Gabriella Lenke and Mattias Ståhlbom founded TAF in 2002 after graduating from the Department of Interior Architecture and Furniture Design at Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design. Through their projects, TAF’s contribution to the development of the contemporary Scandinavian design scene is considerable, and the studio is represented at Nationalmuseum in Stockholm and the design museum in Copenhagen. In 2017 TAF received the Bruno Mathsson Award, one of the Nordic region’s foremost honours in design.

TAF sets out to interpret the codes embedded in our surroundings; impressions which then are discussed and defined before they are meticulously shaped and manifested into being. The end result radiates a familiarity that gives an immediate understanding of the object. Constructions, materials, and colours are exposed, or context and scale configured in such a way that we feel included as users. In other words, their pragmatic approach to form and the subtle references to our everyday environments and utility objects tap profoundly into a collective perception of form.

Deep material knowledge, and an interest in the relationship between craft and industrial processes, leads to equal parts art and technology in TAF’s practice and output. Their ideas on sustainability, which runs through each project, is that high quality in every detail equals longevity. Consequently, the studio is often assigned to create exhibition architecture and interiors, as well as new additions in historically significant spaces – such as in the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm and The Institut Suédois, the cultural centre in Paris. Collectively, it’s resulted in the design of widely-acclaimed furniture, lamps, and functional products for prominent producers, as well as contributing to the success of local handcraft projects in countries such as Japan and Taiwan.

Lenke and Ståhlbom also teach at schools including ECAL/Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne, Konstfack and Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm; a way to learn from and nurture the next generation of design. To assign an anonymous syllable to represent the studio is a sympathetic act of its founders that emphasises that their work is a collective effort. That these three letters happen to be French slang for 'job', is a coincidence that suits the profile of the studio, given its focus remains intrinsically tied to the everyday routines of life, which so often inspires them.

—Gustaf Kjellin, Curator, February 2022.