Playful science Kosta Boda launches LAB by Matti Klenell & Simon Klenell

LAB from Kosta Boda is a new collaboration with brothers and design colleagues Matti Klenell and Simon Klenell launching in spring 2025. The new collection consists of a series of vases at the intersection of function and decoration. As the name suggests, the series has a distinct design DNA inspired by laboratory glassware aesthetics.

Like the successful introduction of Bod in spring 2023, the Klenell brothers once again aim to unite functionality with aesthetics. LAB takes the austere form and exact function from the scientific tools that served as inspiration, then adds colors and patterns to create an expression that is both bold and unexpected.

LAB comprises four products – all mouth-blown in Kosta – in a color scheme that creates a unique wholeness. The series is versatile and excellent for serving drinks, presenting cut flowers, or simply as beautiful decorative objects. Crackle Mini is manufactured in the same way as the larger vases in the same series, but the circular glass provides a unique color variation, thanks to the production using crushed glass and waste material from Kosta’s glassworks.

“The goal with LAB was to experiment with both form and expression,” says Matti Klenell.

“The collection celebrates laboratory glassware’s precision and beauty with a playful color palette and pattern design, giving the products a surprising dynamism and Kosta Boda feel.”

“The forms might seem simple at first glance but require great craftsmanship to realize,” says Simon Klenell.

“Product development with LAB led to several instances where we had to use manufacturing techniques at Kosta glassworks that had fallen into oblivion. The final result and expression truly reflects the experimental joy that the reuse of these techniques provided.”

About Matti Klenell & Simon Klenell
Brothers Matti Klenell and Simon Klenell are known for their innovative approach to glass as a material and their ability to blend traditional craftsmanship with contemporary aesthetics. Although they mainly work individually, they occasionally join forces to realize a shared vision. An excellent example is Bod, a multifunctional bottle for Kosta Boda, whose unique form and expression makes it entirely unlike anything else on the market. Matti Klenell, born 1972, works broadly with different materials but often returns to glass as a means of expression. He has studied at Konstfack and the Royal Academy of Architecture in Copenhagen. Matti has received several awards, including “Designer of the Year” from Residence Magazine 2018 and multiple EDIDA Swedish Design Awards, and his work is represented in several Scandinavian museums. Simon Klenell, born 1985, describes himself as both designer and craftsman. He works almost exclusively with glass, a material he sees as an inexhaustible source of curiosity and inspiration. Simon has worked with Kosta Boda since 2009, and has studied at both the National School of Glass and Konstfack. He has been awarded the Ulrica Hydman Vallien scholarship, along with several other scholarships and awards.

About Kosta Boda
Kosta Boda was founded in 1742 and offers contemporary utility and interior products as well as art glass with origins in Swedish design tradition, with an assortment focused on modern lifestyle and a progressive and bold expression in a premium position.

More design by Matti Klenell & Simon Klenell:

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