Göran Wärff (1933-2022), was both a designer and an artist. As a designer he found it important how one handles the glass; how it feels, the importance of enjoying drinking from a glass, and the feeling of wanting to be close to it.

He found his greatest inspiration in the sea and its variety in color and shape; how it changes its appearance in different parts of the world. Göran has always claimed that glass is like liquid, and that is how he understands it as a material. The fact that glass can come in so many different shapes is what’s exciting, and that’s the perspective he has when approaching the glass in his work. Other sources of inspiration were the play of light in nature, and sketching based on emotions - and a great driving force in his work was the joy of the craft.

Göran first came to Kosta Boda in the mid 60's. From 1974 to 1985 he lived and worked in Australia and the United Kingdom. From there, he still did some design assignments for Kosta - and to keep shipping costs at a minimum he sent models in styrofoam to the glassworks back in Sweden. He returned to Kosta Boda full time in 1986. He also taught glass art in Sydney, and for a short period of time he taught glass and ceramics at University of Arts, Crafts and Design (Konstfack).

Over the years Göran has done some very varied design work. He’s done public assignments for the Opera House in Sydney, the mosque in Abu-Dhabi, the cathedral in Växjö and the IMO United Nations' building in London. He’s won several awards and scholarships for his design. For example, he won the Lunning Prize together with his wife of the time, Ann Wolff, for their design contributions at Kosta Boda. He was also awarded with Excellent Swedish Form for his collection Limelight.