Jørgen Platou Willumsen and Stian Korntved Rudd are the young minds behind Kneip, a craft, design, and art studio based in Norway. Deeply inspired by nature, sustainability, and weather patterns, the duo often forms objects out of wood, steel, copper, oxidized in concert with the natural elements. Both Willumsen and Ruud spent much of their childhoods outdoors, building tree houses and working with organic materials. Traces of such youthful passions exist in their present-day work, particularly in Weathered, a recent project that was exhibited at New York’s Collective Design Fair in May.
For the series, the team constructed a collection of sculpture exploring natures force, drawing inspiration from elements such as humidity, degradation, and wind. While Kneip is excited to incorporate new materials and technology into their process, wood is still a core influence in their effortless, well-crafted objects. “Our ways of processing timber certainly belong to Scandinavian tradition,” Ruud says. “Timber has so many different qualities – the variety in color, structure, smell, and texture is fascinating. In the last few years we’ve started collecting our own timber. We follow the tree all the way from the forest to gain a deep respect for the material.” Ultimately, Kneip aims to carry an actively multidisciplinary studio, engaging in gallery shows, public spaces, and shops, and constantly evolving to suit modern tastes and ecologically minded needs. “It’s time for a change,” Willumsen says. “Customers now have lively relationships with sustainable materials and object. We believe that designers and producers have to make sustainable choices.”