The Campana brothers recently teamed up with the Eklund sisters from Bolon to create the world’s largest mosaic for the Stockholm design fair – an image of a ballerina amidst an abstract mosaic constructed from almost 7,000 pieces of Bolon’s new flooring collection. A smaller version of the original installation is on display in Milan, and Alice Blackwood and Mandi Keighran catch up with Annica and Marie Eklund from Bolon and Fernando and Humberto Campana to talk about the collaboration.

“It took about 3 days with 3 persons to put the ballerina together, then the brothers did some very nice work around the mosaic, like you see at the fair,” says Annica.

“The idea was to deconstruct the ballerina,” says Fernando.

“I don’t see the wall just like a floor, but like furniture. [Bolon] is a beautiful material that I would like to investigate using the walls to create furniture. It’s amazing the possibilities you can do with the material,” says Humberto.

“It’s flexible at the same time as it’s rigid. So, we can create a lot of structure,” says Fernando.

“It’s a new kind of Bolon fibre we present this year. It’s very unique as it has a textile look with a high durability,” says Marie.

“We met each other during this week in Milan last week,” says Annica. “We stayed in contact and found out we could do something together. Here is the start and we don’t know where the end will be.”

“They gave us the ballerina as the theme,” says Fernando. “We decided to reprocess it in a different way. Not so literal, but abstract.”

“We thought it could be an arty idea,” says Marie. “To have a beautiful ballerina constructed into art.”

“We invited Fernando to the factory. They had more understanding of the process, and they got so many new ideas when they saw the leftover fabrics,” says Annica.

“It’s so important to visit the factories,” says Fernando. “We like to see the waste of the companies we work with.”

“We share a passion for design, but there also has to feel right in the stomach and the heart – that there is an honesty in the collaboration. We share that philosophy with the brothers,” says Marie.

“When we took over the company in 2003, the flooring business was so boring. For us it has been very positive to work with people that inspire us,” says Annica. “When Armani used our product, we thought ’Wow’ – we have to push the brand much higher in position and add fashion and design.”

Bolon
bolon.com

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