Estrid Ericson was a big fan of Swedish handicrafts. Inspired by the British Arts and Crafts advocate William Morris, she held the highest esteem for work that was crafted by the hand.
Josef Frank’s wallpaper
Svenskt Tenn – since 1924
Film: Love von Hauswolff
Editor: Andreas Tillnert
Svenskt Tenn continues to promote and develop high quality Swedish crafts. The company is owned by the Kjell and Märta Beijer Foundation, which gives us explicit orders not to budge on maintaining quality.
“Made in Sweden” has always been, and will always be, an honourable notion at Svenskt Tenn. Basically our entire collection is produced in Sweden, and if we do make an exception, it is because we can’t find the right high quality Swedish supplier or because there isn’t enough production capacity.
Local production
A large portion of Josef Frank’s furniture is made at the same carpentry shops in Småland and Sörmland that have been delivering the furniture since the 1950s. The glass is made at the Reijmyre glassworks, among other places, and fabrics, in 100 percent cotton or linen of the highest quality, are printed in the Borås area. We have been using screen printing since the 1940s. It is a genuine, manual procedure that makes prints that will keep for many years. The pattern is cut out of film and one film is required for each colour printed.
Our pewter shop in western Götaland is another long-time supplier. Just one of Anna Petrus-Lyttken’s pewter lions requires 20 to 30 hours of intensive work. It starts with moulding the pewter in six different shapes. Then all of the parts are polished, which requires special procedures as the lion is heavy and has many uneven parts. Finally, the parts are joined together. This process has not changed since the very first lion was produced in 1926. Even the moulds are the originals!
If you have any questions about Svenskt Tenn’s production, contact Per Ahldén, tel: +46 (0)8-670 16 17, per.ahlden@svenskttenn.se