Sweden is such a Mecca for cool interiors and Scandinavian trends, it's hard to imagine that once it was a sleepy design backwater. The man who changed all that was Austrian emigree Josef Frank - and his innovative work is still in production to this day.
His fun, uplifting designs, currently being celebrated at an exhibition in London's Fashion and Textile Museum, became a defining element of Swedish culture. In the 1930s, Frank left his native Austria with his Swedish wife Anna, to live in her homeland, escaping a rising tide of anti-Semitism.
In Vienna he had designed for Haus & Garten, a company that he founded in 1925. As well as working for wealthy clients, he designed affordable workers' apartments that offered plenty of light, air, and attractive views. This emphasis on accessibility and comfort remained a signature of his work.
As Ilse Crawford, a British interior designer and admirer, says "Frank was interested in livability, and the idea of a humanistic architecture that grew with its inhabitants. His thinking on design was insightful, human-centered and extremely relevant for our times."
As an immigrant, he initially found looking for work difficult. However, a young art teacher Estrid Ericson had opened Svenskt Tenn in Stockholm, and offered the chance to work for her shop in 1934.
Together Frank and Ericson created
distinctive patterns, colours and furniture that were fun and
totally unintimidating. Although Frank had been forced
to flee Hitler's Europe, his work remained full of cheer. Perhaps
that explains their timeless appeal: 45 of his fabrics are still
being produced and sold by Svenskt Tenn at any one time. Altogether
he left behind 2,000 furniture sketches and about 160 textile
designs.
Frank's designs are full of whimsical tropical flowers, ferns,
birds and insects, oversized maps and a sense of adventure. His
prodigious output included chairs, sofas, lamps, bowls, vases,
trays, tables, stool and
cabinets.
Unlike many designers, Frank relished the prospect of clients moving things around to suit daily life. "The house is not a work of art, simply a place where one lives," he once wrote. So his work lends itself to casual mixing with disperate styles.
Svenskt Tenn still owns all Frank's designs, and they are made to his instructions; producing the 160 fabrics that he designed in rotation. "Frank brought something to Sweden that we didn't have," says Maria Wiberg, Curator of the Millesgården Museum, which houses much of his work. "His work makes you happy."
Some of our picks from Svenskt Tenn:
From left: Klöverblad wallpaper, €96, Vegetable tree cushion €120, The knot of friendship candle holder €240
Bottom row: 2255 bookcase €4,000, 2137 sideboard €10,000, NR 7 carpet €3,100, Metall umbrella stand €200
Josef Frank Patterns: Furniture-Painting runs until 7 May at The Fashion and Textile Museum, London SE1
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