Orrefors Glassworks

Orrefors glassworks was founded in 1898 on the site of an older iron works. Until 1913, the company produced mainly window glass and bottles. When Consul Johan Ekman bought the factory in 1913, Orrefors started to produce drinking glasses, vases, and other house-ware items. Ekman hired Knut Bergkvist and his nephew Eugen, who had worked at Kosta Glasbruk, as well as Fritz Blomqvist and Heinrich Wollman. Wollman came from Bohemia, which has a long tradition in glassmaking. The first attempts at art glass making were in the style at the time of famous French glassworks including Daum and Gallé. A similar technique was devised in 1936 which trapped air within the walls of the glass. It is known as Ariel, a name of a character in Shakespeare's play The Tempest. A major influence of theirs was the Art Nouveau work of the French artist Émile Gallé. Their designs use characteristic clean lines of brilliant crystal that suggest a frozen liquid. Their work was greatly admired when it was displayed to a wide audience at the 1925 Paris Exhibition in Paris. In addition to individual pieces of crystal, the company made crystal stemware. The glass house came to be a leading producer during the interwar period (1918 to 1939). In more recent times the factory has also become noted for making chandeliers. Many of the older designs are still produced in the 21st century. Since 2013, the building has been home to the "Per Ekström Museet", an art museum. ==Gallery==

File:Graalvas, formgivning Simon Gate, hyttarbetet utfört av Knut Bergqvist, mönstermakare Heinrich Wollman - OF 3828.jpg|Graal Orrefors KB - HW No 1vase in Graal technique designed by Simon Gate and made by Knut Bergqvist, 1916 File:Pokal Slottsglas av konstnär Simon Gate och glasblåsare Knut Bergqvist - M 47752.jpg|Slotssglasglass standing cup, designed by Simon Gate and made by Knut Bergqvist for the 1923 Gothenburg Exhibition File:Glasskål i Kraka-teknik av Sven Palmqvist - OF 3431.jpg|Krakaglass bowl made in the Kraka technique and designed by Sven Palmqvist, in production from 1941–1959 File:Glasskål i Arielteknik av Edvin Öhrström - OF 3969.jpg|Ariel nr 606 Eglass bowl made with the ariel technique, designed by Edvin Öhrström, 1950 File:Tulpanvas av Nils Landberg i bärnstensfärgat underfång - OF 0045.jpg|Tulip vasedesigned by Nils Landberg, 1957 File:Edvid öhrström per orrefors, vaso, 1957.jpg|Vase by Edvid Öhrström, 1957 File:Nobelservisen.jpg|Crystal glasses designed for the Nobel Banquet by Gunnar Cyrén File:Statstjänstemannaskålen formgiven av Lisa Bauer - M 67465.jpg|Statstjänstemannaskålencrystal bowl designed by Lisa Bauer File:Glaskaraff formgiven av Olle Alberius - OF 1622.jpg|Caraffe by Olle Alberius, 1992 File:Ljuslykta Nimbus formgiven av Berit Johansson - M 68194.jpg|Nimbus candle holder by Berit Johansson, 1981 ==Designers at Orrefors==

• 1914-1929 • Heinrich Wollman 1914-1923 • 1915-1959 • Eva Jancke-Björk 1915-1917 • 1915-1917 • Simon Gate 1916-1945 • Edward Hald 1917-1978 • 1927-1972 • 1927-1973 • Vicke Lindstrand 1928-1940 • 1928-1971 • Mats Eilertsen Bårdlund 1789-1867 • 1904-1998 • Edvin Öhrström 1936-1958 • Fritz Kurz 1940-1946 • 1946-1980 • 1947-1971 • 1959-1970, 1976- • Jan Johansson 1969- • 1970- • 1970- • Peter Mandl 1970- • 1970 • 1971-1973 • Henning Koppel 1971-1981 • Rolf Nilsson 1971-1972 • 1972- • 1974-1990 • 1975-1979 • Owe Elven 1975-1978 • 1979-1983 • 1980-1982 • Anette Krahner 1980-1981 • 1982- • Anne Nilsson 1982-2005 • Klas-Göran Tinbäck 1982-1983 • 1984-1990 • Helén Krantz 1988-2005 • Vivianne Karlsson 1989-1993 • Lena Bergström 1994- • Per B Sundberg 1994- • Martti Rytkönen 1994- • 1999- • Karl Lagerfeld 2010-2019 ==References==