Table Nest
Monica Förster
Monica Förster is a Swedish designer with a successful international career spanning more than a quarter of a century. Her work is characterized by a strong poetic vision that unites form and function with emotion and narrative. By elevating the everyday and functional into something emotional and humanistic, she adds new dimensions to her design work. With a constant curiosity about new materials and techniques, Förster has created numerous acclaimed objects and established herself as one of the most significant designers in contemporary Swedish design.
Upbringing and Early Impressions
Monica Förster grew up in Dorotea in the inland of Norrland, a small town shaped by its closeness to nature. Her parents ran a hotel and an innovative restaurant — an environment where food, color, and form were ever-present.
"My father was a fine pastry chef who created sculptures in ice and sugar. My parents' experimental cooking, together with the mountain world and the nature surrounding us, made a strong impression on me."
From Studies to Breakthrough
After growing up in Dorotea, Monica Förster studied at Beckmans College of Design and Konstfack in Stockholm, where she developed a working method that combines creativity with technical precision. Her breakthrough came with the innovative project Cloud, designed for the Finnish company Snowcrash in 2002. The inflatable object was created as a secluded room within a room, offering space for thought and reflection.
Timeless and Humanistic Design
Monica Förster moves freely between design, art, and architecture, guided by a humanistic perspective. In her work, she draws — much like Josef Frank — from human needs and how we live and move in our homes. By working from the inside out, without being driven by short-term trends, her objects take on a timeless character.
The Collaboration with Svenskt Tenn
In 2011, Monica Förster began her collaboration with Svenskt Tenn. Together with graphic designer Björn Kusoffsky, she curated the experimental exhibition Marble 4420 inspired by Josef Frank's pattern of the same name. A few years later, Förster created acclaimed objects for the company — the so-called "jewel birds" — distinguished by their airy and distinctive design.
Monica Förster“For me, timelessness is about quality and longevity. I want my objects to feel contemporary regardless of when they are viewed – they should not be tied to a specific moment in time.”
Table Nest and the Importance of Craft
In 2026, Monica Förster returned to Svenskt Tenn with a new object— Table Nest. The table consists of a basket in braided leather with hand-painted, cornflower blue edges and a round tray in polished stainless steel.
The work on the table took place through an open and exploratory process, in which various materials and techniques were tested before settling on a combination of leather and steel. The form emerged through trialing different ways of constructing the object. The intricate craftsmanship was an integral part of the process and influenced the final expression.
"Respect for craftsmanship is a central part of my design process — the relationship between idea and craft is closely intertwined. The creative idea is always the starting point, but the material, the process, and the craftsmanship are decisive for the result."
Table Nest is designed to function in dialogue with Svenskt Tenn's existing range — an object that naturally relates to Josef Frank's pattern tradition and the company’s design language and history. A key starting point was to work with pattern as an idea, rather than as decoration, and to explore how a pattern image can be translated into a three-dimensional object.
"The humanism in Josef Frank's work — the view of movement, flexibility, and the home as a living and permissive place — has been an important source of inspiration. In the table there is that combination of function and beauty that I see as central elements of Svenskt Tenn's interior philosophy, a jewel for the room."
Table Nest is designed in dialogue with Josef Frank’s pattern tradition, as well as Svenskt Tenn’s design language and history.
Monica Förster Design Studio
Monica Förster is the founder of the internationally acclaimed and award-winning Monica Förster Design Studio, based in Stockholm. Drawing on history and through innovation and renewal of craft techniques, the studio takes the objects and furniture it designs in a new direction. Over the years, Monica Förster Design Studio has collaborated with brands such as Alessi, De Padova, Georg Jensen, Orrefors, Poltrona Frau, Paola Lenti, and Zanat.
