Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Just Scandinavian




Josef Frank, the Austrian designer whose whimsical and brightly colored fabric and furniture designs have long been cult favorites, is poised for a major revival. Over the years, some of his most popular patterns such as "Hawaii" have been seen in chic interiors, usually used on pillows or the occasional chair. Now, however, a whole new audience is being introduced to Frank's fabric by Anthropologie, who is upholstering many of its chairs and sofas in Frank's fabric.

In the past, I remember being able to find some of Frank's fabrics at the Brunschwig and Fils showroom as well as online at Svenskt Tenn in Sweden. Fortunately, there is Just Scandinavian, a shop in New York that specializes in fabrics, furniture, and tabletop accessories created by Scandinavian designers. Of course, Frank's designs are well represented here (the Scandinavian connection is from Frank's work for Svenskt Tenn in Sweden). There are, however, works from other Scandinavian designers as well. Here are a few of my Frank picks from the site, including one of my favorite Frank fabrics, "Manhattan", seen above.

For other posts on Josef Frank, see my posts from February 5 and January 16. To learn more about Frank, you may want to read Josef Frank: Life and Work by Christopher Long and Josef Frank:Architect and Designer: An Alternative Vision of the Modern Home by Nina Stritzler-Levine.

(Update: After writing this post a few days ago, I was reading a copy of InStyle Home magazine last night and found an article about Josef Frank. I believe Frank's revival is here!)


"Anakreon" print on linen by Josef Frank


"Drinks" print, linen, by Josef Frank


Three-armed brass lamp by Josef Frank


"Rox & Fix", linen, by Josef Frank


Elmoot and walnut table by Josef Frank

(All photos courtesy of Just Scandinavian)

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:36 AM

    Great post. This fabric is all beautiful - so much inspiration from one man...amazing.

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  2. Pink- the fabric is kind of crazy, isn't it?

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  3. POC,
    Great post. Thanks for the introduction to Just Scandinavian.

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  4. Wow, I had not heard of Josef Frank until now. Beautiful work.

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  5. Jennifer, I love his fabrics and I have been onto his site a couple of months ago after I saw his fabrics on the Anthropologie site and I love so many of his designs. We aren't represented here in Australia for these fabrics but I would love to buy some for my shop - do you have any ideas as to how I might contact them? Completely understand if you don't. I should just try to email them.
    Anna

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  6. Caroline7:43 AM

    if someone is still interested - probably the easiest way to get hold of Josef Frank's creations is to contact "Svenskt Tenn" in Stockholm - the company he designed for over many years. They probably have the largest selection.

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