#swedish design

[departmentofinteriors]

[designobjectory]

Writing desk in oak with barley-twist legs and bracers by Nordiska Kompaniet, 1923. One drawer with lock.

[germanpostwarmodern]

The "Concrete" Armchair designed by Jonas Bohlin after 1981 for Källemo

[arc-hus]

Villa JJ, Stockholm - Metropolis Arkitekter

Metropolis Arkitekter

[aspiring-weird-old-man]

Apropos of nothing in particular, have y'all heard about neodymium glass? Also known as alexandrite glass, it's glass that changes colour in different lights. The most common is a pinkish purple that turns greyish blue under fluorescent light, but there are other colour combinations as well.

Here's a couple of pieces I have, a carafe and some glasses from the Cupol series designed by Gösta Sigvard for Lindshammar, Sweden, in the 1990s.

[rosemarykennedys]

red safety matches

[desimonewayland]

Wilhelm Kåge (b. Stockholm 1889, d. 1960)

A faience vase decorated with turquoise green glaze with silver glazed decor. Vase with inscription to foot rim “Till Vännen Richard Rydberg Den 27–8 1939”.

Bruun Rasmussen

[my-sacred-art-2]

Actor Anita Ekberg (Swedish, Sep. 29, 1931 - Jan. 11, 2015).

1955 Facit TP1, Sweden. Designed by Sigvard Bernadotte (Swedish, Jun. 7, 1907 - Feb. 4, 2002).

Read About Sigvard Bernadotte!

Sigvard Bernadotte was not just a designer — he was also Swedish royalty, the second son of King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden, but he distinguished himself through his own achievements as a graphic and industrial designer.

Facit-Odense pinwheel adding machine

His design career blossomed in the 1930s, when he became known for clean, functional designs rooted in Scandinavian modernism. He was one of the chief designers of silver for the Georg Jensen Company. Household wares and luxury items by Bernadotte are in the decorative arts collections of museums worldwide.

The FACIT TP1 is a classic example of Bernadotte’s uncluttered and modern style. Vertical anterior lines are simultaneously flat and curvaceous. They transition between assertive, unbroken planes which suggest, in miniature, a monumentality reminiscent of Brutalist architecture.

Facit (later Facit-Odhner) a company known for its precision engineering, hired Bernadotte to make office machines more appealing and ergonomic. The TP1 is now celebrated as a mid-century-modern design icon.