HEM
Petrus Palmér
A conversation with Petrus Palmér feels completely relaxed, yet focused. The entrepreneur has just returned from holiday, describing it as a “real break”. Palmér seems concentrated and to the point. No question is too out of place to be answered in detail and, above all, trenchantly. He knows that furniture production in the coming decades will have to be sustainable–Hem is already certified to a sustainability standard today–and take dwindling resources into consideration. Only one resource seems inexhaustible: Palmér’s entrepreneurial energy, which sparks his desire to design for people and offer them something they wouldn’t find otherwise. It’s not for nothing that “hem” means “home”. This is how the Swedish company has managed to move beyond a mere slick of ambience and reach into people’s hearts, creating something that can perhaps be described as a feeling of lightness: a lightness that does not hide the fact that we can now turn our attention to the real issues–such as sustainability.
I understand you just got back from a short vacation. Where have you been?
P
P
In Sweden. I spent some time at my country house.
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That sounds very eco-friendly.
P
P
Exactly.
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While scanning the internet, we stumbled across an at-home feature with photos of your bookshelves, wonderfully organised: books on designers, on brands, The Forecast … Do you like to be organised?
P
P
I would like to, but I’m not always as organised as I want to be.
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Can you recall any books that had a great impact on your professional work?
P
P
Yeah, but mainly management literature, boringly enough.
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Oh, really?
P
P
I’ve got two passions: one is design and the other is entrepreneurship. My library is divided between books on design and business.
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You trained as a designer, but you also succeeded as a businessman. What made you change your life?
P
P
For me, it was a gradual thing, I started off designing furniture for IKEA and Italian brands like Cappellini, and I loved it: the attention to detail, colours and fabrics. But in the end, design is a very traditional business. It’s old. And I grew increasingly frustrated by the inefficiency and lack of rebirth in the industry, so in the end I figured that instead of complaining about it, I had to do something about it. I also recalled a saying that some designers make things, others make things happen.
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