Together is an initiative and scholarship by NK Interior, part of Sweden’s premier department store, Nordiska Kompaniet (NK). Together celebrates and highlights the strengths of Swedish design, with a focus on sustainability, quality materials, and local craftsmanship. During Stockholm Design Week 2025, the designers involved in this year’s Together edit will showcase design objects created in collaboration with the renowned Swedish rug manufacturer Kasthall. Designers Lisa Hilland, Pia Wallén, Maxjenny, Anki Gneib, Jonas Bohlin and Monica Förster, along with this year’s Together scholarship recipient Lukas Carpelan, have created exclusive design pieces available only at NK Interior.
Together was launched in 2022 to recognize and highlight Swedish design, craftsmanship, innovation and local production. A guiding principle for NK Interior and the participating companies and designers has been to demonstrate how Together can inspire local and sustainable production, foster creativity, build new friendships and encourage cross-border collaborations. Through an annual scholarship funded by the sale of the Together pieces, the initiative also supports the re-growth and future of Swedish design by showcasing young designers and their unique interpretations of the present.
“Together shines a light on the Swedish design scene and inspires new collaborations. We’ve also noticed that the Together collaborations allow designers to explore and fully express their creative freedom, resulting in works that tell stories in ways they may not have previously explored. It’s amazing to see the one-of-a-kind design pieces that Together brings to life,” says Kadi Harjak, CEO of NK Interior and initiator of Together.
This year, NK Interior has partnered with Kasthall, one of Sweden’s oldest and most iconic design companies, to present the Together 2025 edit. The Kasthall rug factory, which began production in 1889 as the first of its kind in Sweden, has since then become an integral part of the region’s renowned interior design heritage. Today, the factory in Kinna remains at the heart of Kasthall, where every rug is still designed and crafted.
“2025 marks a very special year for us at Kasthall, as we celebrate 135 years of craftsmanship. Our factory continues to thrive in Kinna, Sweden – the birthplace of our legacy. This strong bond to our roots drives our passion for innovation as we look toward the future and continue to evolve. Kasthall embodies the fusion of industrial craftsmanship with contemporary design, while remaining dedicated to preserving and passing on the Swedish design heritage to future generations,” says Petra Ek, Marketing Manager at Kasthall.
She explains that when Kasthall was invited to participate in Together 2025, it presented a great opportunity to showcase the brand’s production and design philosophy. For Kasthall, it is not just about creating beautiful products – it is about contributing to and enriching Swedish design culture.
“In a globalized world where most things are available at the click of a button, there’s a risk of losing knowledge about and appreciation of Swedish production and design. Initiatives like Together are crucial because they connect the entire ecosystem of designers, producers and retailers,” Ek points out, and continues:
“Working with some of Sweden’s most prominent designers has been both inspiring and rewarding. While our typical collaborations focus on rug collections, this project gave the designers the freedom to create unique pieces. Using our woven and hand-tufted materials, they created products that truly reflect their individual expression and creativity. The result is a wonderful mix of pieces, each with its own distinct character and style.”
The designers participating in Together 2025 and the design pieces they created in collaboration with Kasthall are:
Jonas Bohlin – CARINA
Jonas Bohlin’s Carina rug tells a personal story. The rug is a tribute to a dear friend in the design industry who has sadly left us. The rug’s uniquely long black fringes symbolize grief, while the red elements evoke a sea of roses.
Things are created because we need
something precious like remembering
a sea of roses and a web of glow
that has faded
– Jonas Bohlin
Lisa Hilland – Renaissance
Early in the design process, Lisa Hilland visited Kasthall’s factory to immerse herself in their production techniques and explore the company’s historical design archives. During this research, she was particularly fascinated by how different yarn colours were blended into the historical patterns. Inspired by these traditional techniques, she spent time in the factory experimenting with various yarn qualities and colour combinations to create new, innovative blends.
Renaissance Rug is the result of this exploratory process. When selecting colours, Lisa Hilland drew inspiration from the early spring-winter season in Jämtland—a time characterized by a unique light and a distinctive colour palette. Each section of the rug consists of multiple interwoven yarn shades, where cool and warm tones meet to create a harmonious whole.
— In this design, I wanted to highlight how colours interact and enhance each other. The light tone, which serves as a contrast to bring out the more vibrant shades, was the biggest challenge. I wanted to capture the feeling of spring light reflecting on the snow, which led to a carefully balanced mix of cool purple hues and warm, bright tones—a combination that brought the colour to life, explains Lisa Hilland.
The pattern of the Renaissance Rug serves as a visual metaphor, where colour fields overlap and create new synergies. Inspiration was drawn from nature—sheep in a pasture, bees in a swarm, and petals in a flower—but also from human collaboration. The design reflects how, through cooperation, knowledge exchange, and historical understanding, we can create something innovative and dynamic.
Maxjenny – The Landscape Rug 1 & 2
Maxjenny has designed unique rugs that are both sustainable and colorful works of art for the floor. Inspired by nature’s color palette, the rugs feature soft, undulating lines in warm red tones, complemented by shades of orange, yellow-green, and a touch of blue. The design conveys a sense of calm, blending effortlessly into both contemporary and classic settings, providing an earthy harmony.
“The collection is the result of a close collaboration with Kasthall, where we have repurposed leftover yarn from their production to create unique rugs. Each piece is a celebration of recycling and creativity, where color and form interact to give new life to materials that would otherwise be lost,” says Maxjenny, and continues:
“At Studio maxjenny! we see these rugs as an extension of our design philosophy – challenging norms, merging art and functionality, and always thinking about tomorrow. Each rug is a work of art in itself, created to transform your floors into a story of aesthetics, craftsmanship and sustainability.”
Anki Gneib – Hoppsan Kerstin
Simply lying down on the floor with a pillow gives you an immediate sense of freedom. Hoppsan Kerstin is like a versatile and easy-to-move daybed that you can effortlessly roll out wherever you like, whether it’s in front of a fireplace, by the TV, or out in the garden.
The daybed is woven from pure wool in four colors, each a carefully curated blend of two thread colors drawn from the magical color palette of the Nordic tundra in autumn. The pattern subtly shifts along the weave, with irregularly interwoven hints of red or green, adding depth and texture. The rug and cushion parts are padded with wool from Swedish sheep.
“I drew inspiration from the beautifully patterned ‘agedynorna’ (carriage cushions) once used during festivals for seating in horse-drawn carriages. This influence is particularly visible in the patterns on the back of the cushion – less ornate, yet stunning in their simplicity.”
The name, ’Hoppsan Kerstin’, is the Swedish equivalent of the English expression ‘Oopsie Daisy’.
Pia Wallén – MO
Pia Wallén’s MO is an art piece in woven wool, inspired by antique mattress construction.
“MO can serve as anything from a reading cushion to a seat cushion or even a mattress. It’s a rug reimagined into a furniture cushion, inspired by both antique mattresses and Picasso’s and Fortuny’s seat cushions,” says Pia Wallén.
MO measures 150 × 150 cm and is handmade in two copies in two unique colourways. The material is a fabric made of wool yarn with linen warp, woven at Kasthall. The cushions were made at a tailor’s in Stockholm with two cotton wadding cushions and a foam core made from recycled PET bottles. This gives MO a firmer shape. All selvedges are removed to create frayed side edges, which creates an appealing combination with tassel-like yarn bundles in the carpet yarn to hold all the filling layers in place.
”I’ve always been fascinated by multifunctional objects, so for me, MO is something that can be used as a rug, mattress or piece of furniture,” Wallén concludes.
Monica Förster – Summer / Winter
Monica Förster worked with the woven rug as a three-dimensional object to create an interesting typology between seating and carpet.
“It’s a typology more commonly seen in other cultures, such as in the Middle East, offering a different way of sitting. It’s also an object that adds softness and warmth to a room through its materiality, while creating an intriguing friction through its size, volume and graphic weave,” says Monica Förster, continuing:
“We worked with a thinner quality of carpet fabric from Kasthall and integrated Lurex (silver threads) to add depth and a subtle shimmer to the material – something entirely new for Kasthall. At our studio, we believe innovation is important, and it’s always fun to work with talented producers to advance both knowledge and technology.”
Lukas Carpelan – Haväng
Lukas Carpelan is this year’s recipient of the Together scholarship.
“The scholarship is a meaningful recognition of my work and gives me the opportunity to share my ideas and expressions with more people. I think Together is a fantastic initiative, because it allows young designers to gain visibility and evolve through collaborations with established brands. It highlights the value of Swedish craft traditions while encouraging fresh perspectives and the exploration of new materials.
Carpelan’s work Haväng is inspired by the place of the same name in Österlen, where the beauty of nature blends with a rich, layered history. The piece consists of two parts: a textile base in wool and linen, evoking a landscape, and an upper section in scagliola marble – a historic technique that combines plaster, pigment and glue to mimic marble. The contrast between the soft, organic textile and the hard, sculptural marble creates a striking interplay of materials.
“I wanted to capture the essence of the horizon at Haväng, where the land meets the sky. The name reflects the nature and history of the place. Haväng is a place with open moors, grazing animals, and breathtaking views stretching towards the sea. But behind this beauty lies a history rooted in fear. Oak forests have been cut down and villages relocated to make way for a military training area, now used by NATO. The textile symbolizes the softness of the landscape, while the illuminated scagliola evokes the marbled sky. The combination of materials bridges tradition with a modern design language. With Haväng, I aim to convey the character and history of the place through material and form. The work reflects the interplay between nature and humanity, with craftsmanship giving physical shape to the story of the land.”
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About Kasthall
Swedish entrepreneur Ludvig Anderson started Kasthall in 1889, establishing Sweden’s first industrial carpet company. Within just a few years, Kinna became the heart of the country’s textile industry. Kasthall’s creative environment, craftsmanship and dedication to high-quality materials have attracted some of Sweden’s most renowned designers, such as Ingrid Dessau, Astrid Sampe and Gunilla Lagerhem Ullberg. Over the years, Kasthall’s global presence has grown steadily, leading to high-profile collaborations with designers from different countries and cultures, such as Ilse Crawford, Cecilie Manz, Paola Navone and David Chipperfield. Kasthall’s values remain unchanged, and the company’s roots are still firmly planted in Kinna – a place where industrial craftsmanship, material expertise and 135 years of Swedish design culture merge.
Read more at kasthall.com