About Swedese

Swedese is a classic Swedish furniture producer with a strong anchor in both the public and domestic domain.

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Swedese's ideals are the same today as they have been for the past seventy years. These are to create beautiful furniture for the future, which build on the foundations of Scandinavian modern traditions, designed by forward-looking designers who share in the timeless ideals of architecture.

Swedese was founded in 1945 by the two brothers Yngve and Jerker Ekström and Bertil Sjöqvist, under the company name ESE Möbler, from the founder's last names. The Ekström brothers owned and ran the company until the early 1970s. The present owner of Swedese is Anna Johansson and Julio Patino. The headquarters are located to Vaggeryd in Småland, Sweden, where one of the factories can be found. The second factory is located in Äng, a small village outside Nässjö, Sweden.

The most well known design of Yngve Ekström's extensive portfolio is the Lamino armchair from 1956, which is still manufactured and sold all over the world. In 1999 the Lamino was voted the Twentieth Century's Best Swedish Furniture Design by the Swedish interior design magazine Sköna Hem.

Our History

"Let's get started and see how it goes"

We now know how it went. In 1945, Yngve Ekström, his brother Jerker and their friend Bertil Sjöqvis were not so certain. In the small town of Vaggeryd alone, there were 16 furniture companies in the 1950s, together employing just over half the working population. Today, only one of them is left.

Our design philosophy

Sophisticated simplicity from Småland

We create furniture and designer pieces that affect and add function and beauty in people's everyday lives. Products for the body, for the senses and for life. We aim for everything we develop and produce to work in multiple contexts, and it is only in its encounter with the user, and the setting in which it is placed, that a product really comes to life and takes on its final form.

Our Brand

A distinctive line

Swedese has a personality that informs everything we do – from the decisions we take and the furniture we make to the way we treat each other and those we meet.
We have a powerful legacy to pass on, but we also always reflect the times in which we live. By following our own path, we continue to evolve – as a brand, as people and as furniture makers.

Our Production

Experimental zeal along with thorough knowledge of materials

Our furniture is made in our own factories in Småland, just as it was when we started over 75 years ago. There are elements in the manufacturing process of some products, for example Lamino, that require the same level of craftsmanship today as in the 1950s. For other parts of the process we employ modern techniques, and these give us entirely new opportunities to put our exciting ideas into physical form.

Our sustainability work

It's in our nature

There was a time when ‘sustainability’ was simply called ‘quality’. It was a time of pride: in professional skill, craftsmanship, product lines and materials.
When Swedese was founded, quality was the overriding watchword. The furniture would not only be beautiful enough to be cherished for a lifetime but could be passed down from one generation to the next.