As Svenskt Tenn Fetes 100 Years, the Story of Its Fashionably Bold Founder Emerges

One of the design world’s first woman leaders and a pillar of Swedish Modernism, Estrid Ericson has flown under the radar — until now.

Ericson, who founded design firm Svenskt Tenn (translation: Swedish Pewter) at age 30, eventually became one of the most renowned figures in the Stockholm design scene, and was among the first to introduce global designers and functionalist furniture to Sweden. As the business turns 100, her work is celebrated in a retrospective at Stockholm’s esteemed Liljevalchs Konsthall gallery, “Svenskt Tenn: A Philosophy of Home,” curated by renowned London-based curator and writer Jane Withers together with Svenskt Tenn’s head curator Karin Södergren. The show runs through Jan. 12.

Ericson was born a country girl in 1894, raised in the village of Hjo. Only three years after Swedish women achieved suffrage, Ericson used her inheritance to start a small pewter firm in Stockholm. A former drawing teacher and patternmaker, she leveraged her experience in the creative arts to create modern decorative objects with the help of her creative partner, sculptor Nils Fougstedt. The union was fruitful and the pair displayed their creations at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris just one year later.

“A Philosophy of Home” is the most extensive Svenskt Tenn exhibition ever. The show brings together the brand’s heritage, Ericson’s groundbreaking work, and her work with architect and designer Josef Frank.

Visitors meandering through the exhibition’s 13 rooms will come upon Svenskt Tenn pieces that Liljevalchs displayed in 1934, as well as works from major international exhibitions, the brand’s landmark store in Stockholm, and for private clients or the designers themselves.

Ericson’s creativity resonates through the decades. She nurtured the Modernist movement in Sweden and inspired industry icons like Italy’s Piero Fornasetti, who wrote her a letter in 1964 after visiting her whimsical home, filled with intriguing objects and motifs. “I entered into your house, I saw myself reflected in your crystal globe, I petted your dogs and your cat, the king of the house! It’s rare to meet people like you who inspire such reliance and charm,” he wrote, expressing his gratitude for her faith in his work as an artist.

The exhibit highlights the working relationship and marriage of minds between Ericson and Frank, an architect and designer who left Austria due to antisemitism and found a creative sanctuary within Svenskt Tenn under Ericson’s wing. Through rarely seen objects pulled from all over, visitors are treated to the story of pewter design and production in 1920s Stockholm, and can watch Svenskt Tenn’s expansion into furniture, textiles, lighting, and tableware unfold, including collaborations with Luke Edward Hall, fashion designer Lars Nilsson and Margherita Maccapani Missoni.

Frank’s aesthetic remains influential today, and recently Maccapani Missoni created special edition Svenskt Tenn products, including heart-shaped cushions using Frank’s patterns. Arthur Arbesser, too, paid homage to Frank in a floral sofa reedition he worked on for Wittman earlier this year.

To celebrate its centenary, Svenskt Tenn has revamped its digital identity with a website that evokes the brand’s original store, featuring visuals, video and inspiration. It’s a move also meant to ramp up sales online and overseas, with a heightened focus on the U.S.

The archival documents and photos afford the design curious a special glimpse into Ericson’s wanderlust flair, which is splashed onto mirrors, boxes, prints, jewelry and more.

Ericson, who died in 1981, believed a person’s path determines their style.

“We must not forget to cherish freedom within our homes, to not abstain from pieces just because they could jeopardize our aesthetic formalism. It is never a fabricated color chart that gives a home its personality, but it is all the things one collects through life. All the things we once loved, alongside all the things we love today — our homes are never completed, during our entire lives, we continue to build upon them,” she wrote in her manifesto “The Catechism of Interior design,” in 1939.

Former punk rocker Maria Veerasamy, who has been Svenskt Tenn’s chief executive officer since 2011, recalls Ericson’s unique fashion sense and artful eye.

“She had very distinct style and clothes were very important to her,” Veerasamy says. That said, it’s her entrepreneurial legacy that motivates Veerasamy on a daily basis.

“She consistently thought outside the box, pursued her own path with high integrity, and held a strong belief in the vision of Svenskt Tenn. I am among the very few CEOs who have been given the opportunity to work with this singular company, ensuring its continued existence and prosperity for another 100 years. That, in itself, is a humbling experience,” she says.

Today, the company remains woman-run, with mostly women employees. Svenskt Tenn has been owned by the Kjell and Märta Beijer Foundation since 1975, and sales have more than doubled since Veerasamy took the helm, to the $40 million range.