1 glass included

Crystal

Erika Lagerbielke (born in 1960) studied industrial design at one of Sweden's most prestigious art and design universities. Today, she is a professor in design at Linnaeus University in Växjö, Sweden, where she works with education and research in areas including the artifacts and culture of the meal, dining environments as generators of value, and the sustainable development of glass.

Lagerbielke began her collaboration with Orrefors in 1982, during her studies, and had her major breakthrough with the Intermezzo collection already in 1984. Her most acclaimed special projects include the wedding gift to Swedish Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel Westling from the Swedish Parliament and government in 2010, and a special set for the Michelin restaurant Operakällaren in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2020.

Lagerbielke has received the Excellent Swedish Design award three times for Orrefors Intermezzo in 1985, Orrefors Merlot in 1995, and Orrefors Difference in 2002 (special prize). For her Orrefors collections, she has also won a Formex Formidable award in Sweden, the International Tabletop Award in Dallas, Texas, and the Deco Home Award – Produkte des Jahres in Germany.

Lagerbielke’s collections Intermezzo, Difference, Metropol, Beer, Merlot, Enjoy, and More are currently in the Orrefors assortment.

Orrefors is located in the Swedish village Orrefors in Småland, Sweden.

Orrefors Glassworks was founded in 1898, where ironworks operations had been run since 1726. In the same year that the glassworks was founded, a hot shop was built for making technical, medical and household glass and stemware to make use of waste wood and labor. Glass now replaced the less profitable ironworks operations.

In 1913, Consul Johan Ekman from Gothenburg became the new owner of Orrefors Glassworks. He appointed Albert Ahlin as manager of the glassworks and this marked the start of a new era. In 1914, Orrefors started manufacturing crystal products, as well as cut crystal according to purchased patterns and samples, Orrefors made art glass using the overlay technique with etched decoration. The new management quickly saw that artists were needed in the business, so Simon Gate was employed in 1916 and was joined by Edward Hald a year later.

That same year, Gate and Hald made their first tentative attempts at figure engraving. They also experimented with the new innovative graal (grail) glass technique that was developed at Orrefors by the master glassblower Knut Bergqvist. The major successes were achieved a few years later at the Gothenburg Exhibition in 1923, and in particular at the Paris Exhibition in 1925. The thin engraved glass was admired by the surrounding world, and both Orrefors and the artists themselves were awarded the Grand Prix.

The successes of Simon Gate and Edward Hald in Paris in 1925 constituted the start of the long Orrefors tradition of creative design closely combined with genuine and innovative craftsmanship.

Since then, new designers and skilled glassmakers have continued in the spirit of Gate and Hald.