Ragnheiður Ösp Sigurðardóttir’s Knot cushion belongs to the exclusive group of products that remain in one’s memory. The design is so strong that it can live its own life independent of the actual product of which it forms a part. This is true of Alvar Aalto’s Savoy vase and it may very well become true of the Knot cushion too. “I have always been attracted to strange and unique things,” Ragnheiður Ösp Sigurðardóttir explains as she talks about how she developed the idea of Knot. “I try to create unusual designs; products that are unpredictable and that make people curious.” But there was a long way to go when she started experimenting with tubular knitting on a machine some five years ago. She was really looking for an efficient way of manufacturing the legs of a teddy bear rather than crocheting them by hand. But she ended up with a knot-like cushion and where exactly the inspiration came from she has wondered about herself: “As a child I was in the scouts,” she explains, “and I was very good at doing knots.” The Knot cushion was born in 2011, while she was making bear figures made of crocheted tubes. “I wanted to try tying the tubes into knots and seeing the outcome. I found the idea of a big, soft knot intriguing in a fun kind of pop-arty way. I also like that when you take a first look at the cushion you might not really know what it is, and perhaps that is what draws you closer.” Knot is also available as a larger seat cushion.
