Lena Larsson

Lena Larsson, née Rabenius (31 July 1919 – 4 April 2000), was a Swedish interior designer, known as a pioneer for the unconventional, family-friendly environments she created, and for the 1960s modern wear-and-tear ideal.[1] She was married in 1940 to architect Mårten Larsson and they had four children.[2] She was a member of the Rabenius family belonging to the Swedish nobility.[2]

Lena Larsson in the 1940s

Biography
Lena Larsson at NK in 1950.

Larsson was born Lena Rabenius in 1919 in Tranås. She trained as a cabinetmaker at the Carl Malmstens school of craftsmanship.[3] After that she worked for cabinetmaker Elias Svedberg, with whom she designed furniture.[1][4] In the early 1940s, she was employed by Svenska Slöjdföreningen (now Svensk Forum) and Svenska Arkitekters Riksförbund to make a survey of peoples' home lives.[5][6] She interviewed housewives about how they were using their homes during the early 1940s.[1] The results of the survey were to be used as a template for the building of convenient homes after the Second World War.[2]

At Hälsingborgsmässan H55 she, together with architects Anders-William Olsson and Mårten Larsson, created the one-family house Skal och kärna.[7] From 1956 until 1960 she was the chief editor of the home decoration magazine Allt i hemmet.[2] As an artistic leader in the Nordiska Kompaniet (The Nordic Company) store, NK-bo, she used her knowledge to create home design solutions for the simplification of domestic lifestyles.[1] Larssen, together with her colleagues Svedborg and Erik Worts, designed the TRIVA line of furniture which won a contest held by the Swedish Society of Crafts & Design. It was launched by NK in 1944 and was noted for its inexpensiveness and versatility. It was the first of its kind,[8] predating the similar IKEA brand of knock-down furniture.[9] NK-bo and NK-bo NU was a special store within NK between 1947 and 1956, and from 1961 to 1965, which sold cheap and experimental furniture for the entire family.[2] It also became a forum for ideas and products to be tested by young designers. By this means she opened the way for both established and new designers and furniture makers.[2] Larsson also taught home planning courses.[10]

References
  1. Larsson, Lena (1991). Varje människa är ett skåp. Höganäs: Bra böcker. ISBN 978-91-7160-990-8.
  2. Dalén, Uno (redaktör) (1961–1967). "Band 8, Lena Larsson". Bonniers lexikon. Stockholm: AB Nordiska Uppslagsböcker. Page 1216. Libris 8198071
  3. "Lena Larsson". Liljevalchs konsthall. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  4. "Svedberg och Larsson: Heminredning". Rävjägarn. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  5. Hedqvist, Hedvig (2007). Svensk form internationell design. Stockholm: Bokförlaget DN. ISBN 9789175887586.
  6. "Lena Larsson: Varje människa är ett skåp". Alba.nu. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  7. Åström, Johan (number 8, 2007). "Lena Larsson – slitstark livsstilspionjär". Pensionären.
  8. Banham, Joanna (1997-05-01). Encyclopedia of Interior Design. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-78757-7.
  9. Brunnström, Lasse (2018-10-18). Swedish Design: A History. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 77. ISBN 978-1-350-00013-1.
  10. Farr, Michael (1953). Design in British Industry: A Mid-century Survey. CUP Archive. p. 161.

Further reading

Media related to Lena Larsson at Wikimedia Commons

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