Southern Sweden’s next generation of design talent has been brought together for a unique exhibition at Dutch Design Week, called What’s Your DNA?. Here, the designers share the stories and inspirations behind their work, revealing the common threads running through this young, local design scene.

What’s Your DNA? is taking place during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven at Klokgebouw 50 from 21st to 29th October. For opening hours and directions visit the website here.

Hanna Hansdotter is a young glass designer and maker putting a new spin on one of Sweden’s best known heritage crafts with her ornate, sculptural glass objects, helping bring the established tradition of glassblowing to an entirely new audience.

How did you train?
I self trained in Småland, the region known as ”The Kingdom of Crystal” for its long heritage of glass production. The education was almost exclusively craft based and I developed a working knowledge of glassblowing. After that I studied at Konstfack in Stockholm.

Why did you choose to focus on glass?
Because I can transform it in so many ways: colour, texture, shape, expression. Glassblowing is an intensive process requiring planning, yet also quick decisions. Being impatient, I like when it happens fast. My goal is often to manipulate the material’s properties and challenge the context around it.

Do you describe yourself as a sculptor or is that too traditional a term?
My material has a long tradition and I’m schooled in a traditional way. But I call myself a ‘maker’, because I combine those traditions with different materials and references to popular culture. It also floats between sculpture and function, art and design, which is confusing because we all like to know what we’re looking at. For example, if an object opens to reveal a cavity – that communicates a use for that object.