Kosta Boda USA Catalog 2024 | Page 95

“ For me , creativity emerges in the blowing room . This is where the glass is conceived , where it ’ s fashioned and comes alive . I want to work with the glass , not against it . In my designs , I try to follow along with the melted glass , with the sheer power , although I try at the same time to identify the simple and subtle .”

Anna Ehrner

Anna Ehrner , born 1948 in Danderyd in Stockholm , is both a designer and glass artist who ’ s characterized by her simple design language . With an experimental expression , she has an ability to create effectful pieces with only a little color , where lines of color inside the glass has become a recurring feature . Her creations are often born out of the glass itself , together with inspiration from nature .
Anna has worked with Kosta Boda since 1974 . Before then , she studied ceramics at the University of Arts , Crafts and Design ( Konstfack ), where she ’ s also been teaching later on in life . She ’ s the designer behind several successful collections at Kosta Boda , such as Contrast and Line - where the latter is one of Sweden ’ s most sold tableware of all time . She has been awarded with the Excellent Swedish Form award in 1992 and 1994 for her design , and became the winner of Swedish Glass in 1983 .
Anna Ehrner is past master of transforming the collective expertise of the venerable Kosta glassworks into products that combine utility with beauty . Witness , for example , her Line collection , whose decorative element consists of a single elegant line spiralling round the bowl . Or , take Atoll , a highly successful collection of bowls and candlesticks that appeared in the late nineties – a glittering little island of colour for the festive table , a source of warmth and light in everyday settings . This collection took its inspiration from the circular lagoons of the Pacific .
After studies in ceramics at the Konstfack college of arts , crafts and design , Anna Ehrner moved directly to Småland and , in 1974 , began work as a designer at Kosta Boda . In recent years she has also taken time off to teach design at her old college . Kosta , however , remains her base , and it is here that she has her studio in bright , spacious premises just a couple of minutes from the blowing room and engraving shop .
Anna loves experiment and is drawn to explore the furthest limits of glassmaking techniques . Working with master glassblowers , mould-makers and engravers , she is constantly inspired to seek new ways of developing the simplest of forms . Indeed , she stresses that collaboration between product developers , technicians , craftsmen and designers is essential to her art and gives her the freedom she needs to explore her ideas . For Ehrner , the final objective is almost always a synthesis between practical utility and elegant design , even though the final piece may be years in the making .
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