New school named after Svenskt Tenn’s founder Estrid Ericson opens in Hjo

With the start of school in January 2022, the municipality of Hjo inaugurated its new primary school – Estrid Ericsonskolan – named after Svenskt Tenn’s founder who grew up in the town and in 1924 founded the Svenskt Tenn Company.

“We are so incredibly proud that Estrid Ericson comes from Hjo. She is an inspiration for many, both girls and boys, who see that it is possible to become and do whatever you want in life. For us, it was clear that the new school should bear her name,” says Mari-Louise Brage, school principal in Hjo.

From Hjo to World’s Fair in Paris
Estrid Ericson was born in Öregrund but grew up with her family in Hjo, where her father ran the main hotel. It’s a town in southern Sweden that today has about 9,000 inhabitants. She moved to Stockholm in 1913 where she trained as a drawing teacher at the Technical School. Estrid Ericson then returned to Hjo to work as a drawing teacher for a semester, before her father passed away. With the small inheritance left by her father she moved back to Stockholm and, in 1924, started the Svenskt Tenn Company.

“It is really gratifying that Estrid Ericson is being recognised in her hometown through this school, and that the school has chosen to bear her name through this fine tribute makes us at Svenskt Tenn extra proud. She began her journey as a drawing teacher in Hjo, which I think ties the story together in a nice way,” says Maria Veerasamy, CEO at Svenskt Tenn

Around the time that Svenskt Tenn was founded, Swedish design had a worldwide reputation. Young talented designers were hired by several large Swedish companies to design more beautiful everyday goods. Svenskt Tenn and Estrid Ericson were part of this movement. Modern design was exhibited both nationally and internationally and Svenskt Tenn quickly became a creative centre for design. Estrid Ericson proved to be extremely capable of attracting the young, promising designers. She soon collaborated with artists, architects and designers such as Nils Fougstedt, Anna Petrus Lyttkens, Uno Åhrén, Björn Trägårdh and Tyra Lundgren – designers whose products can still be found in Svenskt Tenn’s range today. Estrid Ericson and Svenskt Tenn achieved rapid success with exhibitions as well. A year after it was founded, the company won the Grand Prix at the World’s Fair held in Paris in 1925.

Estrid Ericson and Josef Frank
Fearing the growing antisemitism in Austria, the architect Josef Frank and his wife Anna, who was from Sweden, moved to Stockholm in December 1933. In January 1934, Josef Frank was hired at Svenskt Tenn. Contrary to the ideals at the time, Svenskt Tenn’s showrooms at the World’s Fair in Paris in 1937 and New York in 1939, were characterised by bold contrasts in materials, colours and patterns. Estrid Ericson and Josef Frank attracted a great deal of attention and became, somewhat paradoxically, the very model for the concept of Swedish Modern. By connecting history with the most modern, Estrid Ericson created unrivalled finely tuned and exclusive environments. And this was long before she and Josef Frank became the perfect duo.

Svenskt Tenn celebrates 100 years in 2024
Svenskt Tenn remained much the same through social upheavals and world wars, the emergence of the Swedish “People’s Home” in the 1950s, the 1960s youth demonstrations, and the subsequent hippy movement. Estrid Ericson continued to run the daily activities of the company until 1975, when she, at 81, sold the company to the Kjell and Märta Beijer Foundation. But she continued as artistic director for several more years. Just before she passed away in 1981, she created some of her finest pewter pieces ever.

“It must have taken so much courage for a 30-year old woman to start a business in Sweden in the 1920s; women didn’t even have the right to vote when Estrid Ericson started Svenskt Tenn. Her courage has shaped the company’s entire history and is the basis for the international positioning that Svenskt Tenn has today,” says Veerasamy.

In two years, Svenskt Tenn will celebrate 100 years.