Gustaf Westman unveils colourful tableware for debut IKEA collection [View all]

https://www.dezeen.com/2025/09/09/gustaf-westman-debut-tableware-collection-ikea/





A bouncy spiral vase and IKEA's first chubby meatball plate feature in Swedish designer Gustaf Westman's festive tableware collection, created for the retailer to prove that "there's not one cookie-cutter way of celebrating". The IKEA x Gustaf Westman collection, a 12-piece set of tableware, was designed for the festive season but can be used for any type of winter celebration at home, rather than just Christmas.





"A Christmas collection felt quite scary for me," said Westman, who is known for his playful and colourful designs, including a glossy spiralled baguette holder. "I don't feel like my aesthetic is very Christmassy, and it's hard for me to do something so focused on one type of holiday or one type of style," he told Dezeen.





Revealed last month, the centrepiece of the collection is a porcelain turquoise plate created for 11 meatballs – the first of its kind to be produced by IKEA, and a nod to the beloved Swedish dish that has been sold at the retailer's food outlets for 40 years. "It's like a throne," explained Westman. "It gives them a special place at the table." The designer said that he toyed with a handful of ideas before completing the plate, including a helter-skelter-style object that dispenses meatballs. This idea can be seen in the spiral shape of the collection's bouncy vase, a twisted piece of pink-hued springy metal that cups a clear glass vessel.





Westman also created a rounded porcelain cup and saucer set finished in green and pink. The generous saucer was designed to be oversized to accommodate biscuits, a personal touch informed by the designer's childhood memories of his grandmother's festive baking. "The concept is that we're gathering random people and random family members," said Westman. "I wanted the collection to feel like that as well." "It's not very well thought through, it's not a fulfilled collection," continued the designer. "It's more about the ideas that I came up with and liked." "There's not one cookie-cutter way of celebrating," agreed Maria O'Brian, creative leader at IKEA of Sweden. "People celebrate many different holidays at this time of year."

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