Stavangerflint AS was an

earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids by coating it with a c ...

factory that was in operation from 1949 until 1979 in

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

, Norway.

Company history

Production of

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

tableware Tableware is any dish or dishware used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. It includes cutlery, glassware, serving dishes, and other items for practical as well as decorative purposes. The quality, nature, variety and number of o ...

for households and for the professional market started in 1949 under the name of ''Stavanger Fajansefabrikk A/S ''. The initiators, Trygve Brekke (1908–1994) and Trygve Pedersen (1887-1969) took as their starting point the market conditions and needs resulting from inter-war imports of

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, ...

, the war and post-war shortage of goods, and expectations for a growing domestic demand as the country gradually recovered, and as retail purchasing power grew. Stavanger Fajansefabrikk aimed from the start for a clay mixture and manufacturing process which was to be marketed as ''Stavangerflint'', based on a recipe developed by

Josiah Wedgwood Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the indus ...

in England around 1750. This was a marketable name which had the aim of presenting the factory's products as strong and durable earthenware. On 16 April 1952 Stavanger Fajansefabrikk A.S. changed its name to ''Stavangerflint AS''. By adding the word ''

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start ...

'' to the company name, the quality angle of the products would be enhanced. In 1968 Stavangerflint AS merged with its competitor Figgjo Fajanse AS. Stavangerflint continued as a branch of Figgjo Fajanse - Stavangerflint AS. Thirty years after Stavangerflint had started production and quickly developed into a showcase manufacturing plant, it was closed down. In 1979 the properties in Stavanger were sold. All production was transferred to Figgjo and the business changed its name from Figgjo Fajanse – Stavangerflint A/S to

Figgjo AS Figgjo AS is a Norwegian ceramics manufacturing company based in Figgjo in the municipality of Sandnes, Norway. History Figgjo was founded by Harald Lima and Sigurd Figved in 1941 as a small-scale pottery workshop. In 1946, designer and ceramist ...

Management and Artistic Directors

During its 19 years as an independent company, Stavangerflint had three artistic directors:

Thorbjørn Feyling Thorbjørn Feyling (1907–1985) was a Norwegian ceramist and Head of design at the Norwegian earthenware company Stavangerflint AS in the city of Stavanger in south-western Norway. Feyling was Head of design at the Norwegian earthenware producer S ...

(1949-1955),

Eystein Sandnes Eystein Sandnes (7 November 1927 – 14 November 2006) was a Norwegian ceramic and glass designer who is known particularly for work done at the ceramic industries Stavangerflint AS and AS Porsgrunds Porselænsfabrik Biography Sandes was born ...

(1955-1957) and

Kåre Berven Fjeldsaa Kåre Berven Fjeldsaa (27 November 1918 – 12 January 1992) was a Norwegian ceramic designer. Fjeldsaa was born in Sandnes in the county of Rogaland, Norway. He was educated as a ceramicist at the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Indu ...

(1958-1968). In 1963 Sigurd Jensen (1919-2000) succeeded Trygve Brekke as managing director. Sigurd Jensen had been Commercial Director and second in command at Stavangerflint from the start. Jensen was to play an important role as the driving force in the processes which led to the amalgamation of Stavangerflint AS and Figgjo Fajanse AS. The new company continued production at the old premises as two branches and the goods had their old markings which were identical to the original factory names.

Artists

An important source for information about what was produced in the potteries in

Rogaland Rogaland () is a county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 479,892. The admin ...

is the Internet auction sites and shops which sell the factories’ goods. Signed works by Turi Gramstad Oliver,

Kari Nyquist Kari Nyquist (October 17, 1918 – April 20, 2011) was a Norwegian ceramist. She is most associated with her decorated ceramics from the Stavangerflint AS plant in Stavanger, Norway. Her designs are most often found pottery of blue clay or stonewa ...

Gro Pedersen Claussen Gro Pedersen Claussen (born 1 October 1941) is a Norwegian graphic designer at the earthenware factory Stavangerflint AS in Stavanger, Norway, (1963–1967) and textile designer at Sandvika Veveri, Bærum, Norway (1977–2004). Her many designs ...

Anne Lofthus Anne Lofthus Valla (29 February 1932 – 6 October 2003) was a Norwegian ceramic artist and art teacher. Her artistic style was influenced by the folk-culture of rural Norway, in particular the cultural traditions from Telemark, where she was b ...

and

Inger Waage Inger Waage, (5 February 1923 – 16 December 1995), was an industrial ceramist at the Norwegian producer of earthenware, Stavangerflint AS. Biography She was born in Stavanger on the West coast of Norway. In 1943 she was accepted as a student ...

are among those who have created great interest among collectors, both national and international. Because many of the products were exported, they are collectables found on international Net auction sites.

References

Other sources

*Jostein Berglyd: ''Alt har sin tid. Trygve Brekke ser tilbake.'' Private print, Stavanger 1993. *Jan Gjerde: ''Fra Kvaleberg til cyberspace. Glimt fra Stavangerflints historie.'' With summary in English. . *Ulf E. Rosenberg (editor): ''Figgjo, Formet av entusiasme gjennom 60 år - 1941 - 2001.'' Private print by Figgjo AS 2001.

External links

Stavangerflint homepageInger Waage homepage
{{Authority control Ceramics manufacturers of Norway Manufacturing companies of Norway Companies based in Stavanger Manufacturing companies established in 1949 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1979 Defunct companies of Norway Design companies established in 1949 Design companies disestablished in 1979 Norwegian companies established in 1949 1979 disestablishments in Norway