Bruno Mathsson Centre

One of the most prominent and famous Swedish furniture designers throughout the ages is Bruno Mathsson. He was born in Värnamo, and today Bruno Mathsson shows his furniture in the glass house he built adjacent to his childhood home.

With a long history of carpentryin the family, Bruno Mathsson took the art of carpentry to new heights. He was fascinated by the possibilites of developing the furnitures’ form and function, in symbiosis with high quality. He developed his own design language, but not everyone immediately liked his furniture. The bespoke chairs for the waiting room at Värnamo Hospital got the nickname “the Grasshopper”, and they were so disliked by the staff, that they put them in the attic after a while. However, his breakthrough was not far away, and “the Grasshopper” soon became popular.

Bruno Mathsson carefully studied the mechanics of sitting down, among others by sitting down in a snowdrift himself, to get inspired by the foundation and the form that was created. Bentwood and webbing are recurring materials in his furniture. His idea was to design comfortable sitting furniture without using springs or padding.

In 1937 at the World Exhibition in Paris, Bruno Mathsson received a Grand Prix for his bed Paris and the international breakthrough followed. He got to deliver furniture to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and participated in several world exhibitions.

The fact that his furniture is timeless is shown by the interest that his pieces still have. While they are being exhibited at musuems, they are still considered modern, fresh and functional, and furnish many Swedish homes.

During a long stay in the USA, Bruno Mathsson was inspired to build glasshouses, which attracted much attention. One of the glass houses is now the shoowroom located in Värnamo. Then there is also a house in Tånnö and a summer house in Frösakull outside Halmstad. The houses bear the stamp of being close to nature, the simple and functional, and Bruno Mathsson’s love for the light. A guided tour at the Bruno Mathsson centre in Värnamo is booked through (email: guide@mathsson.se text:guide@mathsson.se )