The Making of Hästens Beds
Our latest video celebrates the Swedish handcraft of the 165 year old company and introduces their two new limited edition beds
Hästens has been making some of the world’s finest beds by hand in Sweden for 165 years. We initially visited their headquarters and factory in Köping back in 2000. With the launch of their first ever publicly available bed collaborations, we knew it was time for a return. There, we got the story behind these two new editions, the Appaloosa and Marwari, which premiere today at Il Salone del Mobile in Milan.
Their blue check fabric, launched forty years ago with the introduction of the brand’s most popular bed the 2000T, is iconic, but the company had a strong desire to explore new concepts that were both visually appealing and technically challenging. To do so they partnered with one of Sweden’s design firms, Bernadotte and Kylberg. Their brief was very open: propose new ideas for the brand. Having seen the craftsmanship involved in creating the beds they quickly honed in on imagining new expressions for them—the Appaloosa and Marwari editions of the 2000T. Each is named after their eponymous breed of horses; for those who don’t speak Swedish, “hastens” means horse, a nod to its origins as a saddle maker. It was this story that inspired the designers.
The Appaloosa is a modern expression of the classic blue check pattern, inspired by Cubism, Modernism and kaleidoscopes. Larger, bolder, more colorful and spritely, it brings a fresh energy to the brand while paying the most sincere respects to its heritage. Working with this new design presented fresh challenges for the company, both in terms of making the pattern repeatable, but also in structuring the pattern for the construction of the beds. Many additional hours go into making an Appaloosa edition mattress.
The Marwari celebrates the powerful, seductive horse after which it is named, and the brand’s check is reinvented through a complex woven pattern inspired by saddle straps, which comes to life in a deep, rich brown. Hästens saddle-making history inspired the designers to add leather accents, a first for the brand’s mattresses. Meticulously executed, the Marwari features multiple leather bands that appear seamless, as well as leather-trimmed handles and feet. It’s subtle, beautiful and luxurious.
Images and video by Cool Hunting
