”The rhythm and proportions are all but traditional”, Peter continues. ”It takes time for the eye to take in and understand.”

Nothing in this piece of furniture has been left to chance. It was designed for the anthroposophical Solbergahemmet in Järna, where Vidar Malmsten was in charge of the interiors in 1968.

Peter believes the design and construction to be rebellious, which in his interpretation mean it must not be plain.

He explains that both seat and back must have character and for these he chose pine with vivid markings from his native area in Västra Götaland. Legs and apron, on the other hand, should have a calmer expression in his opinion, and the pine for these parts comes from the Vimmerby area. This creates a deliberate contrast in the piece of furniture.

Vidar Malmstens’ chair ‘Lärka’

Carpenter Peter Hellqvist

Part of the rebellious expression is found in the way the legs meet the floor in an almost animalistic way. And there is a joint in the apron at the front part of the seat which Peter describes as ”insanely difficult”.

Experimenting with the grain of the wood is natural for a cabinetmaker, and Peter has ensured to reverse the grain on the front legs so that the viewer experiences symmetry.

The four chairs he has so carefully created are like siblings, similar in grain and colour, but still with tiny individual differences in expression.

”If a client orders four chairs for their dining table, they should match, co-exist and not quarrel.”

Peter Hellqvist trained as a cabinetmaker at Capellagården and then studied furniture restoration at the Malmsten School under the legendary ornamental woodworker Bengt Sylvén. In the 1980s, Peter worked at the Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology, where he made models from Christopher Polhem’s mechanical alphabet, and for some years he was a prototype carpenter under his master Åke Axelsson. Then, Peter lived for five years in Japan, where he also worked with furniture, both in the workshop and as a teacher.

Today he has a well-established workshop in Alingsås, where he works on commissions and with private clients. Retirement life is not something that awaits: ”For as long as I find enjoyment in the material, and my fingers itch, I want to carry on.”

Text: Dan Gordan
Translation: Maria Morris

Inlägget Lärka dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

– I browsed through all the books with Carl Malmsten furniture. But in the end, I became captivated by a photo that I found in an old folder at school. It turned out not to be a piece by Carl Malmsten, but by his son Vidar Malmsten.

There was something about Masur that appealed to him.

Joakim Lindman’s journeyman test, the secretary Masur.

– It was both about the design and the level of difficulty. An exam piece should be ambitious and challenging, but I could not have imagined that Masur would be that hard to make.

The photo was from 1947, which is presumably the year in which the secretaire was first made. In the Carl Malmsten Archives, the design does not turn up until 1953/54 when it was listed as  a  ”stock item”. This meant that although no one had bought it so far, it was available to order.

In 1957 the piece returns in the archives, but without veneering. The client this time was the architect Torsten Westman, subsequently one of the brains behind the Stockholm city transformation. The name had then been changed to ”Sverker”.

When Joakim found the piece of furniture for his project, he didn’t know who Vidar Malmsten was, but now thinks you can see how father and son differ in their designs.

– Carl’s pieces are more restrained, while Vidar’s are playful and adventurous.

Joakim Lindman in the workshop.

Joakim worked on the secretaire all spring, finally totalling up 400 hours of close combat in the workshop. Masur is made from flame birch and completely parqueted with vivid masur birch, where large amounts of small pieces of veneer make up a large, striking pattern. The parquetry is fully symmetric on all sides, with pieces that match all the way around.

The desk lid is parqueted with a continuing pattern even on the inside. And just like the secretaires we know, developed in France in the 1730s, this piece offers both a writing surface and storage. Masur has no less than eleven drawers, as well as the aforementioned secret compartment.

The secretary Masur, with flap and drawers.

The exact placement of the pieces of veneer is marked on the drawing, but the appearance and direction of the thin wooden sections are up to Joakim to decide, something he appreciated. And on his own drawing of the piece, which is part of all exam work, he has left the same opportunity of a personal finish.

The many hours at the bench also gave the very best possible result. The examining committee awarded the journeyman’s piece 5.0 and a large silver medal, the highest grade a piece of furniture can receive.

This summer, the Masur secretaire has been shown in an exhibition on Vidar Malmsten at Kulturgatan in Bodafors, and is now for sale. Wanted: an interested buyer with a genuine feeling for quality and a fat wallet.

Text: Dan Gordan

Further reading:
Kulturgatan Bodafors
Malmstens Linköpings University
More pictures on Joakim Lindmans Instagram

Inlägget Jackpot for Joakim and Masur dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

In Vidar’s design world, the creative hand, the handicraft touch,  was always present, and he had for the time a strong commitment to environmental thinking, biodynamic cultivation, and local heritage preservation.

Colorful rocking horse by Vidar Malmsten.

At home, Vidar liked to work with wood, making small animals and toys for the children. A romatic vein, a playfulness, and a longing for freedom beyond all trends can also be traced in his interior designs.

The artist Liselotte Malmsten (1922–2021), Vidar’s wife and co-worker, is also represented in the exhibition, which has been produced in collaboration with the Siv & Carl Malmsten Memorial Foundations Minne.

Most of the furniture and objects in the exhibition are on loan from Vidar and Liselotte’s home in Bergshamra, near Brunnsviken. But you can also see the chair Kaj, which is produced by Tre Sekel, and the rustic pine chair Lärka, which is being produced in connection with the exhibition, initially made to order by cabinet-maker Peter Hellqvist.

Weave designed by Liselotte Malmsten.

The Kaj chair, designed by Vidar Malmsten in 1959.

A highlight of the exhibition is the bureau Masur, designed by Vidar Malmsten in the early 1950s, and during spring 2022 crafted as a qualifying piece by Joakim Lindman Hirt at Malmsten’s school on Lidingö.

”’Kulturgatan’ is a back street and at the same time one of the most interesting areas of Bodafors”. This is how the two local enthusiasts Mikael Löfström and Leif Burman describe Magasinsgatan in Bodafors.

In the past few years, it has been transformed into a summer destination offering genuine furniture history, exclusive wood craft, exhibitions of contemporary furniture art, a unique intarsia workshop, as well as a café, with soup and freshly baked bread. Read more on kulturgatan.se.

Text: Dan Gordan

Inlägget Vidar Malmsten exhibition dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

“Collecting the plants is perhaps the funnest part”, says Vanja when I visit her in her workshop.

The Birgitta lampshades were created in the 1950s by Birgitta Sorbon Malmsten, Carl Malmsten’s daughter-in-law, and have since then been made by hand by different members of the family. When Birgitta died in 1973, just before her granddaughter Vanja was born, her husband Egil Malmsten took over. Egil continued making the lampshades in his basement in Bergshamra outside Stockholm. And he tried early on to involve his granddaughter Vanja in the production.

Ceiling Pendulum Skirt.

Vanja Sorbon Malmsten in her workshop.

“When my sister and I were small, we could earn some money by going out to pick beautiful grasses. Grandpa explained what he wanted, and he gave us 10 öre (1 pence) for each hairy wood-rush, which was a favourite. As a teenager, I helped him weld the lamp frames, but as a young adult I wanted to do something else. I travelled, went to art schools and had a family,” Vanja says.

But Egil asked her again and in 2008, she was ready to take over. To start with, Vanja and her grandfather worked together. She learned to use the machinery, the technique, and all the steps.

The first is to cut the wires, bend them, and weld them into frames. They are then laquered white by a company nearby.

The thin pergamyn paper, which she buys in large sheets from Germany, resemble greaseproof paper. Vanja measures and cuts suitable sizes for the frames. When we visit, she is laying out pointed ovals for the round lampshades on the table and applying glue on them.

There are four layers of paper with glue in between, and the plants are placed between the two last layers.

“I follow my instinct and measure by eye; there are no templates. I select the plants that I think are beautiful and keep trying until I am satisfied”, she explains.

Vanja places the plants on what will be lampshades.

The sticky ovals are then glued to the frame, where they are left to dry under supervision. The paper becomes smooth, nature shows itself, and soon the finished lamp will shine for us.
Most of the models are the same ones that her grandparents introduced, but Vanja has also made some designs of her own. Like Ovalen and Matilda, named after her daughter.

It takes between one and a half and two hours to make a lampshade, depending on size. Vanja doesn’t know exactly how many lampshades she produces in one year, but definitely several hundreds. And the orders are increasing. Not least since the Malmsten shop started selling online. For the shop on Humlegårdsgatan in Stockholm, the Birgitta lamp shades are by far the best-selling product.

“At the moment, I am incredibly busy”, says Vanja and looks quite pleased when she shows pinned up notes with all the orders.

Text: Dan Gordan

Table Lamp Mandarin.

Inlägget The Birgitta lampshades dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

“Our new initiative in educational activities for children and young people is completely in line with Carl Malmsten’s intentions,” explains Bodil Anjar, principal of Capellagården.

In autumn 2021, 200 children from year 5 (aged 11-12) participated and the intiative was well received by schools. During their day, the children hear about the World Heritage Site of the Agricultural Landscape of Southern Öland, they learn about the old farms and the layout of villages, and when they walk with a guide along the village street in Vickleby, the farm that Carl Malmsten bought and named Capella, awaits.

“Here, the children will try working with clay and woodcarving, and experience the amazing interaction between hand and mind,” Bodil Anjar says.

Among other things, children can try turning and working in clay.

Next summer, a two-day course is planned where parents and children can try woodworking and pottery together. So far, activities are held outdoors or, in bad weather, in the greenhouse or exhibition hall. But the aim is for a new building to be constructed in the southern part of the school, designed by the architect Olle Dahlkild and financed by an anonymous donor.

“The first plans were for a space that was more of a shelter from the weather without walls. But Ladan (the barn), as it is called, has over time grown into a real building with rooms for other activities, courses for textile dyeing, cultivation, etc.”, says Olle Dahlkild.

Concept sketch of the new building.

As the name implies, inspiration comes from the traditional barn, but instead of limestone it will be built in wood with untreated panelling, simple felt roofing and if possible with solar panels. Inside there will be exposed rafters and skylights to let the light in from the north.

“We will use simple materials but of good quality and treat them with care”, Olle Dahlkild sums up his and the school’s ambitions.

An open gate and double doors opening out towards the street conforms with Öland’s building tradition, while sliding doors onto a lawn links the inside with the outside. Here, the children can sit and carve, weather permitting.

The plan is to start building in 2022 with activites moving in the following year.

Text: Dan Gordan

Inlägget Capella children’s activities dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

The one year programme is based on Carl Malmsten’s teaching method “learning by doing”. The timetable includes courses in architecture and settlement history, as well as timber construction, roofing, bricklaying and painting; all alternating with real-life projects. During the autumn, the students have laid a turf roof, mended a timber wall, and restored windows and a rotten gable end.

The turf is taken up.

Student lays a turf roof.

“At the moment, they are working in one of the19th century buildings here at Capella, putting up new suspended paper ceilings, wallpapering, and painting with egg tempera and linseed oil paint.

And in Sörgården, one of the older houses at Capella which in the early 1960s was furnished as a student residence by Carl Malmsten’s son Vidar Malmsten, one of the rooms will be refurbished according to his designs.

“Sörgården”. Photo: Finn Eskelin Milton, Anna-Josefin Segerström

“Mellangården”. Photo: Andreas Kihlberg, Gunnar Dahlström

Carl Malmsten wanted to start a course in building conservation at Capella already back in 1964. The school was only a couple of years old and the different buildings were gradually renovated together with the students. But Carl Malmsten and his colleagues were also horrified over how many houses were destroyed and disfigured around Öland.

At this time, old boathouses were demolished, thatched roofs were replaced by corrugated iron, and eternit tiles were nailed on wooden facades.

Carl Malmsten saw the importance of  protecting and conserving heritage buildings, and two building teams with six pupils in each were formed. During five weeks in summer they worked with various renovation projects on the island.

“There was no continuation, no programme, but their commitment is something we now take into account”, says Bodil Anjar.

Formally, today’s students of building conservation are registered at Öland Folk High School, which finances the course. But the tuition takes place at Capella and Himmelsberga, with Victoria Brännström as responsible teacher.

In the spring, the first group of students are doing work experience at various building conservators. They can then choose orientation with view to their continued profession.

“There is a vast need for building conservators. People today think more about preserving and restoring, and a generation shift is taking place. So our programme will definitely carry on!”, Bodil Anjar concludes.

Text: Dan Gordan

Read more at capellagarden.se

Inlägget Capella building maintenance dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

Niklas Wollheim is a scenographer and has for many years been engaged by Swedish Television to design sofas for morning shows and compose interiors for election night coverage, etc. For the Nobel Foundation, he has now put together the interior for the prize ceremony, which this year is held in the Blue Hall where the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra plays and members of the different academies present the prize winners and explain their motivations. 

And for Swedish Television he has created the more intimate environment where the interviews take place. As in previous years, the presenters include Cecilia Gralde, Jessika Gedin, Victoria Dyring and Pernilla Månsson Colt. When the interviews are over and dinner is served, the talks are subtitled and broadcast during the evening. The same day, interviews are carried out with the Nobel Prize laureates at Swedish embassies and consulates in their home countries, and these are also broadcast in the evening.

In 2019,a blue and white striped Samsas was used together with a dark grey Samsas armchair.

“I thought Samsas was very suitable when we set out five or six years ago”, says Niklas Wollheim. “Carl Malmsten has designed many pieces of furniture in the City Hall. Some years we use a sofa and an armchair. This year there will be two sofas, one white and one pink.”

This year’s stage set for broadcasting on Swedish Television.

Both the pink two-seater Samsas and the white Runda Samsas are made by O.H. Sjögren.

The family business O.H. Sjögren in Tranås has been producing Samsas for more than 60 years. The model is based on the armchair that Carl Malmsten designed for the first row at Stockholm Concert Hall in 1923. The armchair was simplified and produced for a few years and later re-emerged in 1960 as Samsas. This time further simplified and improved.

The approach is typical for Malmsten: Lovingly, he reworked his favourites. As interior designer Lena Larsson, herself a pupil of  Malmsten, wrote: ”In fact, CM was designing the same furniture throughout his life. Especially upholstered seating. It was refined, simplified, worked in different types of wood, with different finishes. But it stood firmly on its legs: a timeless Malmsten. He believed in the principle of slow ripening.”

Text: Dan Gordan

Inlägget Samsas in Stockholm City Hall dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

The ultimate spindle-back chair was born during a woodcrafting course that Carl Malmsten held with his pupils on Åland in 1939. In the old church in Finström he found a hand-carved spindle-back chair where  “the curved verve of the seat and the caressing, backside-friendly recess” took him by storm. His assistant Sven Erik Fryklund took measurements and the final product was developed back at the factory. Three years later, production of Lilla Åland became a reality.

”This year, we are talking about almost 25,000 chairs, including the armchair and infant chair. And the growth rate is strong”, Martin Johansson explains.

The majority of people who buy the chair, which celebrates its 80th anniversary next year, are private individuals. But public spaces are also often furnished with Lilla Åland. Through Yllw interior services, Stolab has delivered almost 400 chairs for the 177 apartments in the newly opened Biz Apartment hotel in Bromma.

Lilla Åland is even more visible at the re-opened restaurant Blå Porten at Liljevalchs. As the art gallery on Djurgården was being renovated and extended,  the City of Stockholm took the opportunity to restore the adjacent restaurant/cafe, just as historical as Liljevalchs – both opened in the summer of 1916. During the restoration, the ceiling was cleaned to reveal original paintings. The walls  glow in Pompeian red, a colour which became popular in the 1920s and recurs in the facades of the art gallery.

The restaurant is furnished with Carl Malmsten classics. Around 200 Lilla Åland chairs are in place. Some are painted in Stolab’s midnight blue colour, but most are in a custom-made warm grey colour, created by the interior designer in charge, Richard Lindvall in collaboration with conservators.

“Up until now, I have worked mostly with minimalist style interiors, with a hard design language featuring a lot of metal and concrete. So Blå Porten was something completely new for me. It was important to meet the guest’s expectations of such classic surroundings, which is why I chose to use Swedish furniture only”.

“We have already received a lot of praise and people feel welcome”, says Richard Lindvall. And the quality of the furniture has to be the best, to accommodate around 2,000 guests per day.

In addition to the spindle-back chairs, Richard Lindvall selected three tables from Tre Sekel, among them a few Visingsö by Carl Malmsten. The Italian style garden contains furniture from Byarums Bruk and Guteform.

Thus, Blå Porten, with the aid of Carl Malmsten, has regained its position as a destination and oasis for all those strolling around Djurgården even in our time.

Text: Dan Gordan

Inlägget Blå porten dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

‘Best location’ means that it is a busy and popular street. New shops and restaurants pop up and there is a continuous flow of people moving between City and Östermalm, compared to the old address, where people mostly walked past on Sundays on their way to Djurgården.

At the new shop on Humlegårdsgatan, people like to stop and look in the large windows. Inside, customers sit on the sofas pondering over which fabric to choose. People browse and Jessika and her colleagues are always told how nice it looks.

”And we also meet a new clientele”, Jessika explains. Young people who discover something new or buy a complete dining suite.”

The layout of the more than 200 m2 floor area offers easy access and good spatial design, with  light coming in from two directions. In addition, there is a small basement for the textiles and stockroom and offices for Jessika and her two colleagues, Katarina Eriksson and Fanny Hellström.

”The furniture is much more visible now, which is great”, Jessika says.

“The shop contains all the pieces that Carl Malmsten designed and which are in production today. And we are the only shop in Sweden that has everything on display”, she adds.

Such as the well-known sofas – Berlin, Samsas, etc. – in modern plain fabric, dining groups Vardags and Herrgården, elegant Wetter tables and the inviting armchairs Häggbom in modern tartan and Farmor in Morris cretonne, signalling Swedish cultural history in contemporary design.

In the window is the beautiful display cabinet Jönköping and on the shelf are the sweet Putte stools, two new pieces from the new Archive Collection.

But the best-seller is attributed to a Malmsten relative. The lamp shades with pressed plants are small classics in Swedish interior design. They were first made in the 1950s by Birgitta Malmsten, Carl Malmsten’s daughter-in-law, and have since then been made by hand by various family members. Birgitta’s husband, Egil Malmsten, was responsible for the production until his grand-daughter Vanja Sorbon Malmsten took over some ten years ago. Today, the lamps are available in several models, many of which have been developed by Vanja in collaboration with the designer Eva Schildt.

”With on-line shopping, they now fly across the world. At the moment, we have orders for several large projects in the USA and Singapore”, says Jessika.

The shop also sells modern Swedish furniture from a few other companies, as well as attractive accessories and interior design items.  In addition, Jessika plans to house temporary exhibitions.

As mentioned, it is now 80 years since Malmstensbutiken opened on Strandvägen with his architect office a few floors above. But already ten years earlier, at the time of the Stockholm Exhibition in 1930, Carl Malmsten opened his second workshop, which was also designed as a school: Olofskolan. The educational workshop was located at Humlegårdsgatan, only two doors away from the new shop.

”I like the coincidence”, says Jessika. “It’s as if we’ve returned to our origins.”

Jessica stepped in as CEO in 2015, in connection with the Kjell and Märta Beijer Foundation taking over the operation from Jerk Malmsten. The premises were redesigned and the foundation pledged long-term ownership. But that didn’t happen. The pandemic changed the course of events and Jessika had the opportunity to take over.

”Yes, it was a tough start”, says Jessika. Every day, every minute. ”We are a small shop and there is a lot of work. But we’ve made it – the move, the pandemic and now we’re back in business!

Text: Dan Gordan

Inlägget Malmstenbutiken in new premises dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

“It’s really fun”, says Natalia on the phone from the village Fiskars in Finland where she works as a cabinet maker at Nikari. I’m especially happy that the buyer owns an art gallery in Berlin, and I hope my work will be part of his collection and eventually be shown to the public.

Natalia’s journeyman’s masterpiece, which was shown last summer at the exhibition Wood Art in Bodafors, consists of a small console table and corresponding wall cabinet. The latter with blackbird marquetry, a graphically lively picture based on a painting by her sister, artist Izabela Kita.

Blackbirds’ Concert is the name of the journeyman’s piece and some have guessed that inspiration came from a well-known Beatles song.

“That’s a good story but not at all true”, Natalia laughs. “The painting was the origin linked to a desire to, from a distance, create something together with my sister who has always been my inspiration. We both love the blackbird motif, which has associations to our childhood home. The idea I had with the table was that it should accommodate a new vinyl player. There is space in the drawer for a few LPs and when you open the door of the cabinet, you can display the cool record sleeve.”

A personal pair of furniture pieces paying homage to craftsmanship, music, art and nature. And which will hopefully soon be on display in a setting of contemporary art in Berlin. For her journeyman’s masterwork, Natalia received a scholarship from the Siv and Carl Malmsten Memorial Foundation.

I ask if she found it difficult to part with the furniture?

”I may miss it in a few years’ time, but at the moment I’m just glad that my work is appreciated by someone else. It’s also furniture that needs space to fulfil its practical and aesthetic function, and I move often between small apartments.”

For her thesis at Malmstens, Natalia investigated the opacity of different types of wood, and whether it is possible to attach marquetry to soft materials such as paper or textile.

Her exam piece ”Traditional craft in a new light – A study of illuminated marquetry” also includes two lamps. Natalia was able to pursue her fascination and interest in illuminated marquetry during last summer’s stay in Bodafors. For a month, she was responsible for the Lehmann workshop where she received visitors and talked about the art of cutting marquetry while at the same time developing her own project.

Natalia Kita was born and grew up in southern Poland. She studied to become a landscape architect, but soon discovered that the job entailed a lot of time in front of the computer and that she would rather do something more practical where her hands could feel and shape the material. And why not wood? Her journey to Sweden and cabinet making started at Tibro Crafts Academy in 2017. After that she studied at Malmstens for three years and now, a year or more at Nikari.

”At the moment, I’m advancing my knowledge in cabinetwork here but in the future, I want to move towards artisanry and marquetry. My dream is to have my own workshop where I can make unique pieces and other items in wood as well as carry on experimenting with veneer and marquetry.

Text: Dan Gordan

Inlägget Natalia Kita dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

”It has such a fine construction”, says cabinet maker Martin Altwegg. The glass is fixed in a groove, without any nails or screws. The doors on the sides give a solid glass display front. The leg stand is held together with pegs, which means the cabinet can be assembled without fixings.

In addition to the first prototype, two cabinets have been ordered. One has recently been delivered and the other is in the finishing stages. They are made by Martin in his workshop in Sandemar old school, where he and the family live. It takes him at least 50 hours to make a cabinet. So far, they have been made in birch, but he is considering using other types of wood.

Developing prototypes for Carl Malmsten and ensuring that the furniture made by the different licensed manufacturers maintain high quality requires solid knowledge both in the craft of cabinet making and industrial production technology. And a good eye for design.

Martin Altwegg is cut out for the job.

In spring 2001, Martin together with his classmates became the first ever students to gain an academic degree in furniture making in Sweden (and perhaps in the world). This, since Malmstensskolan became a part of Linköping University and the course changed from two to three years. When Martin, who was born in Switzerland, had finished his journeyman’s masterpiece he returned to Zürich for four years study in industrial design.

Martin Altwegg

Today, Martin lives in the old school together with Lilian de Souza and their three children, and has been teaching at Malmstens Linköping University for ten years. He also runs his own joinery with Malmsten, Svenskt tenn and Källemo as clients. In addition, Martin and Lilian have their own brand Ateljé Sandemar, with a first collection produced in collaboration with designer David Ericsson.

”When working with Malmsten furniture, I naturally start with the original drawing. But I also have to investigate the possibilities of adapting it to modern production methods to ensure that manufacturing at the selected furniture companies is efficient”, he says.

This thus becomes quality control as well as an aid for the manufacturers. A joint process. And all changes are carefully documented.

”All pieces of furniture should breathe quality, that is the be-all and end-all”, says Martin. I want to see a distinct form and good surface finish. The material must be of high quality and carefully chosen.”

“This may sound obvious, but is not as easy when talking about joinery largely linked to industrial production”, he explains.

”The end result is to produce furniture of very high quality. And that Malmsten furniture from different manufacturers should blend, speak the same language, when they stand together in a home”.

The crafting of the exclusive Jönköping cabinet has been left entirely to Martin by the Siv and Carl Malmsten Foundation.

Dan Gordan

Inlägget Jönköping dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

The stools are unassuming, almost ascetic, and fitted in perfectly with Dag Hammarsköld’s intentions for the room. He was deeply engaged in the design of the room, and his interest in art and interior design was well-known.

The room was finished in 1961, just a few months before the aeroplane which he had boarded crashed in the jungle in what is now Zambia.

After 60 years of wear and tear, the low meditation stools are due to be replaced this summer. Twelve new stools in oak are being made at Tre Sekel in Tibro, with seats of braided seagrass made by furniture restorer Maria Zachs, who has a company in the same locality. Braiding is a traditional craft, requiring both skills and strength. The envelope braid for the meditation stool takes half a day and uses around 150 metres of string. The old stools are also going to be renovated at Tre Sekel.

– The idea is that the new stools will be in place in time for the ceremony at the annual opening of the General Assembly in September, says Henrik Hammargren, executive director of the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation. This year, it is also 60 years since Dag Hammarskjöld lost his life, and the ceremony always starts with the secretary-general spending  a moment in solitude in the meditation room.

Since 2017, the secretary-general is António Guterres.

The stools are also available for purchase. In 2013, in connection with the 125th anniversary of Carl Malmsten’s birth, 125 numbered copies were made.

– And they are nearly sold out, says Elisabeth Ahlgren at Tre Sekel furniture producers. We are planning to make more numbered copies, oiled or soaped with a seat of braided seagrass. Exactly according to Carl Malmsten’s blueprint.

This summer’s exhibition at Backåkra, the farm on Österlen where Dag Hammarskjöld intended to move after ending his time as secretary-general of the United Nations, is a testimony to his great interest in art, interior décor and design.

In The Slight Bending of the Line, high-quality textiles, exquisite works of art, well-made furniture and high-quality crafts will be on display.

– The UN building today, bears the stamp of Dag Hammarskjöld’s modern style, explains Kristina Erlandsson, curator at Backåkra. His apartment in New York was furnished with the aid of leading Scandinavian designers. He wanted it to be representative and functional, and at the same time a harmonious place for recovery and reflection.

Foto: Åke E:son Lindman

When the apartment was emptied after his death in 1961, much of the household furnishings were brought to Backåkra. Among others, several pieces of furniture by Carl Malmsten – including the three meditation stools Dag Hammarskjöld had ordered for himself for his private duplex apartment on 73^rd Street.

Text: Dan Gordan

Inlägget A stool for meditation dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

– There are around 20,000 drawings in the archive, says Hanna. Some 12,000 are  in the scale 1:10 and the other 8,000 are in full format, scale 1:1. But we also know that quite a few drawings are missing, especially from the early years. In the carefully kept ledgers, all drawings are numbered, and that’s how we know which are missing.

The ledgers also include information about model names and customers. For example,  you can read that the charming armchair Redet was designed in 1936 for the professor N. Antoni. He wanted an armchair for his wife, who liked swinging her legs over one of the armrests. Hence the peculiar design with armrest to one side and the back more to the other. On the original drawing, the armchair is called  Rena Snurren (Delirious). It was then shown in flowery cretonne at the Carl Malmsten spring exhibition in the shop in 1937, and later the same year at the World Exposition in Paris.

Caryngo

And about the small 1950s armchair Caryngo, which was relaunched in 2018, we read on the drawing that ”Assembly of the stretcher and apron boards and their attachment to the frame and back legs will be dictated by Yngve Ekström, who will also be asked to oversee the details.” The model was the result of a collaborative effort by Carl Malmsten and Yngve Ekström, two of the greatest names within Swedish furniture design in the 1950s.

Then, as now, it is Yngve Ekström’ company Swedese which manufactures Caryngo – with the name inspired by the two designers’ Christian names.

Hanna Berndalen leads visitors to information such as this with a light and friendly hand, with or without white gloves. The archive is open every Friday. Visits can be made by appointment, and you can, of course, also phone or email.

When Hanna isn’t at the Carl Malmsten Archive in Dieselverkstaden in Nacka, she works as curator and business developer at the National Swedish Museums of Military History – SFHM.

– But I always keep an eye on Malmsten, since I have been secretary of the Siv & Carl Malmsten Memorial Foundation for many years.

Find more information about the archive here

Inlägget Meet Hanna in the archive dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

Lilla furuhyllan is a joint project involving Mylhta, Carl Malmstens AB and Swedish Wood. The idea behind the collaboration was to make Carl Malmsten’s design more widely available, share knowledge about Swedish joinery and furniture making, as well as draw attention to the high quality of Swedish pine. The result, Lilla furuhyllan, is a neat shelf just as suitable for kitchen spices as for your favourite books.

”We want the products to be contemporary while retaining their original design. We also want to show the sustainability aspect of Carl Malmsten’s work, which we believe is a real corner stone. In this case, it’s mainly the wood as raw material and domestic production which are highlighted”, say Nicola Nerström and Olle Dahlkild at Carl Malmsten AB.

Anna Kraitz

The original design of the shape is the same, as is the material. The shelf is made from country of origin labelled Swedish pine of the highest quality from Sefres sawmill in Järbo. Via a digital tool, it is possible to see exactly where the trees that the shelf is made of stood, and which owner manages the forest. Sweden has a sustainable forest industry, which yields long-lasting, high-quality products.

”The fact that Mylhta has chosen to stick with pine feels just right and trendy. We hope this product will receive the attention it deserves, both in Sweden and internationally. I would also like to see more producers following on and starting to make quality furniture from Swedish pine. The end result is a piece of beautiful Swedish furniture history”, says Björn Nordin.

Matti Klenell

When Mylhta had made the first copy, Lisa Hilland wondered if something more could be made from this.

”When I stood there with the first shelf in my arms, I felt that I was actually carrying a Swedish cultural treasure. Who will take over the baton now? Who will design tomorrow’s cultural heritage? I contacted some of Sweden’s best-known designers of today and asked if they would set their mark on Lilla Furuhyllan”, says Lisa Hilland.

Lisa Hilland

The response was enthusiastic and resulted in a further two interpretations by Anna Kraitz and Matti Klenell. All three versions of Lilla Furuhyllan have been approved by Carl Malmsten AB and will be going up for auction via Stockholm Auktionsverk during Stockholm Design Week.

The shelf will continue to be part of Mylhta’s range and will also be sold at  Malmstensbutiken in Stockholm.

svenskttra.se
myltha.com

CONTACT

Lisa Hilland
mail@lisahilland.com
0734340010

Inlägget Mylhta launches Lilla furuhyllan, design Carl Malmsten dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

In her documentation, Ylva Hansen tells the story: 
When the Germans occupied Norway in 1940, Hjalmar Wergeland was a young, newly qualified doctor. He was one of Norway’s foremost gymnasts and had taken part in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. He was also a good ski jumper and his choice of career and fitness were to become important factors in his efforts within the Norwegian resistance movement.
Both Hjalmar and Helga Wergeland were active resistance fighters, and the book A Stand Against Tyranny, where Hjalmar Wergeland is among the interviewed, describes the risky work of helping needy countrymen with food and money. Sometimes, large sums of money had to be smuggled over long distances to reach distressed Norwegians.

On such an occasion, Helga was travelling by train with a suitcase containing half a million Norwegian kronor. She struggled to get the heavy suitcase on board the train and finally asked a Nazi officer for help, who kindly gave her a hand. In the early stages of the occupation, the Nazis wanted to gain the trust of the Norwegians.

Hjalmar was responsible for the resistance dispatch office in Telemark, but the Nazis became suspicious, and when Gestapo tracked him down in November 1943, he hid in the wilderness for two weeks before he followed many of his countrymen and fled over the border to Sweden.
Helga followed on, and the couple were able to continue their resistance from Sweden. Hjalmar, together with two Norwegian colleagues, organised medical staff who had been forced to flee and administered health camps for Norwegian refugees and soldiers.
At the same time, the Wergelands’ were setting up their new home in Stockholm, and it was now that they contacted Carl Malmsten. Two years previously, Malmsten had designed the sofa ”Umeå” and with some minor alterations to the design Hjalmar and Helga order the sofa , which Malmsten then called ”Wergeland”.

A few months after the sofa had been delivered, Hjalmar wrote to ”Mr. Professor Malmsten”: ”My wife and I would in this way like to thank you for the beautiful sofa you have made for us. We find it utterly lovely, it pleases our eyes daily and is comfortable to sit in.” In the letter, Hjalmar told how much their friends like the furniture: ”All our friends are very envious, they have never seen a lovelier sofa and never sat in a more comfortable one … We will need expert help with the interior design of our home even in the future.” But Hjalmar also described the difficulties in taking pleasure of beautiful things while the war was ongoing in their home country: ”Although we are enjoying a good standard of living, our thoughts go to those on the other side of the Kjölen mountains, and the conditions in Norway are such that our welfare is almost a burden.”…”Despite everything, our time in Sweden has been rich in experiences”…”And it is great to be able to take with us a reminder of this time, especially when it is an object which brings such a sense of beauty to the eye and of wellbeing to the body.”
A few days later, Carl Malmsten replied: ”It was so nice to learn that the sofa graces your home and that you have pleasure from it. May you soon be able to return and start the rebuilding of the new Norway. It must be difficult being here and waiting, not knowing when the roads across Kjölen will reopen… I am so grateful that you want me to help with the further design of your home…”

After the war, Hjalmar and Helga Wergeland returned to Norway where Hjalmar’s first task was to care for emaciated Russian prisoners of war in the northern part of the country. Later he worked as a consultant at the paediatric department at Rikshospitalet in Oslo. Helga studied psychology and worked as a volounteer at the same department.

Ylva Hansen. Photo: Fredrik Hällström

Ylva Hansen concludes her documentation: 
It’s moving to read Hjalmar Wergeland’s letter where he expresses his gratitude to Malmsten but also shares his feelings. The reply from Carl Malmsten seems so personal and filled with compassion. This is nice and I’m glad that I have been able to be involved in this story and also to spread it further. A special thanks to Hanna Berndalen at the Carl Malmsten archive for all help; without her this story would never have been recorded!

Inlägget Wergeland dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

Photo: Luca Lomazzi

The warm and welcoming interior in the Carl Malmsten Room was designed by Anna Kraitz. The colour scheme is mild with the wallpaper Campagna, designed in the 1930s and now in production again, as a calm background to the comfortable armchairs Hemmakväll, the Släden nest of tables and the practical trestle table and the elegant armchair Widemar. The classic floor lamp Staken and a ”Birgitta” lampshade in the ceiling illuminate the room. At the opening, Madeleine Sjöstedt, director-general for the Institut suédois, pointed out that Swedish design has an impressive international reputation.
”The Swedish Institute in Paris has yet again demonstrated that we are a unique shop window for Sweden, in one of the world’s most cultural cities”, she said.

Photo: Luca Lomazzi

The guest apartments will continue to be available to the public every September, and during the time of the exhibition – at least five years – you can visit any of the vacant apartments. Every year, around a hundred Swedish researchers, cultural workers and artists use the apartments.

Inlägget The Carl Malmsten Room dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

Ewa Kumlin, director of the Institut suédois, Paris. Photo: Johanna Henriksson

The Swedish Institute in Paris opened in 1971 and constitutes a little bit of Sweden in the heart of the trendy Marais district. The Institute resides in a 16th century mansion and is the only Swedish cultural centre of its kind, attracting some 100,000 visitors every year, mostly Parisians. This makes it one of the most popular foreign cultural institutions in the French capital, offering art, design and photographic exhibitions, cinema, concerts, seminars, a permanent art exhibition, café and much more. In this way, the cultural centre is a showcase for Swedish culture and at the same time an important venue for Franco-Swedish relationship building.

2017 saw the renovation of the Institute’s public areas, the Swedish café and the inner courtyard. Now, attention is turned to the six studio flats, which every year accommodate around one hundred cultural workers and researchers.
“We want all parts of the Institute to be permeated by good Swedish design and lifestyle, from the water glass to the décor”, says the director of the Institut suédois, Ewa Kumlin. She initiated the project and was for many years the MD for Svensk Form.

Anna Kraitz. Photo: Tina Axelsson

If Paris – the city, buildings, including Institut suédois – breathes culture, the Swedish interior and furniture designer Anna Kraitz hopes that the room with Carl Malmsten furniture will express both historical and contemporary culture.
“It is intended to be a soft, welcoming and human environment to work in”, she says. “A room for writing and doing research, where the interior scenography takes second place to function and tranquility.”

She furnishes the room with the comfortable armchairs Hemmakväll, which Carl Malmsten designed in the 1950s, the three neat occasional tables that form the nest Släden, the practical trestle table and the elegant armchair Widemar, with crossed back slats and the armrest in a long undulating line. The trestle table and Widemar are part of the new Archive Collection which was presented at the Stockholm Furniture Fair.

Also the charming floor lamp Staken, the chairs in the kitchen ­– two Kaj chairs with braided seats – and the wallpaper Campagna from the 1930s bear a Malmsten label.

The pressed flower lampshades are designed by Carl Malmsten’s daughter-in-law Birgitta Malmsten and are now produced by his granddaughter Vanja Sorbon Malmsten. The ceramic items to be placed in the room are made by students at Capellagården. In addition to furnishings by Carl Malmsten AB, other guest apartments will be furnished by Svenskt Tenn, Gärsnäs, Dux, TEA Arkitekter and Beckmans College of Design. The French press will be invited for a preview in mid-June, and the opening will take place on 7 September.

The fact the Sweden is in the possession of a unique 16th century mansion in Paris, is thanks to the then contemporary politician, diplomat and art collector Carl Gustaf Tessin. He played a central role as an intermediary in Franco-Swedish cultural contacts, and in 1933, a Tessin Institute was founded on the initiative of the art historian and then Counsellor for Cultural Affairs Gunnar W. Lundberg at the Swedish Embassy in Paris. In the early 1960s, he was looking for new premises for his activities and convinced the Swedish government to purchase the beautiful renaissance mansion Hôtel de Marle in the Marais district. The collections would now have a proper setting, and when the Swedish Institute moved into the building in 1971, Lundberg donated the art collection to the Swedish state.

Inlägget Carl Malmsten at the Institut suédois in Paris dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

Ingrid Gärde was born on 24 March 1912 in Jönköping, Småland. However, she got a taste of city life already as a young girl, when her father became a Justice of the Supreme Court and Minister for Justice in Sweden in the 1920s and 30s. She herself went on to study Law in Stockholm and was active both politically and academically.

In 1936, Ingrid got her Law degree from Stockholm University and immediately started serving as a law clerk at the Stockholm Town Hall Court. After that, she held several positions before starting as a junior judge at the Svea Court of Appeal in 1940. It was for this job that she felt the need for a suitable chair and contacted Carl Malmsten to realise her plans.

Ingrid Gärde-Widemar from the series “Famous Swedes”, 1971, Moderna Museet. Portrayed by Benno Movin-Hermes. Photo reproduction by Albin Dahlström

Ingrid continued her brilliant career both within politics and law, and in 1968 she became the first woman to be appointed Justice of the Supreme Court of Sweden. She pursued powerful issues, for example the abolishment of joint taxation and the right of women to keep their own surname after marriage and, not least, she carried out an investigation as to why it was so difficult for women to gain employment within the government. The inquiry was applauded by the media and resulted in the book Hatt och huva (Hat and Hood) and changes to legislation. When Ingrid died in January 2009, she left a legacy of laws that were praised when they were adopted, and that now many Swedes take for granted. She also left behind the memory of a person who dared to go her own way in life, and a large cultural capital, including an armchair.

Archive Collection

In 2016, the new board of Carl Malmsten AB saw a need to broaden the range and reaffirm the brand. The designers Anna Kraitz and Lars Bülow were appointed to lead the project, and the Archive Collection, in which the armchair Widemar is included, emerged. The chair has been developed at Stolab in a process whereby the original drawing and physical chair were analysed and weighed up to form a whole, all based on Carl Malmsten’s original sketches.

Julia

Julia Greek has been responsible for the interpretation of Malmsten’s drawings and chair. She is a cabinet maker who received the top grade of 5.0 and a Grand Silver award for her exam piece at Malmstens a few years ago. A grade and honour only give to a very few.

Julia Greek at Stolab. Foto: Jesper Molin.

“It is a complex and advanced piece of furniture with many crafted details. I interpreted the hand drawn drawing from 1942 and created a computer generated 3D model. We then compared this with an old Widemar chair that we borrowed from the Siv and Carl Malmsten Memorial Foundation”, Julia explains.

The first prototype was ready in October and was scrutinised by an expert appointed by the foundation – Martin Altwegg, a cabinet maker and senior lecturer at Malmstens. After some adjustments, Julia has been involved in the making of a number of chairs for a first series. Both Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines and hand planes came into use.

Widemar armchair. Photo: Jesper Molin.

“Getting the top piece and armrest to run in a continuous form, a beautiful line which frames the chair, has been a challenge”, Julia adds. “It is about subtle details that are so important for the whole! It is incredibly fun to be part of a project like this, where we have used such an old drawing as a starting point, interpreted and adjusted for production of a prototype and finished product. I am satisfied and proud when I look at the end product. And it’s lovely that Widemar and Stolab have received so much attention.

Heritage

Of course, it is great that Stolab are now making and delivering yet another beautiful chair for their customers, but this story brings even more benefit. During her lifetime, Ingrid Gärde Widemar had a fundamental impact on Swedish society and for many people she is a hero. The fact that the chair she once ordered has been brought out again, means that her achievements within Swedish humanism now become known to a completely new target group. A group that would probably not otherwise have read about her in history books or learnt how the paragraphs in the statute book came about. This chair will have a new lease of life and perhaps help create new stories for the benefit of humankind.

Text: Amanda Ostwald. From inredningsarkitektur.se.

Inlägget Widemar’s heritage dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

Carl Malmsten’s signature adorns a range of beautiful patterns for wallpapers, textiles, carpets and, not least, his many exclusive intarsia designs. His passion for genuine pattern craftsmanship has been kept alive for many years thanks to the companies Lim & Handtryck and Handtryckta tapeter, which print Fågel blå and Storslingan for decorating the walls of various institutions and private residences. During the antiques fair, we will present the pattern designer Carl Malmsten, and especially the current work in bringing out three more wallpaper designs from his collection.

Inlägget Nordic Antiques Fair 14-17 February 2019 dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

The result is presented at the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2019. The premiere collection includes several pieces of furniture and one pattern – from the dear little Putte stool, to an elegant daybed and a Shaker-style display cabinet. Strong lines and superb quality are common features. The collection has been selected from Carl Malmsten’s wonderful treasure-trove archive. Located at Dieselverkstaden in Nacka, the archive holds 20,000 sketches and workshop drawings, photographs and textile samples. Anna and Lars are two strong personalities within the Swedish furniture industry.

Anna Kraitz and Lars Bülow

She is a well-known designer of, e.g. a range of furniture for Källemo, and also active within the Siv & Carl Malmsten Memorial Foundation. He is a furniture designer, co-founder of the furniture company Materia, former managing director of Lammhults, and now runs the Museum of Furniture Studies at Frihamnen in Stockholm. Together, they have shaped the collection in collaboration with the foundation and licensed furniture producers.

What was the highlight of digging through the archive?

Lars: It’s fascinating to see Carl Malmsten’s enormous production – how he and his collaborators worked so consistently during several decades. There is no parallel in Sweden, as far as I know.
Anna: Being able to study another designer’s work at such depth almost made me obsessed. The material surrounding Carl Malmsten is vast since – beside his furniture production – he has written so many texts and books and designed interiors for so many different types of people, places and contexts. The highlight was probably that you can go on digging forever. If you want to.

AND THE MOST DIFFICULT?

Anna: The most difficult part comes after the digging. When everything has to materialise into real physical objects.
Lars: Keeping a straight and strict line in our selection.

Which is your favourite piece from the Carl Malmsten Archive Collection 2019?

Lars: The display cabinet with glass all around.
Anna: I have developed a close relationship with all the pieces of furniture that we selected – including several pieces that have not yet been made but that will hopefully be produced in the future. But if I have to choose one favourite just now, it is the armchair Widemar.

Inlägget Carl Malmsten Archive Collection 2019 dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

“A travelling salesman from New Zealand came into the shop. His uncle had asked him to look for the most comfortable armchair, while travelling around the world”, Jerk told.

The salesman visited the shop four times in as many years. The first time, he tried all the models before choosing Häggbom. He made a note of the name of the model and disappeared. The next time, he asked directly for the armchair, sat in it and was pleased to find that it was still number one.

At this point, he explained his behavior and mission. He took farewell and disappeared, only to return a year later. This time too, he sat in a Häggbom and with the air of a connoisseur exclaimed: “It’s still the best”. On his way out he said that there were only a few shops left on his list, his mission was almost completed. Then finally, after four years of travelling and testing he made his decision.

“He came to the shop on Strandvägen on a beautiful spring day, sat for a short while in Häggbom and then asked to look at fabrics. He chose a green patterned fabric of good quality. An order was signed for delivery to his uncle in New Zealand. The salesman had finished his mission; he had found the world’s most comfortable armchair.

Read more about Häggbom here!

Inlägget The world’s best Häggbom dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

What is so special with Skedblad?

“It has an incredibly strong character, with its rounded, bowl-shaped back. At the same time, it is very soft, comfortable and relatively neat”, says Christian. I was also attracted to the fact that it is made entirely from wood with very fine details. And that it has not been seen so much. I also liked that it was Carl Malmsten who designed it, since you don’t quite associate him with this type of aesthetics. The H&M brand Arket and the furniture manufacturer Tre Sekel acquired the rights to produce Skedblad through the Siv and Carl Malmsten Memorial Foundation. The design studio and Tre Sekel based the product on Malmsten’s drawings, but also on two original chairs bought at auction. A number of prototypes were made to get as close as possible to the original. “Since the chair is so organic, you have to apply a trial and error approach until it is perfect”, Christian says. The first store opened in August 2017 on Regent Street in London, and has been followed by a further 16 arenas for Malmsten’s sturdy Skedblad, including Östra Hamngatan in Gothenburg and Drottninggatan in Stockholm. More stores are underway.

Original chair bought at auction

Inlägget Skedblad at Arket dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

Katarina Frifarare, Estelle Bourdet, Felicia Wallner and Linnéa Eriksson are pupils at Capellagården. They are all studying Textiles, with the exception of Felicia Wallner, who is an apprentice cabinet maker. She received 15,000 SEK towards work on her qualifying piece, a cupboard with inlaid aluminium stars. In the cupboard she plans to keep art materials, lots of pencils, sketch pads and paints.

Katarina Frifarare has found a home in textile craft “and its infinite soft sea to draw from”. With the 10,000 SEK she received, she is going to carry on learning about and investigating the many techniques within the craft. Estelle Bourdet also received 10,000 SEK for the in-depth study of different carpet weaving techniques to enable her to weave in large formats. The same sum was awarded to Linnéa Eriksson, who previously studied ceramics at the school. She has now found the perfect mix of what she learned within ceramic sculpture and textiles – hats!

The apprentice cabinet makers Edvin Steen, My Magnusson and Arvid Renard at Capellagården received scholarships of 10,000 SEK or 15,000 SEK. Mina Karami, who is studying ceramics at the school on Öland received 10,000 SEK.

Alexandra Folin

Alexandra Folin received 15,000 SEK from Malmstens towards work on her qualifying piece in upholstery. She has chosen to work on a Danish armchair that she wants to give to her parents on their 30th wedding anniversary in June – just as Alexandra finished her third year at Malmstens. Klara Gunneström and Elsa Thorell Nordgren who are also studying upholstery at Malmstens received 15,000 SEK each. The latter sees a future in working with both old and new furniture, and hopes to be able to combine the traditional upholstery profession with a more artistic approach. “Being involved in designing new pieces of furniture, but also finding inspiration and knowledge from the old ones.”

Elsa Thorell Nordgren

The following apprentice cabinet makers at Malmstens received scholarships of 10,000 SEK or 15,000 SEK: Unni Strid, Robin Helgesson, Robert Landström, Oscar Wall, Victor af Wetterstedt, Gustav Larsson, John Funkqvist and Fredrik Höjer.

Inlägget Award-winning talents dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.

“It is a complex and advanced piece of furniture with many crafted details. I interpreted the hand drawn drawing from 1942 and converted it into computer generated 3D model. Then we compared this with an old Widemar chair that we borrowed from the Siv and Carl Malmsten Memorial Foundation”, Julia explains.

The first prototype was ready in October and was scrutinised by an expert appointed by the foundation – Martin Altwegg, a cabinet maker and senior lecturer at Malmstens. After some adjustments, Julia has been involved in the making of 15 chairs for a first series. Both Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines and hand planes came into use.

“Getting the top piece and armrest to run in a continuous form, a beautiful line which frames the chair, has been a challenge. It is about subtle details, but, oh-so-important for the whole!

Stolab’s managing director Martin Johansson regards Julia Greek as a resource that he hopes to be able to keep. He wants her to pass on her extraordinary knowledge, learnt on journeys and work experience as an apprentice in workshops in England and Denmark, to the other, also highly skilled, cabinet makers in the factory.

The chair got its name – Widemar – after the lawyer and politician Ingrid Gärde Widemar (1912-2009), who commissioned it from Carl Malmsten. The model was also available as a chair without arms and a sofa, designed a few years later. In 1968, Ingrid Gärde Widemar became the first woman to be appointed Justice of the Supreme Court of Sweden. As a politician for the Liberal party, she was a member of the Swedish Riksdag for 19 years, where she was strongly committed to issues of equality. Among other things, she drew attention to how difficult it was for women to gain employment in the government, and she worked for separate taxation and for the right of married women to keep their own surname.

Inlägget Julia ♥ Widemar dök först upp på Carl Malmsten.