Svenskt Tenn’s a hundredth Anniversary Honors Feminine Founder

One of many design world’s first girl leaders and a pillar of Swedish Modernism, Estrid Ericson has flown below the radar — till now.

Ericson, who based design agency Svenskt Tenn (translation: Swedish Pewter) at age 30, finally grew to become one of the famend figures within the Stockholm design scene, and was among the many first to introduce international designers and functionalist furnishings to Sweden. Because the enterprise turns 100, her work is widely known in a retrospective at Stockholm’s esteemed Liljevalchs Konsthall gallery, “Svenskt Tenn: A Philosophy of House,” curated by famend London-based curator and author Jane Withers along with Svenskt Tenn’s head curator Karin Södergren. The present runs via Jan. 12.

Ericson was born a rustic lady in 1894, raised within the village of Hjo. Solely three years after Swedish girls achieved suffrage, Ericson used her inheritance to begin a small pewter agency in Stockholm. A former drawing trainer and patternmaker, she leveraged her expertise within the artistic arts to create trendy ornamental objects with the assistance of her artistic companion, sculptor Nils Fougstedt. The union was fruitful and the pair displayed their creations on the Worldwide Exhibition of Fashionable Ornamental and Industrial Arts in Paris only one yr later.

“A Philosophy of House” is probably the most intensive Svenskt Tenn exhibition ever. The present brings collectively the model’s heritage, Ericson’s groundbreaking work, and her work with architect and designer Josef Frank.

Guests meandering via the exhibition’s 13 rooms will encounter Svenskt Tenn items that Liljevalchs displayed in 1934, in addition to works from main worldwide exhibitions, the model’s landmark retailer in Stockholm, and for personal shoppers or the designers themselves.

Ericson’s creativity resonates via the a long time. She nurtured the Modernist motion in Sweden and impressed trade icons like Italy’s Piero Fornasetti, who wrote her a letter in 1964 after visiting her whimsical house, full of intriguing objects and motifs. “I entered into your own home, I noticed myself mirrored in your crystal globe, I petted your canine and your cat, the king of the home! It’s uncommon to satisfy individuals such as you who encourage such reliance and allure,” he wrote, expressing his gratitude for her religion in his work as an artist.

The exhibit highlights the working relationship and marriage of minds between Ericson and Frank, an architect and designer who left Austria because of antisemitism and located a artistic sanctuary inside Svenskt Tenn below Ericson’s wing. By means of not often seen objects pulled from throughout, guests are handled to the story of pewter design and manufacturing in Twenties Stockholm, and might watch Svenskt Tenn’s enlargement into furnishings, textiles, lighting, and tableware unfold, together with collaborations with Luke Edward Corridor, designer Lars Nilsson and Margherita Maccapani Missoni.

Frank’s aesthetic stays influential right this moment, and just lately Maccapani Missoni created particular version Svenskt Tenn merchandise, together with heart-shaped cushions utilizing Frank’s patterns. Arthur Arbesser, too, paid homage to Frank in a floral couch reedition he labored on for Wittman earlier this yr.

To rejoice its centenary, Svenskt Tenn has revamped its digital identification with a web site that evokes the model’s authentic retailer, that includes visuals, video and inspiration. It’s a transfer additionally meant to ramp up gross sales on-line and abroad, with a heightened deal with the U.S.

The archival paperwork and images afford the design curious a particular glimpse into Ericson’s wanderlust aptitude, which is splashed onto mirrors, packing containers, prints, jewellery and extra.

Ericson, who died in 1981, believed an individual’s path determines their type.

“We should not neglect to cherish freedom inside our properties, to not abstain from items simply because they might jeopardize our aesthetic formalism. It’s by no means a fabricated coloration chart that offers a house its character, however it’s all the issues one collects via life. All of the issues we as soon as beloved, alongside all of the issues we love right this moment — our properties are by no means accomplished, throughout our total lives, we proceed to construct upon them,” she wrote in her manifesto “The Catechism of Inside design,” in 1939.

Former punk rocker Maria Veerasamy, who has been Svenskt Tenn’s chief govt officer since 2011, recollects Ericson’s distinctive style sense and clever eye.

“She had very distinct type and garments have been crucial to her,” Veerasamy says. That stated, it’s her entrepreneurial legacy that motivates Veerasamy each day.

“She persistently thought outdoors the field, pursued her personal path with excessive integrity, and held a robust perception within the imaginative and prescient of Svenskt Tenn. I’m among the many only a few CEOs who’ve been given the chance to work with this singular firm, guaranteeing its continued existence and prosperity for one more 100 years. That, in itself, is a humbling expertise,” she says.

At the moment, the corporate stays woman-run, with principally girls staff. Svenskt Tenn has been owned by the Kjell and Märta Beijer Basis since 1975, and gross sales have greater than doubled since Veerasamy took the helm, to the $40 million vary.