Tag: Finnish

Designer Desire: Anna-Greta Eker

Montage of Anna-Greta Eker jewellery and metal designs

Anna-Greta Eker (1928-2002) was a Scandinavian jewellery and metalwork designer. Born in Åland in Finland. She attended the Ateneum School of Crafts in Helsinki, graduating in 1951. Between 1952 & 1955, Eker worked at Hopea Keskus in Hämeenlinna. Later on, she went to work for Auran Kultaseppä Oy in Turku.

In 1959, she moved to Fredrikstad, Norway where she began making jewellery for Plus, the Applied Arts Centre. That same year, she married Erling Christoffersen who was head of the silver department at the company. They first met 3 years earlier in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany at Staatliche Höhere Fachschule für das Edelmetalgewerbe where they both studied goldsmithing. Plus was established in 1958 and closed in 1978. The aim of the not-for-profit centre was to unite artist and industry.

My favourite of her designs is the Tre series (a few examples are shown in the montage above). The pieces are composed of silver and stained birch, the latter being the national tree of Finland. Tre translates as ‘three’ the number of wooden beads in each set of rows. There would be beautiful kinetic movement when worn.

I also love her Kule series which translates as ‘ball’. The range, which she made from 1962 while working at Plus, consists of sterling silver rings, bracelets and armbands with differing numbers of entwined balls.

Portrait of Anna-Greta Ekercredit

Additional image credits:
1st Dibs | Bukowskis

Designer Desire: Ulla Procopé

Montage of Ulla Procopé ceramic shapes and patterns for Arabia of Finland | H is for Home

Ulla Procopé (1921-1968) was a Finnish mid-century modern ceramic designer and decorator.

In 1948, Procopé graduated from the School of Arts and Crafts (later known as the Aalto School of Arts) in Helsinki and began working for Arabia immediately after graduating. She began in the factory’s hand-painting department under Olga Osol, after which she moved, two years later, to the model & decoration department.

She designed both the shape and pattern for the Liekki (1957-1978), Valencia (1960-2002), Anemone, Ruska (1960-1999) and Meri series. She designed the shapes of much of the Arabia output including the Pomona series of lidded preserve jars whose decoration was designed by Raija Uosikkinen.

She spent her entire career at Arabia, working there until 1967, the year before her untimely death in Tenerife.

Her Arabia designs are readily available on eBay and Etsy.

Portrait of Ulla Procopécredit

Additional image credits:

1stDibs | Barnebys | Bukowskis | What’s Blogging My View

Designer Desire: Viola Gråsten

Montage of designs by Viola Gråsten | H is for Home

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: Gunvor Olin Grönqvist

Collage of Gunvor Olin Grönqvist designs | H is for Home

In this week’s Designer Desire, it’s the turn of yet of another individual from the hugely talented Arabia stable, Gunvor Olin Grönqvist (1928-2005).

During our action-packed week in London a fortnight ago, we spent a sunny afternoon at the V&A exploring their splendid glass, ceramic and metalware galleries. They had a fair few modernist Scandinavian examples on display, including a couple of sculptural pieces by Olin Grönqvist (see top right image).

She worked at the Finnish ceramic firm for her entire professional career, which spanned 1951 to 1992. She was responsible for designing many of the company’s enduring patterns including Fructus, Köökki, Kosmos, Sirpa, Löyly (Steam), Sauna, Nimeton (Anonymous), Nooan Arkki (Noah’s Ark), Kengu, Valpuri, Soraya, Atelje, Haarikka (tankard), Tea For Two, Mimmi, Mamselli, Laura and Emma.

You can find vintage examples of her crockery and serveware readily on eBay and Etsy.

Portrait of Gunvor Olin Grönqvist | H is for Homecredit

Additional image credits:

1st Dibs | Bukowskis | Pinterest