Swanking Up Canada

Palm Springs has become a favorite winter destination for our neighbors to the north in Canada -- affectionately known as "snow birds"!  And while they return year after year for the warm weather and sun, they have become enamored of our mid-century heritage.  And Swank Interiors has had the pleasure of making new friends and "swanking" up their homes with our unique mid-century finds.

Over the holidays we met Ken who collects vintage Gullaskruf Glass from Sweden.  Below is a beautiful photo of his encyclopedic collection of the "blomglas" bulb vases designed by Arthur Percy in the 1950's for Gullaskruf that he has shared with us.

Scandinavian Glassware was (and still is) produced by skilled teams of glassmakers working at Orrefors, Kosta, ittala and Holmegaard.  Designers such as Tapio Wirkkala, Timo Sarpaneva, Vicke Linstrad, Erik Hogland and dozens of others created pieces of technical virtuosity and design innovation.  Vibrant color palettes as seen above were introduced in the 1950's.

Gullaskruf was originally a bottle-making company but in the 1930's became one of the first Swedish glassmakers to work with organic design led by artist Hugo Gehlin.  Free-blown art glass gave Gullaskruf a recognizable identity.

Ken's Swank Interiors Gullaskruf vase has been elegantly placed with subdued restraint that is so characteristic of the open-plan, light-filled Scandinavian design aesthetic.

Ken thank you for sharing your pictures and we look forward to seeing you next season when our "snow bird" friends migrate south for winter!