been integral to our growth and success.
Partnering with such exceptionally talented creatives, and our family-owned suppliers who make every rug by hand, has been ever so rewarding. By blending their diverse perspectives and traditional influences together, our unique products continue to resonate and inspire customers all over the world.
To mark your major milestone LAYERED are launching five archived rugs, can you tell us more about the collection and what makes these designs so special to you?
Our Ten Years Unfolded Collection is a tribute to our customers, our history and is a guide for the future.
To create it we revisited some of our earliest designs and selected three bold and innovative products launched during LAYERED’s first year. These initial statement pieces have since become synonymous with our signature style, and we found that the patterns still felt exciting and relevant. By introducing them now, with updated daring and vibrant colour combinations, we’ve given them a fresh, contemporary feel that fits today’s aesthetic perfectly.
When it comes to finding the right rug for any room in the home what would be your recommendations?
At LAYERED we truly believe in the power of a rug. It can transform a room and become a statement piece that sets the tone for the entire interior. For example, right now, I’m drawn to flat-woven Röllakan rugs. They’re a staple of Swedish design history, embodying the traditional Allmoge style. Allmoge is all about rustic charm, simplicity, and craftsmanship, typically incorporating natural materials and earthy colours.
That said, whatever style you choose be sure to focus on quality too. At LAYERED all our rugs are handmade using 100% natural or recycled materials. We view a rug as an investment – something meant to last for years, transcending trends and seasons. As a result, our products also hold high resale value, which we see as a testament to their quality and sustainability.
Finally, what else can we look forward to seeing from LAYERED this year, and what would you still like to achieve?
As you might expect there will be further special collections and collaborations unveiled throughout the year, including exciting launches at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York this May and at 3daysofdesign in June.
Beyond that, we hope to continue inspiring our customers through our designs while pushing ourselves to find even more sustainable ways to produce and create. Innovation and responsibility go hand in hand for us, and we look forward to exploring new materials and methods that align with our vision for the future.
Want to know more?
Thanks again to Malin for chatting with me, I’m very much looking forward to catching up again at 3daysofdesign.
To find out more about LAYERED, and the Ten Years Unfolded collection, visit their website.
All images courtesy of LAYERED.
Enjoyed reading this post? Then read my chat with Karl Lindqvist to find out more about historic Swedish furniture makers Grythyttan Stålmöbler.
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