Pontus Sandevärn is a Swedish woodworker whose creative journey began in music, where he spent his twenties performing and recording while taking odd jobs to sustain the dream. A deep fascination with language—both visual and written—led him to pursue design studies at Mälardalen University in Sweden. His career then shifted to freelance copywriting and graphic design, honoring his penchant for typography and specifically book- and magazine design. Eventually, the confines of the desk felt limiting. Craving a more hands-on outlet, Pontus picked up a Mora knife, sparking muscle memories of carving toys in the pine woods of Småland as a child. A long-dormant passion reignited. 

Pontus's work finds harmony between function and sculpture, often fluidly shifting between the two. "Nature" influences his shapes and forms, but philosophically, his biomorphic expressions are as much a celebration as an act of mourning. Ultimately, an attempt at rekindling a lost connection to the wild; to shave off the squaring effects of western schooling, screens and nine-to-five, and piece by piece—via infinitely detailed carvings—meditatively find back to the magical sense of belonging that the woods offered the eyes, ears and hands of his childhood self. 

Moving forward, Pontus aims to continue exploring hand tools while streamlining his process, merging Swedish traditions of sloyd with the meticulousness and efficiency of Japanese woodworking. The most recent additions to his toolbox were an adze and a chainsaw, and the sketchbook is currently filling up with new shapes; shapes of bulk and scale, peering naively yet lustingly into the world of furniture.