SVENSKT TENN
2022

In connection with Stockholm Design Week in September 2022, Svenskt Tenn opened the exhibition Frankly Yours, India Mahdavi – curated by the architect and interior designer India Mahdavi, who has also designed two new pewter items exclusively for Svenskt Tenn.

“I have always admired Svenskt Tenn, and not only for its distinct design aesthetic. I love the fact that Svenskt Tenn was founded by a woman, Estrid Ericson, back in 1924 and that today it is owned by a foundation where the profits go into research in various areas. Being an internationally established company while at the same time maintaining the human scale is appealing. I hope that my company will grow in the same way,” says India Mahdavi, architect, and interior designer.

“We are very honoured to be collaborating with India Mahdavi and appreciate her efforts to bring joy to interiors by using so much colour. It reminds me of our own story. Josef Frank believed that colours and patterns had a positive impact on people,” says Thommy Bindefeld, marketing and creative director at Svenskt Tenn.

Josef Frank’s Vegetable Tree print is central to the Frankly Yours, India Mahdavi exhibition. The print is a variation on the tree of life theme that Josef Frank often used and has, with a twinkle in his eye, recast as a vegetable tree. The pattern was designed during Josef Frank’s years in New York from 1943-1945. Mahdavi describes the exhibition concept as a conscious “exaggeration” with the print dominating the space in order to offer visitors several different perspectives on it.

“For me, the Vegetable Tree is about nature in its purest form, which I think is relevant to the spirit of the time we’re living in. I love the print’s details where the vegetables have roots – that in itself creates a poetic dimension and I also think that the joy that I myself constantly strive for in my projects is apparent in the Vegetable Tree,” says Mahdavi.

© Henrik Lundell