The Scandi homeware style that Swedish people love

Scandinavian interior styles are not just stored backs, furniture for minimalist living and functional identification. This is why the old Svenskten idea of ​​richness, vibrancy and “gorgeous empathy” remains popular today.

The stereotypical image of Swedish design is pale wood, neutral and refined tones, and shaved minimalist shapes. The origin of this lies in part in support of Swedish functionalism (Fun Kiss (In the early 20th century). The 1930 Stockholm exhibition attracted 4 million visitors, placing contemporary Swedish designs on the map, and soon had a new cleanlines design style (called “Scandi” by the New York Times in 1970). Meanwhile, IKEA, founded in 1943, for decades, has strengthened its stereotypes with its stripped, functional, affordable furniture.

But there is more to Swedish design than Scandi’s cliche. The alternative approach was pioneered by influential shops and manufacturer Svenskt Tenn, co-founded in Stockholm by sculptor and silversmith Nils Hoosted and designer Estrid Erickson in 1924, and funded in part by money inherited in the death of his father. Last year’s brand’s centenary was marked by the philosophy of Svenskt Tenn: A Home of Home, an exhibition held at the Liljevalch Museum in Stockholm.. The newly published book now Svenkst Tenn: Interior By Nina Strizler, we explore the story further.

Many modernist designers viewed the ornaments as extra self-satisfaction, but Erickson did not defend the idea of ​​bringing beauty into the home, believing it would improve life. When she grew up in HJO, a town in the south Swedish Sweden, she was inspired by philosopher and design theorist Ellen Kee. “Beauty is everywhere, and with only people, you can open your eyes and heart to everything and exert its raucous influence,” she wrote in the book. “They must learn to understand that the beautiful things in life are not luxury at all. They will be more enjoyable if you work better, feel better, become more approachable, more enjoyable, and surrounded by your home with beautiful shapes and colors.”

Erickson was also influenced by the more beautiful everyday things of 1919, when he was headed by the Stockholm-based organization Svenska Slöjdföreningen (Swedish Industrial Design Association), which was 1917-17. Founded in the second half of 1845, the Swedish Agricultural Association standardized the industry in everyday associations and improved the associations.

Svenskt Tenn means “Swedish Pewter” and initially specialized in the manufacture and sale of handmade products in Pewter (relatively affordable compared to silver). Today, in contrast, the company is synonymous with irrepressible textiles; Josef Frankan Austrian-born Jewish designer and architect who worked with Erickson until his death in 1967.

He and Ericson were on the same wavelength. Crucially, they did not share the lightning of modernism towards decoration. Frank took part in the Landmark Modernist Architecture Exhibition. die (German for “housing”) – He was held in Stuttgart in 1927 by German Werkband, a German association of avant-garde architects and designers, and his designs for the family home drew criticism of the rooms decorated with gorgeous and delightful fabrics.

In the early 1930s, Frank and his Swedish wife Anna moved to Sweden to escape the rise of Nazism. During World War II, they lived in New York, where Frank designed fabrics with Erickson’s bold, vibrant, large motifs. He described his otherworldly flowers as “a tropical fantasy flower, not a Swedish flower.”

“Frank’s plant motif came from a book about nature he found in New York,” says Stritzler. Frank didn’t speak English well and did not adapt well to his life in New York. His textiles appeared to represent a desire to escape from a claustrophobic, mildly hungry city for the eccentric, fertile, edenic natural world. One of his most classic textiles, known as Hawaii, is a fake knife motif depicting butterflies, covered fruits and entangled branches in shades of pink, yellow and palma violet.

Over time, the brand offered a wide range of products, from mirror to mirror surfaces, with Frank’s riot-patterned fabrics and rugs, plump upholstered sofas, lighting, rattan seats, painted wooden chairs and palettes of abundant materials. Stylized motifs of flora and fauna engraved on fabrics and trays were combined with real flowers from vases and rich potted plants. Ivy gracefully climbed the interior walls of the company’s new large showroom in Stockholm’s wealthy Östermalm district, which opened in 1927. Svenskton offered interior design services and home-based products, and quickly gained a reputation for its luxurious yet cozy style.

Erickson took part in fairs such as 1925 and did a lot to promote Swedish design overseas. Expo des artsdécoratifset Industriels (The name Art Deco was derived from that) and an international exhibition after the war. The store was known for introducing Swedish masses to foreign designers. It featured a glassware exhibition by William Morris and Rene Lalique, and sold items by Italian artist and designer Piero Fornasetti.

Svenskt Tenn also absorbed elements of the decorative art style of the 1930s The bounty of Swedena term coined by British journalist Philip Morton Shand. This combined Art Deco geometry with Nordic folk motifs and neoclassical elements. Svenskt Tenn’s eclecticism came from Erickson’s love for Swedish crafts – it was greatly promoted. First produced by Svenskt Tenn in 1925, the Pewter URN was inspired by the ancient Peruvian vessels found in the Folk Museum in Stockholm.

Erickson praised Swedish artist and writer Carl Larson. Sanborn Cottagenorth of Stockholm, it was painted in many of his watercolors. The cottage (bequered to Karin by his father) has been transformed into an idyllic home with its interior inspired by William Morris and the arts and craft movement.

“It’s open to the public,” says Vita Heman, a Swedish-born interior designer who founded his London studio in 2013. “The couple played with strong colours. The folk motif was further north in Sweden. The houses are very stacked. The imbalance of the space they are in.”

Human, who is also a fan of Joseph Frank, adds: “Although influenced by Swedish folk art, Erickson was also a child of Swedish bounty and modernism, influenced almost every project in the new style. Mirachel (Miracle) He thought it was miraculous that he solved the design. ”

Erickson was passionate about preserving and promoting Swedish crafts, but some view Svenskt Tenn as a unique phenomenon, leaving Swedish design history. “The art and craft movements that emerged later and Svenkust’s ten share some values, but he does so by establishing a linear trajectory between them,” Striztler tells the BBC. “Ericson was a pioneer in itself. She was able to create beauty from everything she touched. A simple bouquet of flowers, a table setting, or a pewter object she was best known or pewter object. She had the gift to create an environment that created a comfortable, practical and beautiful environment.”

According to Jane Withers, curator of the Svenskt Tenn exhibition, the brand was influenced by arts and craft movements and Morris textiles, but it began in the 1930s when Ericson began working with Frank. “Brand eclectic is due to Frank’s disgust. gesamtkunstwerk – House as a complete work of art in one style. For him, being modern was freedom rather than imposing a fixed design aesthetic. All of Svenskt Tenn’s philosophy is about generous, fun, progressive ideas of the home that go beyond changing styles and doctrines to create spaces of psychological and physical comfort. This human-centered perspective is very refreshing when surrounded by stylized Identikit interiors. ”

Perhaps some of the vibrancy of Svenskt Tenn’s signature is worn out with Ikea. Magical Patternpresenting 180 boldly colorful textiles, this is not to equate with Frank’s undoubtedly complex and extremely refined prints.

Svenskt Tenn is currently owned by the Beijer Foundation, which supports science, medicine and design research, and many of its classic designs continue to be popular. However, the brand continues to grow and has recently collaborated with well-known modern designers in the past.

Some view Svenskt Tenn as much as individualistic as it is not Swedish, but Edin Memic Kjellvertz, co-founder of Dusty Deco, a Swedish company that sells modern and vintage furniture, believes it cannot be dissociated from Swedish culture. Furniture, rich textiles, thoughtful details should not only look good, but always feel that it is our approach. ”