Design and craft studio from Gustavsberg, Sweden
When I first discovered Normal Object Factory, I was immediately charmed by their glass objects: straightforward design meets soft elements, beautifully used colourfulness meets absolute practicality. No wonder that the dotted drinking glass with its high quality and charming details is the trademark of Object Factory, because it perfectly embodies this combination of elegance and playfulness.
Normal Object Factory was founded in 2017 by Liu Chien-Kuang and Alexandra Nilasdotter. The Gustavsberg-based design and craft studio creates high-quality objects that are as functional as they are sculptural, with the aim of bringing traditional craftsmanship into the future: "We want to make products that are a child of our time (...): a functional object, a design product, all handcrafted, and yet just a normal object."
Liu Chien-Kuang and Alexandra Nilasdotter met in 2014 while studying at the prestigious Glass and Ceramic Arts and Crafts course at the Royal Danish Academy of Arts on Bornholm and started working together three years later. Since then, they have added a well-curated range of products to their Normal Object Factory collection. Both designers complement each other: Liu Chien-Kuang is a glassmaker and designer. Having studied in Taiwan, Denmark and Sweden, Liu Chien-Kuang has also worked abroad with glass artists and studios in Japan, Denmark, Sweden and China. In his own glass works, he incorporates different influences as well as techniques. In doing so, he aims to explore the new phase of glassmaking by combining old techniques with new knowledge. Alexandra Nilasdotter, on the other hand, is a ceramicist and product designer who trained in Sweden and Denmark. Her ceramic works, inspired by architecture, industrialism and minimalism, have been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout Europe and Asia. While she finds her drive in the technical and artistic challenge, sensitivity and strength of clay, simplicity and minimalism are key to her design approach. By bringing their knowledge, ideas and experience to Normal Object Factory and combining Swedish and Taiwanese craft traditions, the two designers create something new – a design they consider to be a kind of pure minimalism.
