Orrefors Glassworks (also known as just Orrefors) is a

glassworks Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers. It has been done in a variety of ways during the history of glass. Glass container p ...

in the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

village of

Orrefors Orrefors () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality situated in southern Sweden and part of Nybro Municipality, Kalmar County, with 719 inhabitants in 2010. The township belongs to Hälleberga parish and is primarily famous for its Orrefors glassworks ...

Småland Småland () is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name ''Småland'' literally means "small la ...

. Orrefors manufactured crystal glassware and art glass. The range consisted of crystal

stemware Stemware is drinkware where the bowl stands on a ''stem'' above a ''foot'' (base that allows to put the vessel down onto a table). It is usually made from glass, but may be made from ceramics or metals. The stemware is intended for cool bever ...

, barware, vases, and sculptures and lighting products in crystal. The glassworks in Orrefors closed in 2012.Bränström, Sara L. "Glasriket går i kras".

Svenska Dagbladet (, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily List of Swedish newspapers, newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. History and profile The first issue of appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the 1900s the pap ...

, 3 October 2012. Retrieved 19 september 2018. Orrefors is a part of the Swedish glassworks group .

History

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 Kosta Boda (), formerly known as Kosta Glasbruk (), is a Sweden, Swedish glassmaking company that is a well known manufacturer of art glass and tableware. It is located in Kosta, Sweden, which was named for the company. The surrounding region ha ...

, as well as Fritz Blomqvist and Heinrich Wollman. Wollman came from

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, 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 Daum may refer to: People * Ahron Daum (1951–2018), Israeli-born Modern-Orthodox rabbi, educator, and author *Andreas Daum (active from 1995), German-American historian * Auguste Daum (1853–1909), French ceramist *Christoph Daum (1953–2024), ...

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 William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's play ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

''. A major influence of theirs was the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

work of the French artist

Émile Gallé Émile Gallé (; 4 May 1846 in Nancy, France, Nancy – 23 September 1904 in Nancy) was a French artist and designer who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted fo ...

. 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 Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. 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 A chandelier () is an ornamental lighting device, typically with spreading branched supports for multiple lights, designed to be hung from the ceiling. Chandeliers are often ornate, and they were originally designed to hold candles, but now in ...

. Many of the older designs are still produced in the 21st century.Bray, Charles (June 19, 2001). ''Dictionary of Glass''. University of Pennsylvania Press. . pps. 75, 135. Since 2013, the building has been home to the " Per Ekström Museet", an art museum.Per Ekström museet
Homepage

Notable works

File:Graalvas, formgivning Simon Gate, hyttarbetet utfört av Knut Bergqvist, mönstermakare Heinrich Wollman - OF 3828.jpg, ''Graal Orrefors KB - HW No 1''
vase 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, ''Slotssglas''
glass standing cup, designed by Simon Gate and made by Knut Bergqvist for the 1923

Gothenburg Exhibition The Gothenburg Tercentennial Jubilee Exposition () was a world's fair held in Gothenburg, Sweden during 1923 marking 300th anniversary of the founding of the city. The fair opened 8 May and ran until 30 September. Exhibits and buildings One ...

File:Glasskål i Kraka-teknik av Sven Palmqvist - OF 3431.jpg, ''Kraka''
glass 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 E''
glass bowl made with the ariel technique, designed by

Edvin Öhrström Karl ''Edvin'' Öhrström (August 22, 1906 in Burlöv – December 2, 1994) was a Sweden, Swedish sculptor and glass artist. He grew up in Halmstad, Halmstad, Sweden southwest of Ljungby; his father worked for the railroad. He began to work as a ...

, 1950 File:Tulpanvas av Nils Landberg i bärnstensfärgat underfång - OF 0045.jpg, ''Tulip vase''
designed by Nils Landberg, 1957 File:Nobelservisen.jpg,

Crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

glasses designed for the Nobel Banquet by Gunnar Cyrén File:Statstjänstemannaskålen formgiven av Lisa Bauer - M 67465.jpg, '' Statstjänstemannaskålen''
crystal bowl designed by Lisa Bauer

Designers at Orrefors

* Knut Bergqvist 1914-1929 * Heinrich Wollman 1914-1923 * Gustav Abels 1915-1959 * Eva Jancke-Björk 1915-1917 * Fritz Blomqvist 1915-1917 * Simon Gate 1916-1945 * Edward Hald 1917-1978 * Nils Landberg 1927-1972 * John Selbing 1927-1973 *

Vicke Lindstrand Victor Emanuel Lindstrand, known as Vicke Lindstrand (27 November 1904 in Gothenburg – 7 May 1983 in Kosta) was a Swedish glass designer, textile and ceramic designer, and painter. He is considered a pioneer of Swedish glass art. His wo ...

1928-1940 * Sven Palmqvist 1928-1971 * Flory Gate 1930 *

1936-1958 * Fritz Kurz 1940-1946 * Carl Fagerlund 1946-1980 * Ingeborg Lundin 1947-1971 * Gunnar Cyrén 1959-1970, 1976- * Jan Johansson 1969- * Börge Lindau 1970- * Bo Lindekrantz 1970- * Peter Mandl 1970- * Styrbjörn Engström 1970 * Olle Alberius 1971-1973 * Henning Koppel 1971-1981 * Rolf Nilsson 1971-1972 * Lars Hellsten 1972- * Eva Englund 1974-1990 * Wiktor Bernt 1975-1979 * Owe Elven 1975-1978 * Berit Johansson 1979-1983 * Arne Branzell 1980-1982 * Anette Krahner 1980-1981 * Erika Lagerbielke 1982- * Anne Nilsson 1982-2005 * Klas-Göran Tinbäck 1982-1983 * Mats Borgström 1984-1990 * Helén Krantz 1988-2005 * Vivianne Karlsson 1989-1993 *

Lena Bergström Lena Bergström (born 1961 in Umeå) is a Swedish textiles and glass designer. Biography After high school, Bergström started working as a decorator at Domus department store. She moved to Stockholm to study at various art & crafts schools, an ...

1994- * Per B Sundberg 1994- * Martti Rytkönen 1994- * Ingegerd Råman 1999- *

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld also called Kaiser Karl (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, photographer, and creative director. Lagerfeld began his career in fashion in the 1950s, working for several top fashion hous ...

2010-2019

References

External links

Official Orrefors website
{{Authority control Glassmaking companies of Sweden Design companies established in 1898 Manufacturing companies established in 1898 Swedish companies established in 1898 Art Nouveau Värend