Milan, November 25th 1964.
Dear Mrs. Ericson,
I entered your house, I saw myself reflected in the crystal globe, I patted your dogs, and your cat, the king of your house! I admired the atmosphere created by you, which is the expression of the personality you put into everything you do.
It is a real pleasure, it is a great honour, to work for you. Your kindness is such that it distinguishes you, your fidelity to my work represents my prize and encourages me.
It is rare to meet people like you who inspire such a reliance and charm.
Sincerely yours,
Piero Fornasetti
Svenskt Tenn‘s founder Estrid Ericson and Piero Fornasetti were great friends with huge respect for one another’s creativity. Their collaboration started almost twenty years before this letter, when Fornasetti produced the now iconic Stockholm Plate, a design by Svenskt Tenn co-founder Josef Frank in 1946.
Piero Fornasetti, a painter, sculptor, interior designer and the creator of more than 13,000 products in his lifetime has been superseded by his son Barnaba Fornasetti who is reinterpreting his father’s designs using the same handcrafted techniques and atelier skills that were used for the originals. Color is still applied by hand using the original paper patterns.
The exhibition, which celebrates Fornasetti’s work, marks the 90th anniversary of Svenskt Tenn and was timed to coincide with Stockholm Design Week.
It is a reminder of how prolific and talented Fornasetti was, but it’s also a testament to friendship and collaboration. To this day, Svenskt Tenn is the only authorized Fornasetti distributor (apart from wallpaper and textiles) in Sweden.