History Svenskt Tenn

storefront tea salon part of building complex kvarteret bodarna in stockholm.



svenskt tenns founder estrid ericson , friend , employee, architect josef frank, seated in sofa liljevalch , present trolley, named model 691 , designed frank.



a living room, designed ericson , frank, situated in curator’s building, called annes hus, built , constructed evert milles in stockholm’s millesgården on island of lidingö.



a teapot, designed in 2004 signe persson-melin on occasion of 80th birthday of svenskt tenn , in memory of estrid ericson.



wall lights svenskt tenn in pastry shop valand on surbrunnsgatan 48 in norrmalm.



frank’s villa carlsten @ fyrvägen 26 in falsterbo, skåne.

ericson’s father’s inheritance served seed capital starting company. pewter artist nils fougstedt, produced modern pewter objects , svenskt tenn gained recognition brand of quality, leading gold medal @ 1925 exposition des arts décoratifs et industriels in paris. further successes in usa following, beginning in 1927 exhibition of swedish design @ metropolitan museum of art in new york toured chicago , detroit. result of success, in 1927, store moved smålandsgatan larger premises on strandvägen, still located today.

at time, swedish functionalist architects uno Åhrén , björn trägårdh started design company. in 1932, ericson ordered first furniture designs well-established austrian architect josef frank. 2 years later, hired frank after fled burgeoning nazism in austria sweden @ age of 50 swedish wife anna.

svenskt tenn’s exhibition room @ world exhibitions in paris (“exposition des arts et techniques dans la vie moderne”) in 1937 , new york in 1939 contrary ideal of time bold contrasts in materials, colours , prints. duo of frank , ericson received great deal of attention , associated expression “swedish modern”.

over time, designer duo won many notable clients. in 1932, sigvard oskar bernadotte commissioned svenskt tenn new interior design of residence. similarly, ericson , frank commissioned design house of anne hedmark (annes hus) on site of swedish sculptor carl milles’s studio , home.

during second world war, josef frank forced exile yet again. @ height of war fled manhattan, resulting in number of new textile designs between 1941 , 1946. sweden’s prince eugen among took great delight in them; felt new designs exceeded of legendary print designer , frank role model, william morris.

after frank died in 1967, ericson ran daily operations of business until 1975. @ age of 81, sold company kjell , märta beijer foundation, provides research grants within ecology, medicine , preservation of swedish interior design tradition. ericson, however, remained managing director of company. in 1979, ann wall took on role , transformed svenskt tenn profitable business modernising product range, administration , organization, renewing marketing concept. collaborations selected new designers, art , design schools, established under direction.

1999 – today

after wall’s retirement twenty years later, kjell , märta beijer foundation established ann wall design prize in honor part of svenskt tenn’s new business concept, “to preserve spirit of estrid ericson , josef frank in modern form.” in context, foundation in 2015 bought frank’s residence villa carlsten in falsterbo, town located @ southwestern tip of sweden in vellinge municipality in skåne. frank had designed number of summer houses in area.

today, eighty percent of svenskt tenn’s range consists of products of own design. josef frank alone left behind 2,000 furniture sketches , 160 textile designs. in 2009, prince carl philip of sweden debuted silver cutlery collection @ svenskt tenn. following year, presented fireplace screen had co-designed.

frank’s designs highly esteemed not least among today’s young , established designers , textiles source of inspiration many contemporary print designers both in sweden , other countries. famous fan of frank apple designer marc newson. many of franks furniture designs can found in swedish embassies around globe, such in algiers , consulate general in new york.

at auction, frank’s , ericson’s designs fetch high prices , can found in collections of museum of modern art in new york (moma) , national museum of stockholm.