Royal Court Supplier
A thousand-year-old quality mark
A Royal Supplier holds a personal and unusual distinction. King Carl XVI Gustaf believes that the court suppliers are “modern representatives of the best in Swedish craftsmanship tradition” (from the book Konung Carl XVI Gustafs hovleverteborer). King Carl XVI currently has around 130 court suppliers, all of which are Swedish companies and represent a large number of industries. Today, very few companies are appointed as Royal Supplier. The application is only granted by HM The King and HM The Queen. Of all the applications received by the court administration, only one or a few are granted per year. In order to be appointed as Royal Supplier, the company must have been in business for at least five years and have managed its finances in an impeccable manner. The position of court supplier is directly linked to a royal person. In the event of a change of throne, all court suppliers lapse and the companies must submit a completely new application. The distinction is also linked to the CEO or owner of the company.
Since the 1970s, Klässbols Linneväveri has had the honor of supplying the Swedish court with exclusive table linen in the form of handwoven tablecloths and napkins, the Royal Tablecloth, upholstery fabric, Bolster fabric and curtains. Usually in connection with weddings and baptisms. Below you will find some examples.
The King's Tablecloth
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of King Carl XVI Gustaf's reign, on 15 September 1993, the Riksdag and the Government decided to present a gift. It consisted of a tablecloth intended for the official royal tableau in Karl XI's gallery at Stockholm Palace. The gift was presented by the then Speaker of the Riksdag, Ingegerd Troedsson.
The tablecloth consists of seven eight-meter-long cloths and two four-meter-long cloths, all three meters wide. For this large width, there is only one handloom and no power loom available. In addition, there are two hundred napkins. The tablecloth and napkins were woven in linen damask. The warp is of Italian linen no. 50 and the weft of Irish linen no. 60 with a density of 40×48 threads per centimeter.
The pattern is composed by Karin Björquist, better known as a designer at Gustavsberg Porcelain Factory, with textile technical assistance from Ingrid Dessau. The initiators and leaders of the project have been art critic Åke Livstedt and architect Magnus Silfverheim – the same people also formed the project group that created the Nobel concept for the Nobel Festival. The master weaver was Hans Thomsson, and the Friends of Handcraft have also participated in the project.
Most of the Royal Napkins were woven by none other than Elisabeth Heman.
About the master weaver Hans Thomsson
Hans Thomsson is a boy and grew up in Hemse on Gotland. After high school, he took a semester course in weaving at Säveskolan in Visby and did a six-month internship at Hemslöjden in Visby, before he completed weaving training in Borås in 1990-1991, which was followed by another course in Borås in 1992. During the years 1993-1998 he wove the Royal Cloth on behalf of Klässbols Linneväveri and then took a course in jacquard weaving in Florence at the end of 1998. There he learned, among other things, to weave copies of fabric with patterns from the Renaissance, high-quality silk weaving and with different bindings than those he learned in the Nordic countries. Over the years, Hans Thomsson has gained great trust for many notable assignments. Today he has his studio in Äskekärr below Kinnekulle with the intention of weaving linen damask.
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Wedding gift to Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel
For the wedding couple, we Jacquard-woven bed linen in extra thin and exclusive linen with Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel's crowned monogram. There were four pillowcases, two duvet covers and two bottom sheets, and the color is eggshell white.
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Wedding gift for Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia
On Sunday, May 17, 2015, the lighting ceremony took place for the wedding of Prince Carl Philip and now Princess Sofia Hellqvist. At the lighting ceremony reception at the Royal Palace, County Governor Kenneth Johansson presented gifts from Värmland. The county's gift to the wedding couple consists of three parts, the first part of which is a commitment to protect nature in the soon-to-be-established nature reserve Byamossarna in Arvika municipality. With the support of the business community in Värmland, the county governor also presented a work of art by Karlstad artist Karolina Nolin and specially designed products from Klässbols Linneväveri.
In the products, which are part of Klässbols Linneväveri's new collection "Ack Wermeland", designer Margot Barolo has drawn inspiration from the nature of Värmland, especially the nature of Byamossarna. - The tablecloth has its pattern with the help of the Värmlandsvisan, which describes a love of nature. The letters and words form a pattern of stripes that flow across the tablecloth. The napkin's pattern reflects the mosses and other vegetation that are typical of the Byamossarna nature reserve. The motif is abstract and the sizes are distorted. In addition, the stripes are inspired by the map's designation for wetland and bog, says designer Margot Barolo.
The set consists of a tablecloth and twelve unique napkins in pure linen with the wedding couple's common monogram woven in. The entire gift is wrapped in a specially made linen bag, also with the wedding couple's monogram woven in.
Read the full press release from the County Administrative Board here .
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Christening gift for HRH Princess Estelle
On the initiative of Region Värmland, Klässbols Linneväveri has produced a bed set with bottom sheets, pillowcases and duvet covers in 100 percent linen. The pattern consists of stars after the name Estelle, which means star. The gift is wrapped in paper packaging manufactured by Billerud.
– Both the gift and the beautiful packaging are good examples of products from our successful Värmland business community. It feels very nice that it is being handed over in connection with the baptism, says Catarina Segersten Larsson, regional councilor, Region Värmland.
Learn more on SVT's website.
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Christening gift for Prince Alexander
For Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia's firstborn son, Prince Alexander - Duke of Södermanland - we wove towels with Alexander's very own monogram.
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