People of Asuwere - Nikolai Sorensen
Meet Nikolai Sorensen, Asuwere member and furniture designer based right here in New Zealand. After discovering his passion for Scandinavian design during a work trip to Sweden and Denmark, he has been creating innovative and diverse designs most notably at Città where he has spent the past 7 years honing his craft. Already big fans of his work, we were stoked to see his name pop up as an Asuwere member back in Feb 2021. Fast forward to 2023 and we finally caught up to hear more about is design process, favourite pieces and family road trips in their camper van.
How did you get into furniture design?
In my 20s I was working for a Swedish engineering company here in NZ. I was up in Sweden and Denmark for training where my eyes were opened to the world of Scandinavian design. I was staying in a hotel designed by Arne Jacobson where he had designed everything from the building itself right down to the furniture and cutlery. This is where my love for product design was realised and since then I have never looked back.
Do you have any rituals to get you in a creative mood?
Wake early, grab a coffee and chuck a record on! I find mornings to be a real productive time of the day as the mind is usually fresh and there are few distractions at that time of day. I can't work without music in the background, luckily our studio has a good record collection (thanks to Dave Moreland) so there is no shortage of musical inspiration to get the mind going.
What aspects of your line of work do you enjoy the most?
I love the breadth of products that I get to work on. One day I might be working on a new bed design, the next it might be salt and pepper grinders. The different scales, materials and forms keep it fresh and exciting.
What is the process of designing a piece from an idea to a finished consumer product?
The start of my process is often very broad and varied. The goal is to come up with as many different ideas as possible. This ideation phase is my favourite part of the process. I love the freedom of having a general idea of where we are heading but with no real outcome in mind. Once I feel like I have exhausted all possible options, I start to condense the different ideas into one or two tangible solutions. Once we are happy with the final concept, we work with our amazing production partners to bring our ideas to life.
Any favourite pieces you have designed?
I am really happy of where we ended up with the Daily Armchair. It was a project we struggled to get right for a number of years. After many iterations, I think we ended up with a chair that is uniquely Città. It’s a piece that pays homage to traditional Scandinavian design, but in a new contemporary context.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
It’s mainly spent hanging out with wife Jo and two kids Arie and Pia. We live on a farm surrounded by bush out at Muriwai. Living where we do allows us to spend lots of time outdoors in the bush, beach or forest. We also own a camper bus, and head out on missions around the country. It’s our little bach on wheels. We love the freedom to be able to park up wherever the surf is breaking and the sun is shining.
How does Asuwere suit your lifestyle?
Life is busy enough juggling work, family, sports etc.. there is no time to even think about clothes, let alone carving out time to buy them. Deciding what to buy or where to buy was always low down on my priority list. I like the fact that Asuwere makes some of those decisions for me but still gives me the flexibility to express my own personal style.
Shop Nikolai's Looks
Learn more:
