Astrid Sampe
Astrid Sampe (1909-2002) was born in Stockholm but had her roots in Sjuhäradsbygden in the western part of Sweden. She was trained at the Swedish State School of Arts, Craft and Design (Konstfack) in Stockholm, and later at the Royal College of Art in London. In 1937 she started working as a designer for Nordiska Kompaniet, and one year later she became the manager of the newly created NK Textile Studios (Textilkammaren). The history of Astrid Sampe and Almedahls dates back to the nineteen-fifties. At H55, the Exhibition in Helsingborg 1955, the Linen Line was introduced, a revolution of the Swedish linen cupboard, initiated and created by Astrid Sampe and including new sizes, patterns, and colors of textiles, like napkins and tea-towels.
In the 1950s printed towels were quite new and they became very popular in Sweden. Astrid Sampe’s “Persons Kryddskåp”, dedicated to the ceramist Signe Persson Melin, who, in the early fifties, made a series of ceramic spice-jars with heads of cork, is one of the patterns that attained a lot of attention.
Josef Frank
Josef Frank (1885 - 1967) was an Austrian-Swedish architect and one of the leading representatives of modernism in Austria. Josef Frank created the "Bows" pattern during the period 1920-1930 as part of a larger collection of patterns mixing geometrical shapes with elements from nature. We proudly present a selection of products with the original Josef Frank "Bows" pattern.
Marianne Nilsson
Marianne Nilsson was one of the talented employees who worked for Astrid Sampe at NK Textilkammare. Marianne came from the Konstfack art school and was one of Astrid's closest collaborators. Together with Astrid, she participated in the famous H55 fair in Helsingborg in 1955 where she worked on the Linen line (Linnelinjen), presenting two of her best-known patterns, "Sill" and "Bagare Bergström", which are still incredibly popular in today's home interior design.
Marianne Westman
Marianne was one of Sweden´s leading designers. During the 1950s she designed the pattern "Picknick", among other famous patterns. Almedahls started their cooperation with Marianne in the summer of 2009. The first step was to recreate "Picknick" in a new more modern version. "Picknick" was followed by "Pomona", "Frisco", and "Belle Amie". When the magazine "Scandinavian Retro" asked her what she thought of everything she had accomplished, her reply was: ”I´m not sure how to answer that but I have always had a great time doing it”.
Inga-Lill Westman
In 1949 Inga-Lill Westman finished her weaving and ceramic studies at "Norrbackainstitutets Yrkesskola" and in 1952 she started her own weaving studio. She worked for the family-run company called "Westmans Textilateljé" during the years of 1952-1957. Since then she has been running her own company making handprints, fashion, applications, and soft art. She has designed the prints "Snapp" and "Pricktyg" (1958-1959) along with other prints for Almedahls. Throughout the years she held many exhibitions and has been a part of collective exhibitions, ranging from local events in Dalarna at the Nordic Museum to Liljevalch in Stockholm and Taylor in New York.
Olle Eksell
When Olle Eksell (1918-2007) was fourteen years old he decided to become a commercial illustrator. During the war, he went to school for illustration and graphic design. His most famous logo would be the well-known eyes of Mazetti (Ögonkakao). He illustrated logos for big companies and magazines and in every-day life, in Sweden, you can't go a day without spotting at least one company logo that he's designed. He loved illustrating pens and birds and did so in a quirky, smart, and playful way. Olle Eksell has among other prints designed "Italiensk Blomsterhylla", "Happy bird day", "Fåglarna berättar" and "Strömming" for Almedahls.
Aune Laukkanen
Aune Laukkanen (1921-1990) was born in Finland on the 11th of November 1921. She worked with painting decorative patterns on porcelain for "Arabia" and later on when she was twenty years old she moved to Sweden to work for Rörstrand as a decorator and ceramicist. Carl Harry Ståhlhane was her manager during the years of 1940-1960. She has worked as a textile designer for Almedahls and is most known for her illustrations "Sommarmiddag" and "Skördefest".
Brit Bredström
Brit Bredström was born in 1919 (-1973) in the textile town of Borås. Against her father's will, she studied at "Textilinstitutet" during the 1930s. She, later on, moved to Gothenburg where she designed patterns for the main Swedish textile companies such as Almedahls. Some of her famous prints for Almedahls are "ABC-duken", "Feskeläget", "Kulturväxter" and "Folkhemmet". Her patterns range from creative and bold to traditional Christmas prints with pine trees, gnomes, and "lucior". She also designed patterns for rugs and curtains that were sold in Denmark, Germany and Austria. She stopped designing patterns in the 1960s and held workshops in weaving instead.
David van Berckel
David Van Berckel grew up in Vancouver, Canada. He traveled around the world in the 1970s. When he returned to Canada he wasn't interested in a regular office job and decided to open a small framing workshop instead. Later on, the workshop turned into the successful company "Opus Art Supplies". It is David Van Berckel who has designed the popular pattern "I Svampskogen" for Almedahls. He has studied "Printed Textiles" at "Middlesex University" and for the past 25 years (until 2 years ago when the studio was closed down) he worked for a collective called "First X1 Studio" together with Jenny Frean, where pattern designers, weavers, and embroiderers worked together. It was through First Eleven that Almedahls got to see the pattern "I Svampskogen" and decided to produce it. Something that David Van Berckel appreciates with Almedahls is that it is unusual for companies to pay attention to the designer's name and print it on the products. This is according to him the only time in all his years as a designer this has happened, and bear in mind that has sold many prints to many companies. He is still very happy with his design "I Svampskogen and he appreciates that Almedahls highlights their designers.
Gunilla Gunnarsson
Gunilla Gunnarsson studied weaving and silversmithing at "Stenebyskolan" and at "Textilinstitutet i Borås". She has throughout the years been a very successful and productive designer for several big textile companies both in Sweden and abroad. She has among other prints designed "Domherrar" and "Prästliden for Almedahls. She's mainly inspired by nature and second-hand treasures.
Louise Carling
Louise Carling is grown up in Norrtälje and studied at Konstfack in Stockholm. After two years at Konstfack she was asked to take a year off and go work for Astrid Sampe at "Nordiska Kompaniets Textilkammare". Together they changed home textiles from off white colored to colorful prints. She, later on, worked for the main textile factories such as Almedahls, Kasthall, Svängsta Mattor, and Duni. She has among other prints designed "Kafferepet", Skafferiet" and "Smörgåsbordet" for Almedahls
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