Designer Desire: Sven Fristedt

Sven Fristedt is one of the most successful and prolific textile designers to come out of Sweden in the mid-20th century.

Since the mid-1960s, Sven Fristedt has designed dozens of fabric designs; primarily for IKEA and Borås Wäfveri. He began at Borås in 1965 and remained there until 1990, acting as the factory’s artistic leader between 1975 and 1977. Plexus, (the design is shown above – a repeating starburst-type pattern) which was the company’s first silk-screen print was also his first commercial design. It proved to be hugely successful. Amongst his other output for the company include Frutto, Frots i trädgården, Mitt Zoo, Oppo, Ormen, Pompelona and Päråna.

He designed for IKEA from 1968 to 1985 as is responsible for design lines such as ALFI, GLADA BLAS, MYRTEN and SKYAR.

In 2013, he collaborated with Hemtex, producing a gorgeous design with a repeating pear motif.

In a 2014 interview with the magazine, Scandinavian Retro, he shared:

Naturally I was influenced by others. Marimekko did fantastically dramatic things, and Josef Frank did some great pieces for Svenskt Tenn. I discovered the designer Ken Scott at a trade fair in Milan. He designed some really beautiful patterns for Falconetto… I am surprised about how many good things I did, at least there’s nothing I’m ashamed of.

Because they were produced in such large runs, his designs are readily available on eBay and Etsy.

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Additional image credits:

Bukowskis

Designer Desire: Viola Gråsten

Viola Gråsten (1910-1994) was a leading Finnish textile designer. Her most well-known pattern is probably Oomph (pictured at the very top of the montage above) which was printed in a number of colourways.

Some of the fabric patterns that she designed include Sparv (1959) and Hassel for Ljungbergs; the striped Snark blankets (see above) for Tidstrand; Tulipuu, Såpbubblor, Casa (1954) and Kalas (1955) for Swedish department store, Nordiska Kompaniet (NK) and Pelagonia (1965) and Kastanj (1966) for Mölnlycke Tuppen AB.

Her eye-catching rug designs produced for Elsa Gullberg’s Textiles and Interior in Stockholm have come to be known as Gråstens colours. She also produced a great many rug designs for the aforementioned, NK Textilkammare.

There are currently a number of her textile designs available on Etsy – including rugs, blankets and lengths of fabric.

I’ve come across a book by Anne-Marie Ericsson, Viola Gråsten och modernismen i svensk textilkonst (Viola Gråsten and modernism in Swedish textile art), that delves into the history of her creations.

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Additional image credits:

Artnet | Auctionet | Bukowskis

Designer Desire: Juliet Glynn-Smith

We first featured Juliet Glynn-Smith (b. 1939) on our blog when we acquired a sheet of kitchen cards that she designed for Habitat. As well as being responsible for the illustrations in the shop’s very first catalogue she produced a number of textile designs for Conran Fabrics. These include ‘Prince of Quince’ (1965); the children’s designs, ‘Jackanapes’ and ‘Toy Cupboard’; ‘Lollipop’ (1966); ‘Petals in the Sky’ and ‘Daisy Spray’ from their Firecracker Collection (1969).

Although she’s best known for her Habitat work, she has also created designs for other firms. One such company is Hunkydory Designs Ltd. Three of the brand’s wrapping papers are included in the montage above; ‘Big Heart’, ‘Big Flower’ and ‘Big Stripe’, all from 1970. Also above are her ‘Fauna’ greetings cards and ‘Santa’ Christmas cards which she designed for the company the same year.

She worked for Parkertex – for whom she created the ‘Fanfare’ fabric design in 1968 – and for German company, Rasch doing designs for their ‘Contempora’ and ‘Künstler’ textile collections in 1973.

For Christmas 1967, Glynn-Smith designed a psychedelic screen print poster which advertised Thursday late night shopping at D.H Evans, an Oxford Street department store (now a branch of House of Fraser).

‘Zig zig’ and ‘Polygon’ (pictured side-by-side above) were two wrapping paper designs made under the name of Glynn Smith Associates in 1972.

As well a textiles and paper, Juliet Glynn-Smith also produced designs that were used on metalware. The square Britannia serving tray, included above, was for Reginald Corfield Ltd. in 1966. We’ve come across a pair of ‘Sprig’ storage tins for previously mentioned, Hunkydory Designs Ltd.

Image credits:

Pinterest | Shelf Appeal | V&A | Visual Arts Data Service

Designer Desire: Althea McNish

_{(from top, left to right: Painted Dessert in 2 colourways, Tomee, Van Gogh in 2 colourways, Rubra in 2 colourways, Golden Harvesamazot in 2 colourways, Tropique, Pomegranate, Gilia, Bousada, Tepeaca, Unknown, Hibiscus, Trinidad, Magi, Caribe, Oriana)}

Shame on me! I have only recently been introduced to the work of Althea McNish by Liz Evans of Retro Pattern. I really should know of McNish, she originally came from Trinidad.

Althea McNish (1933-2020) began designing fashion and furnishing textiles in the 1950s. She designed 8 patterns for Hull Traders, a manufacturer who were based not far from us, just over the border in Colne, Lancashire – Golden Harvest, Painted Desert, Van Gogh (all 1959), Oriana, Pomegranate (both 1960), Gilia, Rubra (both 1961) and Magi (1964). At this firm, she worked alongside the likes of Shirley Craven, John Drummond, Ivon Hitchens and Eduardo Paolozzi.

She was also commissioned to produce designs for the likes of:

Liberty & Co – Bousada, Cebollas, Hibiscus (all 1958), Grenada, Tepeaca (1960)
Heal’s – Caribe
Ascher Ltd – Tropique (1957)
Cavendish Textiles – Lumière (1961)
Dior
Balenciaga

In 1959, she designed two murals entitled Pineapples and Pomegranates and Rayflower for the tourist class restaurant aboard the P&O Orient cruise liner, Oriana. She also produced a mural in the 1980s for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s Nordic Empress and MS Monarch.

A number of museums hold her designs in their permanent collections including the V&A, National Museums Scotland, Cooper Hewitt and Philadelphia Museum of Art.

There’s a lovely documentary entitled, Whoever Heard of a Black Artist? Britain’s Hidden Art History currently on the BBC iPlayer (there’s just over a week left to view it!) in which she’s been interviewed. I can’t recommend it highly enough! McNish is one of 21 designers profiled in Libby Sellers’ new book, Women Design.

Examples of her designs come up for sale from time to time. Your first port of call should be Retro Pattern; contact them via their Instragram account. In addition, have a search on Etsy.

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I have always seen myself as a citizen of the world, drawing inspiration from the flora and fauna of every country and the art and artefacts of all cultures.

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Additional image credits:

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: fabric design

Designer Desire: Sven Fristedt

Designer Desire: Viola Gråsten

Designer Desire: Juliet Glynn-Smith

Designer Desire: Althea McNish