© Inter IKEA Systems B.V. 2011
PE305988
LÖNSAM carafe
1.99
$
LÖNSAM carafe Designer: Henrik
Preutz. 30cm. 1l. Clear glass
From doormats
to glass carafes
Stories of product passion and design
For further information or images please contact:
Madeleine Lowenborg-Frick
National Public Relations Manager
IKEA Canada
T: 905-637-9440 x6378
[email protected]
A carafe challenge
A carafe should look so good that you don’t just have to bring it to the table, you want
to leave it there as decoration. With LÖNSAM, we challenged our glass suppliers to
make a one-liter carafe for less than one Euro. One supplier found they could use a
special glassware technique to keep costs low. Knowing the chosen technique, designer
Henrik Preutz worked on its form alongside a packaging technician to optimize style
and size. Because its team rose to the challenge, LÖNSAM carafe has well-designed
looks, quality, function and costs less than a fancy bottle of water.
Toward a better everyday
Home is where life happens, from everyday moments to big
memories. It’s where you do the washing up, wipe your feet
at the door, surround yourself with photos, gather for dinner
and read your favourite book. Life at home is what inspires us
to make products that create a better everyday life by adding
a little something more – like fun, function, sustainability – all
with a low price.
Inside you’ll learn more about our IKEA working ways,
which does not include cutting corners or settling for less. We
challenge ourselves to start with an affordable price, then think
and design differently so that everything we do is a little more
efficient, cost effective and with a twist.
Take the simple BORRIS door mat. When a team saw room
for improvement, the mat was redesigned to make production
smarter and more sustainable. With FLUNDRA, we made a dish
drainer that maximizes drying using minimal space. But it’s
fun, too, with drainage holes cut to look like soap bubbles. We
put lots of creativity, work and energy into our products so the
design, quality and function are high while prices are low. When
life at home is more clever, practical, beautiful and fun, there’s
more time and money leftover to enjoy other things in life.
The IKEA process simplified
Before any product reaches the store, it has already had an intense
life. From designer’s sketches, prototype changes, material discussions,
supplier visits, safety testing and packaging arrangements to transport,
it’s a long way from our base in Älmhult to homes across the globe.
Here’s a quick look at how things work.
Start with real life
Set goals
Corner storage solutions? Smaller
bathroom fixtures? Through
research like global home visits,
IKEA determines what products to
create based on the needs, problems and dreams of everyday life.
Every IKEA product begins with a
document or brief defining a product need. This is where low prices
start too, since briefs come with a
price goal.
Test and tweak
Secure materials
and suppliers
Transport less and
save more
A final design goes to securing materials and suppliers from
about 1,200 different suppliers in
55 countries. All suppliers meet
IWAY, the IKEA code of conduct
on child labour, forced labour, environment, health and safety.*
Clever packaging puts more
products onto each pallet and into
each truck, train or container.
Fewer journeys mean less fuel,
emissions and lower costs. And
since customers help with transport, shopping and assembly,
together we keep prices low.
Product developers, technicians,
engineers and designers work together to make prototypes. Then
they evaluate and suggest changes – an extensive process that
often includes factory visits with
on-site improvements. Products
are tested against international
quality and safety standards, as
well as IKEA unique requirements.
* For more information about IWAY and IKEA ways of working, see ‘People and the environment’ at www.ikea.ca.
Design
democratically
IKEA designers aim for simplicity,
honesty, clarity and humanity. All
products should be attractive and
meet high expectations of quality,
function, materials, dimensions,
packaging, assembly, sustainability and price.
PE305981
BYGEL trolley
Make dreams affordable
Have you ever stood in your kitchen and wished for a bigger
worktop?
Or an extra place for cookbooks and water bottles? Or that you
could roll a trolley to the table with dinner’s little extras?
Building on tea trolleys, bar carts and portable kitchen islands,
we rolled them into the BYGEL trolley that fits into a flat pack,
costs less than $30 and goes anywhere in the house. BYGEL is
what you use it for.
As an extra work surface in the kitchen, it has an ABS
plastic top that can be turned and used on both sides, either
as counter space or a tray. And it has a drawer for utensils,
too. It also has three hooks for things like pot holders and tea
towels and three holders for BYGEL containers, which you can
use for everything, from cutlery to fresh herbs. Underneath,
there’s plenty of room for large water bottles, pots and pans,
cookbooks – or even RATIONELL waste sorting bins.
In the bathroom, you can use it as a place to put your
makeup, cotton balls, blow-dryer, towels and shampoo bottles.
It’s extra storage that rolls in or out when you need it.
Wherever it is in the house, BYGEL is a do-everything trolley
for all those little extra things, which is why we don’t think BYGEL
should take up extra room in your wallet. And keeping the price
low means you can stop wishing for a bigger worktop and start
cooking.
29.99
$
BYGEL trolley
Designer: K Hagberg/M
Hagberg. W39×D59, H98cm.
White/silver-colour
PE305991
BORRIS doormat
Change a stripe; reduce waste
A doormat has a job to do – protect the house and floors from
dirt carried in by shoes, feet and paws – without slipping or
causing a scene. But even a product so functional, simple and
low-priced deserves attention. In this case, changing BORRIS
by just five centimetres meant 17,200 more door mats could fit
per container and a lot less waste was produced.
When introduced in 2007, BORRIS was 40x60 cm, had
one broad stripe and was unfortunately a bit wasteful in its
production. The BORRIS team saw room for improvement and
set off to the factory in Egypt to learn the process. Because of
the fixed broad stripe, about 40 cm of waste was created per
every nine mats cut (almost one mat itself). The fabric roll was
also fully backed with latex, which isn’t possible to recycle. By
slightly reducing the size to 38x57 cm, making all the stripes
the same, machine cutting end to end and putting latex only
where rugs are cut, there’s no wastage. What was waste now
goes back into the production of BORRIS.
Reducing the size also made the pallet smaller, which
makes transport more efficient because less air is shipped.
With 40% more mats per container, we don’t waste as many
environmental resources either. It’s a lot of energy to put into a
doormat, but a small price tag and dirt-covered job don’t make
BORRIS any less important.
0.99
$
BORRIS doormat
L57×W38cm. Dark blue
VÄCKIS alarm clock
PE305982
Break from tradition
An alarm clock like VÄCKIS breaks tradition in small, but significant ways. The
designers angled the clock slightly so it’s easier to read from bed. A covered
backside keeps dust away while creating a seamless appearance. And a bright
blue secondhand and ‘12’ strenghten its modern, graphic expression. That’s a
lot of thinking around a little alarm clock with a small price.
1
$
VÄCKIS alarm clock
Designer: K Hagberg/M Hagberg. W8×D3, H8cm. White
NEGLINGE candle holder
PE305984
Offer something extra
With the NEGLINGE candle holder, the designers wanted it to be simple and
elegant with something extra. They made it double-sided to hold tealights
or tapered candles. What’s better than two functions in one at a low price?
Easy storage. The shape allows stackable storage that doesn’t take up lots of
space.
0.79
$
NEGLINGE candlestick/
tealight holder
Designer: K Hagberg/M Hagberg. H5cm
TOLSBY frame
PE305985
Separate the pieces
Like the NEGLINGE, a good thing about the TOLSBY frame is it has two sides.
With just a turn, you can change between photos. Who really has one best
friend or favourite motto, anyway? The designer chose plastic for its form
abilities, which made it possible to separate the frame from the foot and pack
everything flat – keeping the price low.
0.99
$
TOLSBY frame
Designer: Henrik Preutz. Picture W10×H15cm. White
PE305986
FLUNDRA dish drainer
Leave space for fun
A dish drainer is a dish drainer is a dish drainer. Or is it?
When we designed FLUNDRA we wanted to make a dish drainer
that was as smart and fun as possible – and at a really low
price. It’s best to dry a lot of dishes at the same time, too,
using as little space as possible. That’s why the cutlery stand is
part of the dish drainer itself and you can hang 9 glasses on the
sides and dry 18 plates, both big and small, at the same time.
And there’s still some room leftover for that extra pan or bowl.
Because it’s made entirely of plastic we simplified the
production process considerably. That’s just the kind of thing
that lowers costs, which in turn lowers prices.
Now the only thing left to do was to make doing washing up
more fun. The bottom has different-sized circles to help water
drain and the dishes dry faster. We thought that would make it
more fun – a bit like soapy bubbles. That’s the kind of playful
signature sibling designers Knut and Marianne Hagberg fight
for. “The bubbles make it a little more fresh for the customer,”
say Knut and Marianne. “It gives a bit of a clean feeling.”
Ok, so maybe we didn’t make washing up more fun, but at
least we made a dish drainer that can dry a lot of dishes on a
small area. And we did it at a price that leaves money for more
fun things to put on your plate.
2.99
$
FLUNDRA dish drainer
Designer: K Hagberg/M Hagberg. L46×W36, H12cm. White
PE305977
MELLTORP table
Improve the process
A dining table isn’t just a place to eat. It’s where the day’s news
is told, where plans are made and memories retold. With clean,
white lines, a melamine table top and four steel legs, MELLTORP
dining table is as versatile as it is ordinary.
To create a really low price table, our technicians and buyers
stopped producing the table at one place. Instead, they chose
the world’s best specialists in steel legs and table tops – one in
Asia and one in Europe. But how does that lower the price?
Now that we were working with specialists, we focused on
fully industrializing the process together. Before, the legs for
MELLTORP had been made from pre-cut steel pipes purchased
from subcontractors. Now the pipe could be manufactured
directly by our own supplier from large steel sheets. By
removing a step, steel’s purchase price became cheaper.
Having two different packages for the table – one for legs and
one for the table top – allowed the suppliers to ship directly to
stores, instead of first packing everything in one. Taking away a
step in the distribution process meant more costs disappeared.
That’s exactly what we mean when we say we want to create
a better everyday life for the many people. Quality furniture can
be designed and improved so that there’s money left over for
other things, like a night at the movies that you’ll talk about for
many dinners to come.
59
$
MELLTORP dining table
Designer: Lisa Norinder.
L125×W75, H74cm. White
PE305989
JANSJÖ spotlight
Design as technology develops
Imagine a tiny lamp clamped on a bookshelf that works eight
hours a day, 365 days a year. Now imagine not needing to
replace the light bulb for about seven years. It’s a lot of work
for a little lamp, but that’s the power of JANSJÖ lighting series.
Before JANSJÖ clamp, work and floor lamps came on the
IKEA scene in 2007, LED had been used primarily in decorative
lighting. That’s when designers Anna Efverlund and Johanna
Jelinek brought the task to bring LED into functional lighting for
the home.
“We wanted to give the lamps a rounder and more feminine
shape,” say Anna and Johanna. “It was a big ‘aha’ moment
when we realized how small the lamps could be.”
Designing the JANSJÖ series was true teamwork, with the
designers and technicians from suppliers and the IKEA lighting
department developing directly on the factory floor.
“It was a challenge to make JANSJÖ series because functional
LED was a completely different premise to work with,” say Anna
and Johanna.
With adjustable, slim and slender steel necks that bend to
direct light, JANSJÖ lamps use up to 85% less energy than
traditional incandescent light bulbs. Saving energy is good
for the environment and your wallet – and made even more
affordable with a small price tag.
19.99
$
JANSJÖ clamp spotlight
with built in LED
Designer: A Efverlund/J
Jelinek. H40cm. Black
Milestones
1955
1956
1961
IKEA starts to
design its own
furniture to provide
functional, welldesigned home
furnishings at prices
so low that most people can afford
them.
Exploration of flat
packaging begins
when one of the
first IKEA coworkers removes
the legs of the
LÖVET table so it fits into a car and
avoids damage during transit. Flat
packs and self-assembly become part
of the concept.
The first nonScandinavian
supplier is based in
Poland, producing
chairs. Also this
year, product
quality testing on products begins
using Swedish testing standards.
1975
1980
1990
IKEA brings
The baby boom
particleboard from
and new attitudes
the construction
toward consumers
industry to the
leads to the
drawing boards of
development of
furniture designers.
easy-to-care-for
Particleboard has grown to be the big success material
past years. IKEA brings it from
the construction industry
It becomes the material of choicethe for
furniture,
like the wide-scale use of
to the drawing boards of the furniture designers.
By now, it has become the material in many furniture bestmany of IKEA bestsellers, in lacquer
removable, washable sofa covers.
sellers in lacquer as well as veneer.
as well as veneer.
IKEA looks for a
new material that
costs less than
particleboard or
solid wood and is
as strong and light.
Found in a factory that normally
makes inner doors, the solution leads
to board on frame and board on stiles
technologies.
The IKEA Group
develops an
environmental
policy to ensure
the company and
its co-workers
take environmental responsibility
for all activities conducted within its
business.
1991
1997
2000
2010
IKEA acquires its
own sawmills and
production plants
and establishes the
industrial group
Swedwood to
produce wood-based furniture and
wooden components.
Swedwood invents
a way to produce
board on frame
products with
veneer finish. Birch
veneer on LACK is
an immediate success.
IWAY is introduced,
defining what
suppliers can expect
from IKEA and
specifies what IKEA
requires from its
suppliers on working conditions, child
labour prevention, the environment,
responsible forestry management and
more.
All IKEA suppliers
phase out wooden
pallets to use more
sustainable options
like our recycled
plastic loading
ledges or paper pallets. Empty,
bulky pallets stop being transported
backwards through the supply chain.
© Inter IKEA Systems B.V. 2006
the beginning, we’ve
1973From
wanted to create a better
everyday life at home. Over
the years, developments like
the first flatpack and material
innovations have helped us
with our vision to create welldesigned, affordable and quality
products. Here are several of
these milestones.
1973