Thursday, December 03, 2020

Bengt & Lotta: College sweethearts, with heads for design

Bengt & Lotta has gained a reputation world-wide for their whimsical, folk-art inspired designs. What started off as a cast-iron candle holder in the shape of a cow, became a collection that included dozens of fun iron-work pieces, before expanding to fabrics, paper products, and woven blankets. But who is behind these designs that incorporate traditional Scandinavian iconography in a modern context? It’s a love story at heart.


Bengt Lindberg and Lotta Glave were a couple already at university. As they were finishing their degrees, they both stepped out into the “real world” and got jobs -- Bengt at an ad agency and Lotta at one of Sweden’s big newspapers. Both jobs turned out to be pretty boring, and neither of them could stop the flow of creative ideas they had. Bengt started playing around with cast-iron and eventually came up with his first piece -- a cow candle holder. The cow was quickly joined by a sheep, a horse, and a moose. These four designs were almost immediately a hit, and Bengt worked hard to get them to the right retailers.



Lotta joined Bengt when he asked her to draw an angel that now adorns candleholders, Christmas tree decorations, jewelry, and and fabrics. The deal was sealed: now Lotta designs most of the pattern that turn into iron work, fabrics, woven items and decorations. Both grew up in households that appreciated the quirkiness of art, as well as valued the creative process.




Today the couple’s creations are appreciated all over Scandinavia and the world. Their shop in Stockholm overflows with creativity, and if you are lucky you can catch them other their at the same time! Check out their works at fjorn.com, or come into our store in sunny Carmel-by-the-Sea! We currently have a discount on their new fall line -- enjoy 20% off all Bengt & Lotta creative designs for a limited time only!


No comments:

Post a Comment