The heritage of Svenskt Tenn and its association with Josef Frank are what make its unique but the owners, the Kjell and Märta Beijer Beijer Foundation, continue to develop the company's range and aesthetic with collaborations. One is with Evelina Kroon, graduate of the renowned Konstfack, whose geometric lines and checks complement Frank's exuberant botanical designs. This approach to mixing styles and materials has undoubtedly influenced many other Scandinavian design companies, including IKEA. 

The Svenskt Tenn store brings together the company's products and design philosophy in beautifully arranged room sets and is a wonderfully inspirational place to visit. While it is undoubtedly upmarket, it is also unstuffy and welcoming; it is possible to browse, admire, dream, have a coffee, buy a toiletry bag or cushion or pack of paper napkins with Josef Frank designs - or have your whole home designed and furnished with beautiful objects and textiles.

Estrid Ericson's masterstroke was the hiring of the brilliant architect and designer Josef Frank (1885-1957) in 1934 after he fled Austria in 1933. In particular, Frank created more than 250 textile patterns, many with huge, complex, colourful repeats (this is 'Catleya'). These complemented the company's more minimal functionalism and are still immensely popular. As the website says, "Their collaboration is today remembered as one of the most remarkable in the history of Swedish design". 

Since its inception, Svenskt Tenn has championed Swedish craftsmanship and an elegant but understated and comfortable style. The shop itself reflects these values; Estrid Ericson commissioned the Functionalist architect Uno Åhrén to design the 1927 interiors which the newspapers praised, saying that this style had previously only been seen in stores in cities such as London or New York. Almost one hundred years later, the shop retains its modern, open, light-filled rooms. 

This week on the Post it's Svenskt Tenn, which has just celebrated its centenary. It was founded in October 1924 by Estrid Ericson (1894-1981) - above - who started it as a small pewter business (svenskt tenn means 'Swedish pewter'). The shop at Strandvägen 5 in Stockholm was opened in 1927, and remains to this day one of the city's most stylish and influential interior design stores.

Alice Longstaff was taken on in 1921 and tutored by Ada Westerman who ran the Westerman 'Electric and Daylight Studios' which had been established in 1892 in Hebden Bridge by her father, Crossley. Pennine Heritage has now published a selection of Alice's photographs in The End of the Roll (2024) which illustrates her range and her role in the life of Hebden Bridge.

Happy New Year to all our readers. We begin 2025 with a photograph by Alice Longstaff (1907-1992), a farmer's daughter who took the unusual step of becoming an apprentice in a small studio in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire. She set up own her own in 1935 and was well-known in the town where she photographed local people, events, everyday life, and the surrounding landscape for seventy years.