trendey

Since Svenskt Tenn recently opened its brand new – international – online store, and as Josef Frank undeniably is a major trend guru, here’s a Top 3 of decor items signed The Father of the Scandinavian Style. Number one on the list is a tea-cozy, in beautiful fabrics designed by Josef Frank. I really like tea cozy covers – summer, autumn and winter, they make the cozy tea drinking even softer. 510 SEK is the price. Number two on the list must be a book, because if there is someone who has developed ideas and theory about Swedish home decor, it is Josef Frank. The book Accidentism by Mikael Bergquist and Olaf Michelsen includes fantasy houses that Frank drew on the basis of his philosophy that the house should adjust in shape and form after those who lived in it and not vice versa. I am afraid the book is still only available in Swedish :(

Third on the Top 3 is a wallpaper designed by Josef Frank, named Paradise. Josef Frank was certainly a strong advocate for white walls. White walls were in his view the only way to preserve freedom and enable the introduction of a variety of decorative items and patterns without disrupting the colour scheme. I like this pattern design with a white background. The price tag is 380 SEK for a 10 m roll by 53 cm in width.

To close this, two nice interior products signed Estrid Ericson (1894-1981). Where would Josef Frank have been without the hand of Estric Ericson? He may not have had the amazing impact he had without Estrid recruiting him. And Estrid Ericson should be praised especially, for starting and running a successful company as a 30-year-old woman! in the 1920s! To the left a very cool matchbox cover, in pewter and with the phrase The world is a book and he who stays at home reads only one page. Estrid apparently found the quote from her old notes, but never managed to find out who wrote it. Price tag 1625 SEK. To the right, a brass trivet with the words Bless this house oh Lord we pray, make it safe by night and day. The trivet was designed by Estrid as a door decoration designed to protect the home from all evil. The text is the first line of a song written in 1927 by poet Helen Taylor and composer May Brahe. Price: 395 SEK.

Today, Josef Frank (1885-1967) got his own memorial in the district of Gärdet in Stockholm. His design is now part of the Swedish public sphere! ‘All places where we can feel at home are caused by the coincidences’, he said. That also goes for this site, located opposite the street door of what was architect and designer Josef Frank’s home during most of his life. He was the son of a jewish textile merchant from Vienna who fell in love with a Swedish girl and became – with the words of Ann Wall, former CEO of Svenskt Tenn – World War II’s gift to Sweden.

The symbol of his artistry is a typical Frank-design; anno 1925, two chairs of model 2025 (see bottom left below). The chairs are now stationed on the sidewalk, firmly anchored in the ground. Set in an angle as if they were involved in a conversation, offering bypassers to sit down. However, they are not made of wood and rattan (as the original), but in sand-cast bronze.

Josef Frank’s Place – A public tribute to the father of the Scandinavian (Swedish Modern) interior design style. Installed May 17 th 2010.

Today’s chew in the Swedish decor-blogosphere regards the release of two new (old!) Josef Frank textile patterns. The two topical patterns, Aramal and Ceylon, were created by Josef Frank in the 1940s and has never been in production – until now. Svenskt Tenn is in the process of pressing textile rolls that will be sold per meter for a price of approx. $185.

Press photos from Svenskt Tenn via Hemmariket.

Upper pic Aramal, bottom Ceylon. Now, what say you?

Personally I say the significance of the work of Josef Frank (and Estrid Ericson) in developing the Scandinavian style must be fully acknowledged, appreciated and admired. Josef Frank’s interior design philosophy is immortal. Second, I get allergic itches from the notion that having Josef Frank design in your home ensures and signals “good taste”. It is ok to feel aversion towards, or get dizzy or puke-ready by, the highbrowish patterns and upper-classy concept. There is no such thing as free-thinking! I think Aramal is too much, it wouldn’t even queue at the dentist’s!, but I can very well imagine Ceylon as clothing on a single chair or stool cushion…

The Scandinavian interior design style has been mentioned previously in a few posts. Now what about some pure philosophy on a day like this? I’ve been contemplating the words of Josef Frank, the “creator”, or may I say father, of the Scandinavian (or Swedish) interior design style. Josef Frank was born 1885 in Vienna and moved to Sweden in 1933, where he started working for the design company Svenskt Tenn and produced numerous design items until his death in 1967. With a pic from Svenskt Tenn is the middle, here’s Josef Frank and some of his designs:

Josef Frank formulated his interior design philosophy (referenced as the Scandinavian or Swedish modern style) in two much quoted articles that appeared in Form magazine in the 30s and 50s. Amongst other things, he stated the following:

The modern dwelling space has white walls. This is the only way to preserve its freedom and enable the introduction of a variety of items without disrupting the colour scheme.

Josef Frank thought too much white in a room gives an unrestfull impression. White walls needs to be combined with colours and patterns for a balance to be created. He also said:

There’s nothing wrong with mixing old and new, with combining different furniture styles, colours and patterns. Anything that is in your taste will automatically fuse to form an entire relaxing environment. A home does not need to be planned down to the smallest detail or contrived; it should be an amalgamation of the things that its owner loves and feels at home with.

One of Josef Frank’s fundamental ideas was that the occupants of a home should enjoy a personal relationship with all the objects surrounding them. Each object should hide a “secret” that makes it special and interesting. All pieces of furniture should be individual “living organisms” with souls of their own. Also, in the Form Magazine of 1958, Josef Frank coined the term Accidentism. He had been asked to write an article, and the result was a scathing criticism of the contemporary stiff modernism. This was his way of making up with the modernism, which was then supreme. He thought it was too standardized and was tired of everything looking the same. The Accidentism theory is based on the idea that we shall personalize our surroundings as if it were the result of an accident:

The living room where you can think freely and harmoniously is neither beautiful nor harmonious, or fotogenique. It has emerged as a result of coincidences, it will never be ready and it can in itself absorb whatever might be, in order to satisfy the holder’s changing discerning.

Now the words of Josef Frank – articulated half a decade ago – do shed light on contemporary Scandinavian style, as well as other contemporary interior trends, don’t they?