In the early 1930s Estrid Ericson, a former art teacher, commissioned architect Uno Åhrén and artist Björn Trägådh to design a range of furniture for Svenskt Tenn, her fashionable design store on Stockholm’s Strandvägen. Although she had originally conceived of Svenskt Tenn in 1924 as a workshop and retailer of pewterware, she quickly broadened the firm’s offerings to include decorative objects, carpets, and furniture.

A leading proponent of functionalism, Ericson promoted “Puritanically sober and pragmatically modern” works, as described by critic Gotthard Johansson.¹ Following a successful exhibition of Svenskt Tenn furnishings at Stockholm’s Galleri Modern in September 1931, Åhrén left the firm to pursue personal projects. He was followed in 1934 by Trägådh, who departed to pursue a painting career.

¹ Christopher Long, Josef Frank: Life and Work, Chicago, 2002, pp. 193-196