Gustavsberg (porcelain factory)
Gustavsberg is the name of a Swedish manufacturer that produces faience , porcelain and ceramics . Gustavsberg employed some of the most important designers in Scandinavian porcelain.
History of the manufacture
The factory was founded in the Stockholm suburb of Gustavsberg in 1825 . The rapidly growing place became famous for its progressive social structure. Conditions for workers were better than anywhere else and it was not until 1919 that workers joined a union. In 1938 the porcelain factory became the property of the cooperative Kooperativa Förbundet over. In 1987, "Gustavsbergs porslinsfabrik" was temporarily owned by the Finnish Wärtsilä concern , which also bought Rörstrand and Uppsala-Ekeby . Production was later split up: AB Gustavsberg manufactures bathroom furnishings and sanitary china and has been a subsidiary of Villeroy & Boch since 2001 . HPF i Gustavsberg AB , wholly Swedish-owned, continues to produce tableware in Gustavsberg.
Just as the manufacture was an important part of the " folkhemmet " for a long time , the tableware by Gustavsberg also reflects this period. The pieces with their typical functional design were found in many Swedish households in the post-war period. Gustavsberg had also had a plastics department since 1945, in which the designer Carl-Arne Breger "Mr. Plast" designed numerous everyday objects. Particularly characteristic and original was a square bucket and a tall, narrow flower water jug, for you today (2007) to collectors measuring about 1,200 kroner to pay, when it was new (1957) cost them 2:75 crowns.
The manufactory's most famous designer was Stig Lindberg (1916–1982); without him, the factory would probably not have survived the crisis of the 1940s. As the successor to Wilhelm Kåge (artistic director from 1917 to 1948) he was artistic director there from 1948 to 1957 and from 1971 to 1980. Alongside him, the ceramist Karin Björquist has made a name for herself; she was with Gustavsberg from 1950 to 1993. The figures of Lisa Larson are world famous. Parts of the production are exhibited in the Nordiska Museet in Stockholm and in the Porcelain Museum in Gustavsberg.
Blå Blom
The "Blå Blom" (Blue Flower) crockery had the longest production period and actually had no blue flowers in the decor, but rather intertwined grapes and leaves. This service was produced continuously from 1874 to 2006, but the last few years in Korea. "Blå Blom" was the longest produced industrial product in Sweden.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ www.villeroyboch-group.com ( Memento of the original from March 7, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
