Designer Spotlight: Saara Renvall

Helsinki, Finland: Saara Renvall is a designer working with furniture, objects, jewelry, spaces, and interior.  After finishing her 3-year training as a carpenter, Renvall graduated from the University of Art and Design in Helsinki and received her Master of Arts in 2002.  She has studied shorter periods in India, Denmark, Japan, and the UK; gaining expertise in different design cultures.

Along with design projects on her own, Renvall has taught design at the University of Art and Design.  She has taken part in several design exhibitions in Finland and abroad.  Besides home and public space furniture, her most acclaimed work includes ceremonial jewelry for the President of Aalto University, and a reflective brooch, Kukka -- an elegant accessory that has become very popular in Finland.

Renvall strives for a diverse expression -- for her, vision and intuition are more important than using a pre-determined set of materials or techniques.  She has great respect for craft skills and people working with their hands.  Besides design, Renvall finds passion in art, old country houses, and changing seasons.

Since 2002, Renvall has been a founding member and one of the central figures of Imu design, a Finnish design collective promoting young Finnish design abroad.  Imu has organized international design exhibitions in order to help bridge the gap between studies and working life for emerging young designers.

Renvall received the Bryggman Scholarship in 2005 for her merits in creative design.  She has also received the Finnish Cultural Foundation one-year grant for artistic work both in 2008 and 2009, along with several smaller grants, scholarships, and design prizes since 2000.  In 2010, Renvall was awarded the Young Designer of the Year Prize with Elina Aalto and Krista Kosonen.