Estrid Ericson's masterstroke was the hiring of the brilliant architect and designer Josef Frank (1885-1957) in 1934 after he fled Austria in 1933. In particular, Frank created more than 250 textile patterns, many with huge, complex, colourful repeats (this is 'Catleya'). These complemented the company's more minimal functionalism and are still immensely popular. As the website says, "Their collaboration is today remembered as one of the most remarkable in the history of Swedish design". 

Since its inception, Svenskt Tenn has championed Swedish craftsmanship and an elegant but understated and comfortable style. The shop itself reflects these values; Estrid Ericson commissioned the Functionalist architect Uno Åhrén to design the 1927 interiors which the newspapers praised, saying that this style had previously only been seen in stores in cities such as London or New York. Almost one hundred years later, the shop retains its modern, open, light-filled rooms. 

This week on the Post it's Svenskt Tenn, which has just celebrated its centenary. It was founded in October 1924 by Estrid Ericson (1894-1981) - above - who started it as a small pewter business (svenskt tenn means 'Swedish pewter'). The shop at Strandvägen 5 in Stockholm was opened in 1927, and remains to this day one of the city's most stylish and influential interior design stores.

Alice Longstaff was taken on in 1921 and tutored by Ada Westerman who ran the Westerman 'Electric and Daylight Studios' which had been established in 1892 in Hebden Bridge by her father, Crossley. Pennine Heritage has now published a selection of Alice's photographs in The End of the Roll (2024) which illustrates her range and her role in the life of Hebden Bridge.

Happy New Year to all our readers. We begin 2025 with a photograph by Alice Longstaff (1907-1992), a farmer's daughter who took the unusual step of becoming an apprentice in a small studio in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire. She set up own her own in 1935 and was well-known in the town where she photographed local people, events, everyday life, and the surrounding landscape for seventy years.

Christmas Tree Viewed through Red Curtains (c1952, Museum of the Home) by Charles Mahoney) makes one think of the first chapter of Greenbanks which opens on Christmas Day in the large, warm, comfortable family house of the same name. The Post will return on 2nd January and this novel, or indeed anything by Dorothy Whipple, would be perfect reading for the days between Christmas and the New Year.

Father Christmas (1973) by Raymond Briggs is a delight for anyone who may be less than enthusiastic about "another bloomin' Christmas". A grumpy Father Christmas wakes from a dream of summer sun on Christmas Eve to face his vast delivery schedule (he is partly based on Briggs' father who was a milkman). Once his work is done, he cheers up, opens his presents, and enjoys his dinner ("lovely grub!").