Alumni
Anne Linde
Graduated 2002
Director / Designer / Production ManagerLinde & Sandstrom AB
www.linde-sandstrom.com
When I graduated 2002 I won the Peter Walker Award for "innovation in furniture design" at New Designers, and the Urban Splash Award for "most desirable object", I had offers for some of my designs from Ikea, and had a contract with them for a couple of years. Further more I took part in the BBC program The Apprentice with My Ledge:able shelf, where the contestants task were tasked to sell my shelf in London.
I have now returned to Denmark and set up my own design and manufacturing company Linde & Sandstrom, that designs and sells furniture to the Scandinavian market and Australia. We mainly concentrate on the contract market and to high profile design shops.
I design all of our products and have close contact with manufactures regarding development of new products. We strive to design furniture which will last for decades. Designs that is classic yet innovative and edgy. "Perfectly formed, delightfully functional" is our motto. All of our products are manufactured in Denmark to achieve the very best quality and craftsmanship.
The Three Dimensional Design programme gave me a very good idea of what materials I preferred and in which direction I wished to proceed. I liked the freedom and responsibility that are given to get assignments done, which means it's possible to work independently of course with guidance of the teachers. Very much what it is like in real life. Further more I found it very helpful to have design history, it brings another dimension into your designs.
Being a mature student, I believe working the different machines and getting hands on experience with the materials has been very helpful in the production controlling I do now. Further more, learning to trust ones instincts and the independent way of developing a design is very important when you have your own business. Its very difficult to choose a way in life, but as some one said "if you are in doubt – you are not in doubt"
The design business is very tough so it is very important to be a 100% dedicated to the course. Your final projects can be the ticket to a job or an opportunity to "brand" yourself. So my advice to students is, do as much work as you can during the course, you will never be able to experiment this much in "real" life – so enjoy it. If you are exited about your designs and work hard it will show – that's what employers look for. And finally, be sure to learn a computer program like auto cad or similar – it's a must.
