Verk Projects

Project

268348

Status

Submitted

Award category

You want to submit

NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS AWARDS : existing completed examples

Project title

Verk Projects

Full project title

Description

Verk works exclusively with Swedish materials and produce all our furniture in Sweden. We want to help strengthen and support the manufacturing industry that still exists in Sweden. We have the raw materials needed for furniture production – wood, steel, leather, wool, stone – but most are exported rather than used locally. Our goal is to inspire and inform about the importance of home-grown expertise and production through transparent communication, and to contribute to change.

Where was your project implemented in the EU?

When was your project implemented?

Has your project benefited from EU programmes or funds?

Which programme(s) or fund(s)? Provide the name of the programme(s)/fund(s), the strand/action line as relevant and the year.

Please provide a summary of your project

There’s a lot of talk about sustainability, but who actually does something about it and makes a difference? This is a question we’ve been pondering for some time – long before we started Verk. Verk is as much a messenger as it is a furniture company. We attach great importance to transparent communication and hope to be able to inspire more players in the industry.  Greenwashing is more of a rule than an exception today. We hope that consumers can raise their basic requirements when it comes to what they accept as sustainable. Quality labels and eco-labels are, of course, a good start, but we shouldn’t rely too heavily on stamps and labels. Several certifications promise more than they can deliver, and in some cases, they can even be counterproductive when it comes to domestic production.  We’ve succeeded in our ambition to only use Swedish wood, Swedish surface finishes, Swedish leather and Swedish wool. Our mapping work never ceases. We are constantly on the lookout for new raw materials and materials produced in Sweden and are very interested in new collaborations that can take the process forward. We live in challenging times, and for that reason, we also need to challenge ourselves and our patterns of behaviour when it comes to consumption. We must be able to see the good in valuing a piece of furniture based on the idea that it is something that can be passed on from one generation to the next. This presupposes a balance of timeless design and quality. 

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of sustainability and how these have been met

Not only are we interested in creating furniture made from natural, sustainable materials, but we also demand that they be locally produced. Everything is traceable. The raw materials are Swedish. Every component of every piece comes from Sweden, and the factories are located within the country’s borders. When we market the collection as “Made in Sweden”, we want it to mean something. Through our stance, we want to help strengthen and support the manufacturing industry that still exists in Sweden. We have the raw materials needed for furniture production – wood, steel, leather, wool, stone – but most are exported rather than used locally. Our goal is to inspire and inform about the importance of home-grown expertise and production through transparent communication, and to contribute to change. Verk doesn’t just sell furniture but awareness too. A piece of furniture from Verk is always a sustainable product of top-notch design and minimal climate impact. Verk in brief All wood used is Swedish The surface finishes contain only Swedish linseed oil or a blend of linseed oil and beeswax. All leather is ecologically tanned. Verk has teamed up with a precision mechanics company to develop a screw made of Swedish steel. Verk uses Swedish texel wool in all its upholstered furniture The needle felt used as an inner cushion is made of Swedish wool. The stone we use is limestone from Slite, Gotland. Our plaids are woven in Sweden from Swedish wool. All glass is manufactured without the use of toxic substances and blown in Sweden.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these have been met

Even tough sustainability and local production is two of our key ingredients we never compromise on our designs. It´s our task as a conscious furniture producer to put our designers ideas in the first room even if the realization phase is way more complicated for us at Verk then for other producers since we have very hard rules and regulations in our production concept. We always aim to reach a result as close to the idea as possible and so far we have managed very well.   It is always complicated to write and talk about aesthetic values. However Verk´s approach is to manufacture timeless yet contemporary furniture rather then obvious fashion statements . We believe in the strength of good craftsmanship and we se the beauty in the details.  

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of inclusion and how these have been met

Through our stance, we want to help strengthen and support the manufacturing industry that still exists in Sweden. We have the raw materials needed for furniture production – wood, steel, leather, wool, stone – but most are exported rather than used locally. Our goal is to inspire and inform about the importance of home-grown expertise and production through transparent communication, and to contribute to change. We have since we started reached out to a large number of people dedicated to local production in various ways. The network is constantly growing and Verk is now a hub for dialogues within the field of sustainable local production in Sweden. When we reach out to local craftsmen and producers they are not seldom small players without economical muscles to make a difference and an impact on the market. By gathering names and info and spread the word through our social media channels and our webpage we have been able to create a huge interest in local production. Not only Verk can benefit from this but also all our suppliers and producers.    

Please give information on the results/impacts achieved by your project in relation to the category you apply for

  We have in one year managed to manufacture a number of products completely made out of Swedish materials even though we were told that it was impossible. Verk produces a 100% Swedish blanket made out of sheep wool from Jämtland, Hälsningland and Dalarna. The yarn processed in Kilafors and the blankets are woven in Bollnäs. We have managed to produce an all Swedish needle felt that we use for our inner cushions of our sofa. The upholstery is made out of Texel wool instead of plastic foam. With help from craftsmen at a mechanical workshop in Östergötland Verk has produced all Swedish screws and nuts, something that has not been done in Sweden in decades. We are constantly experimenting with coatings for wood. We have reached good results with pigmenting linseed oil with Swedish Carbon Black and also with Chalk. We still have more work to do when it comes to sourcing Swedish materials. All our products are made exclusively from local materials – with the exception of two. We have yet to find any sewing thread produced in Sweden. There are no worsted spinning mills left, and the process to restart and develop such production is both complicated and expensive. We hope, in the near future, to be able to find ways of producing our own thread and fabrics, and to be part of the revitalisation of the Swedish textile industry in general. Our second quest is to find Swedish zips. Perhaps there’s a Swedish supplier of zips somewhere out there that we just haven’t come across yet? We’re always on the lookout for new collaborators and partners who share our vision that local production is key to a sustainable future. Verk doesn’t just sell furniture but awareness too. A piece of furniture from Verk is always a sustainable product of top-notch design and minimal climate impact.  

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the project and civil society have been involved in the project and what has been the impact of this involvement on the project

By spreading the word about the state of Swedish Local production and how little we actually have left of our process industry we experience that the interest is huge. We also benefited from the fact that the borders closed due to the pandemic situation. Most companies suffered from the side effects but we found that we launched our company in a very good time. All of a sudden common people discussed the downsides of Sweden not being self sufficient in almost anything. For the first time in decades we realized that we are very vulnerable as a country. This is unfortunately a fact for many european countries. To summaries our vision Verk provides not only beautiful sustainable furniture, we also act as an informant of the situation we have put our selves in when it comes to domestic production. Our focus is not spreading bad news and negative information, It is about bridging the global challenges with the local solutions to achieve our climate targets and support a broader transformation perspective. Verk presents an alternative for a sustainable future and offer beautiful products that are made by local craftsmen in traceable natural materials. We believe that local production is one of the cornerstones when building a circular economy.  

Please highlight the innovative character of the project

The innovative character of the project is that we by our mission locate, organize and revitalize local industry and as a result of that we can once again have Swedish products produced with local raw materials, something that has not been a reality in decades. A big part of our work lays in locating the material. It is very demanding and takes a lot of time. We know by now that those facts are two of the main reasons to why we so very seldom see a functional and effective local production in an larger industrial scale. Dialogue is key to development. As long as we collaborate and and share knowledge we believe that Sweden can once again be self-sufficient in many fields in the near future. Our initiative might have started in Sweden but we hope and wish that Verk could be an inspiration and practical example of how we can reach sustainable and local production anywhere in the world. We are planing to produce our designs locally in central Europe and also in USA in the future. Its easier and way more sustainable to export design then the actual product. By having production hubs in different parts of the world we ensure that a Verk product is always locally produced.    

Please explain how the project led to results or learnings which could be transferred to other interested parties

Through our experiments and research we have reached results in several fields that has not been seen in the Swedish furniture industry in a long time. We have managed to locate and collaborate with a small yarn spinning industry to produce a 100% Swedish wool yarn that has been woven into blankets. This has not been a reality in decades. Since we started this mission we been contacted by several companies and institutions and also private persons who wants to follow our example. Same goes for our upholstery project based on Texel wool. The interest in that solution is constantly growing as we speak. Our engagement and interest in the Swedish Hardwood saw mills has resulted in that we now are part of a large initiative to ensure that Sweden in the future will have the possibility to meet the demand of local hard wood. We have been approached by RISE , Research Institutes of Sweden AB  is a Swedish state-owned research institute, collaborating together with universities, industry and the public sector to drive international competitive sustainable development and growth. RISE has found a great interest in our engagement in the Swedish wool industry and they are now helping us to rise fundings to help us invest in a modern yarn spinning mill. This mill could in the future provide local textile industry with Swedish wool yarn. Something that is not possible today in a larger scale.  

Is an evaluation report or any relevant independent evaluation source available?

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed project has not been proposed for the Awards more than once under the same category and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.