Today brings us to the final 7 designers in 7 days post – though don’t be surprised if a few other designers pop up on my blog in the coming weeks. Today’s post is about Svenskt Tenn – an ANAZING furniture/interior design store in Sweden – and the home of Josef Frank’s textiles. According to their website, “Svenskt Tenn is an interior design shop located on Strandvägen in Stockholm, Sweden. It was founded in 1924 by Estrid Ericson, who recruited Josef Frank to the company 10 years later. Together they created the elegant and boldly patterned personal interior design style that continues to pervade the collection to this day” Josef Frank is the designer I talked about in my first “7 designers” post, so it’s fitting we start and end with him.
On their website, Svenskt Tenn talks about their design Philosophy, which I think is great and applicable to all types of designers:
Josef Frank’s vision of humane, soft modernism and Estrid Ericsson’s artistry are the foundations of Svenskt Tenn’s interior design philosophy. Together, the duo created a highly personal style with a combination of Viennese elegance and Swedish functionalism. Brightly coloured patterns went completely against the ideals of the day, as did unabashed borrowing from both high and low cultures and eras.
They called it “Accidentism” or “The Happy Chances Philosophy.” In 1958, Josef Frank wrote in the magazine Form: “There’s nothing wrong with mixing old and new, with combining different furniture styles, colours and patterns. Anything that is in your taste will automatically fuse to form an entire relaxing environment. A home does not need to be planned down to the smallest detail or contrived; it should be an amalgamation of the things that the owner loves and feels at home with.”
Always current.
That such a way of thinking is applicable even today is something that many can attest to. Josef Frank is held in great repute, not the least among today’s young designers. His National Museum Cabinet has received a number of design accolades and his textiles are a source of inspiration for many young textile designers today.
Estrid Ericson and Josef Frank have succeeded in creating that timelessness which so many strive for but few manage to achieve.
While touring the store we saw all the beautiful Josef Frank couches, many were oversized (see above) and looked so comfortable, but we were afraid to sit on anything. Our tour guide told us to not be silly, and that anything they made was to be used and enjoyed. How great is that? And how untypical for a design store. I especially love how they mix all the different textiles together and don’t try to be matchy-matchy. Many of the combinations I would never dream of, but somehow they work together. One their website there is a great Inspiration section with decorating and design ideas. After printing textiles by hand and mixing colors for the last two weeks, I have a new found respect for all the work that goes into creating these textiles. It baffles my mind how beautiful and vivid their colors come out on such thick upholstery furniture.
Took this in their showroom – they’re building a new one, so their temporary space is an old movie theater.
Great example of how their patterns look together – applied on lampshades.
I’m obsessed with these plates!
Great right?
Love the green, glass, and golds in this picture, from their Inspiration page.
Pewter oddities.
I want to live in this world! One day I’ll have a Josef Frank chair to read in.
I love their style, check out http://www.svenskttenn.se !
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