Copenhagen-based Kristina Dam Studio has developed into a design powerhouse of responsible furniture and home accessories. A conversation with the founder leads us through the philosophy and thought process behind the sculptural designs.
Your studio famously aims to merge art and interior design, defining your work as 'Sculptural Minimalism' across furniture, accessories, sculptural objects and wall art. How do you balance your art-based approach with the practical constraints of industrial design to ensure a piece is both functional and sculptural?
For me, everything starts with a sculptural idea – a form, a line, a volume that could stand alone as art. But the moment it needs to become a piece of furniture or an everyday object, function steps in as an equal partner, not a limitation. I don't see it as a compromise, but as a refinement: when a sculptural form also has to hold a cup of coffee or offer a comfortable place to sit, it forces the design to become even more precise. It's in that tension – between pure expression and daily use – that Sculptural Minimalism emerges. A good test is always: would the form still be interesting if it had no function at all? And would the function still feel right if the form were less distinctive? When both answers are yes, I know we've got it right.
Before founding the studio, your journey took you through drawing school, architecture, and graphic design. How do these backgrounds influence the structural and visual lines of your current collections?
The three disciplines I trained in before founding the studio have each given me tools I still use every day. Drawing school taught me to truly see – proportions, light and shadow, and how a single line can create movement in something completely static. Architecture gave me an understanding of space, scale, and how an object fits into a larger whole, rather than existing as an isolated piece. And my graphic design background gave me an eye for two-dimensional expression – contrast, negative space, composition – which I apply directly to how a piece of furniture or a vase looks from every angle, not just from the front. Together, this means I design with an architect's rigor, a draftsman's sensitivity to line, and a graphic designer's eye for the whole. It's important to me that my furniture and objects stand out as a strong graphic form – a form you remember instantly and recognize the next time you see it, almost like a logo or a visual identity.
Kristina Dam Studio is deeply rooted in clean, honest, and contemporary design, with a strong emphasis on natural materials like wood, steel, ceramics, and terracotta. What is it about these materials that drives your passion for honest craftsmanship and dictates the form of your designs?
There's an honesty in natural materials that I simply can't find anywhere else. The grain of wood, the cool surface of steel, the earthy warmth of terracotta – they all tell a story about their origin, and they age with dignity rather than wearing down. I let the material dictate a large part of the form; you don't force steel to behave like wood, and you respect the limitations of ceramics rather than fighting against them. That's what I understand as honest craftsmanship – letting the material's own character remain visible in the finished expression, rather than hiding it behind a superficial finish. It also gives the designs a certain timelessness.
You have shared a beautiful personal wish: that art should be accessible to everyone. How does this wish translate into your design ethos of making distinct, recognizable Scandinavian pieces inclusive for everyone?
Art has traditionally often felt inaccessible – reserved for galleries, collectors, and a particular kind of taste. With Kristina Dam Studio, I want to bring sculptural and artistic expression into the home in a way where it becomes part of what you live with every day – not something you only admire from a distance. The Scandinavian design language we work with is in itself democratic: clean, easy to understand, and free of unnecessary decoration, so it speaks to many different people and homes. The ambition is that you can surround yourself with something that feels artistic and meaningful.
A core pillar of your philosophy is creating pieces that hold relevance through multiple generations. Is there a specific object from your own life that holds this type of meaning for you, and which of your current possessions would do you ultimately hope to pass on?
I have a simple wooden stool that has been in my family for generations. It stood in my grandfather's grocery store, and it's truly worn, yet at the same time very robust, bearing witness to many years of use. I hope that my own designs will be used in the same way and will be allowed to be passed down through generations. This also means that the design isn't a trend of the moment, but rather timeless and relevant for many years to come. That's my goal every time we at Kristina Dam Studio launch new designs.
Your physical showroom serves as a tangible extension of your design world. How did you approach creating this space so that visitors can truly feel the material weight and spatial clarity of your 'Sculptural Minimalism'?
In our showroom every area is conceived as a composition, where furniture, art, and objects speak to one another in scale and material, almost like an installation – giving visitors the same calm and clarity we strive for in the designs themselves, so they don't just see Sculptural Minimalism, but physically sense it as they move through the space. It has also been important to make the space feel warm and relatable, with wooden floors and draped linen curtains set against our furniture in steel and wood. The goal is a complete, immersive experience from the moment you walk in.
