Acorn Vase

In the summer house called Tolvekarna on Tyresö outside Stockholm, Svenskt Tenn's founder Estrid Ericson found her creativity and inspiration. Here she put together beautiful flower arrangements for the store at Strandvägen 5, planned table settings and got ideas for new products. It was here, in the 1930s, that she came up with the idea to let acorns sprout in a small glass vase.

The shape of the vase was inspired by the historical "Jungfrun" (Maiden) measuring vessel, whose name likely comes from the fact that it was often shaped as a shortened cone, resembling a young woman, a maiden, with a full-length skirt. The vase has a slightly widened rim so that the acorn can easily fit into place and sprout, and today it has become a classic in many people's homes.

Autumn Classic

Step 1 Pick & Sprout

Pick your acorns in the fall, preferably in October. Place them in a bowl of water and let them soak for 3 to 6 weeks, until they have started to sprout.

Step 2 The Acorn Vase

Fill the Acorn vase with water and put your sprouting acorn in it. After a further 3 to 6 weeks, a delicate little oak seedling will sprout.

Step 3 The Oak Seedling

Enjoy your beautiful oak seedling. Avoid direct sunlight since sun through glass may cause burn damage to adjacent surfaces.

From the glass oven to Strandvägen 5

Just like other classic vases in Svenskt Tenn's range, the Acorn vase is manufactured at Skrufs Glassworks in Småland, Sweden. CEO Kent Elm tells us more about the process:

“The first thing that happens in the production of the acorn vase is that we pick up the glass and roll it into an even lump. Then we blow in some air in the barrel before we go into the mold and blow out the round shape. When we are done with the glass blowing part, we remove the glass from the mold and tap it off the barrel.

Then we let it cool down from 500 to 30 degrees, a process that takes about four hours. When the glass has cooled, we remove a part of the opening so that all the vases are the same height. We draw with a small carving on the glass and then heat it lightly with a gas flame so that it cracks right at the scratch. After that, we grind away any irregularities that remains, and heat up the rim so that it becomes round and sleek. Finally, we inspect each individual vase before we pack it up and send it to the store at Strandvägen 5 in Stockholm.”