The Signature collection from Sandberg is treasure trove of beauty, rhythm and humour. Four female artists and designers, Dagmar Lodén, Ylva Källström-Eklund, Joy Zandén and Lillo Wikstrand, have contributed their patterns and drawings to a collection which emphasises the scandinavian and the playful, the modern and the graphic.
The light touch required to turn this treasure of patterns into up-to-date wallpaper has been a challenge for the whole design team, but one we’ve really enjoyed, says Hanna Wendelbo-Hansson, Creative Director at Sandberg.
This is a broad-spectrum collection, covering everything from beautiful Swedish summer meadows to jazzy graphics, typical of the hipster culture of the 1950s. It features birds which once decorated cruise ships, lucky four-leaf clover and characters from children’s books, now in a multitude of new colourways, both discreet and powerfully modernist. It is a rediscovered world of patterns, found in archives, forgotten folders and in attics. The designers worked during a golden era when Scandinavian design was the best in the world. Dagmar Lodén was an independent painter and pattern designer in Leksand, often commissioned by Jobs Handtryckeri. But she also designed colour schemes for industrial steelworks. Ylva Källström-Eklund was a graphic designer and illustrator of children’s books. Her lively illustrations in the Våra Visor song book are familiar to generations of children since the 1950s. Joy Zandén was a painting decorator at opera houses and theatres, but also a textile pattern designer who drew inspiration from the countryside and gardens of the Swedish west coast. Lillo Wikstrand specialised in embroidery, and provided the popular ”pattern of the month” for the women’s magazine svensk Damtidning, created long-pile rugs and rag rugs, and coloured everything from churches to linoleum flooring.
The patterns are available in several colourways, printed on high-quality non-woven. All patterns are produced in Sweden, using small-scale, artisan techniques. Signature will be available in the shops from 4 October 2016.