Royal Court supplier
A thousand-year mark of quality
A Royal Court Purveyor holds a personal and unusual distinction. King Carl XVI Gustaf considers the court suppliers to be "modern representatives of the best in Swedish craft tradition" (from the book King Carl XVI Gustaf's court suppliers). Today, King Carl XVI has around 130 court suppliers who are all Swedish companies and represent a large number of industries. Today, very few companies are appointed as Royal Court 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 a Royal Court supplier, the company must have operated for at least five years and have managed its finances in an impeccable manner. The court suppliership is directly linked to a royal person. In the event of a change of throne, all court supplierships expire and the companies must submit a completely new application. The award is also tied to the CEO or owner of the company.
Since the 1970s, Klässbol's Linneväveri has had the honor of supplying the Swedish court with exclusive table linen in the form of handwoven tablecloths and napkins, King cloth, furniture fabric, Bolster fabric and curtains. Usually in connection with weddings and baptisms. Below you will find some examples.
Read about who more about are Court suppliers>>
The royal cloth
Hans Thomsson handwoven "Kungaduken". Photo: Henrik Garlov/Kungliga Hovstaterna
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of King Carl XVI Gustaf as regent, on 15 September 1993, the Riksdag and the government decided to present a gift. It consisted of a cloth intended for the official royal table in Karl XI's gallery at Stockholm Palace. The gift was handed over by the then speaker of the Riksdag, Ingegerd Troedsson.
The cloth fabric consists of seven cloths eight meters long and two cloths four meters long, all three meters wide. For this large width, there is only one hand loom and no machine loom available. In addition, there are two hundred napkins. 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's 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 made up the project group that created the Nobel concept for the Nobel party. The master weaver was Hans Thomsson, and Handarbetet's friends have also participated in the project.
Just like on the napkins, the pattern consists of a wide wave movement in the border and of large scattered stars in the mirror around the royal couple's mirror monogram. The stars refer to the pole star, an old symbol of the Swedish king.
About the master weaver Hans Thomsson
Hans Thomsson is born and raised 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 underwent 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 King 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 cloth with patterns from the Renaissance, silk weaving of high quality and with bindings other than those he learned in the Nordics. Over the years, Hans Thomsson has received great trust for many notable assignments. Today he has his studio in Äskekärr near Kinnekulle with the intention of weaving linen damask.
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Wedding gift for 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's and Prince Daniel's crowned monogram. There were four pillowcases, two duvet covers and two bed sheets and the color is eggshell white.
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Wedding gift for Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia
On Sunday 17 May 2015, the lighting took place before the wedding between Prince Carl Philip and now Princess Sofia Hellqvist. At the opening reception at the Royal Palace, Governor Kenneth Johansson presented gifts from Värmland. The county's gift to the wedding couple consists of three parts, where the first part is a commitment to protect nature in the soon-to-be-established Byamossarna nature reserve in Arvika municipality. Through the support of business life in Värmland, the governor also presented a work of art by the Karlstad artist Karolina Nolin as well as specially designed products from Klässbol's Linneväveri.
In the products, which are part of Klässbol's Linneväveri's new collection "Ack Wermeland", designer Margot Barolo has drawn inspiration from Värmland's nature, especially the nature of the Byamossarna. - The tablecloth got its pattern with the help of the Värmlandsvisan, which describes a love for 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 distorted. In addition, the stripes are inspired by the map's designation for wetlands and bogs, says designer Margot Barolo.
The set consists of a tablecloth and twelve unique linen napkins with the wedding couple's joint monogram woven into them. The entire gift is wrapped in a specially made linen bag, also with the wedding couple's monogram woven into it.
Read the full press release from the County Administrative Board here .
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Christening gift to HRH Princess Estelle
At the initiative of Region Värmland, Klässbols Linneväveri has produced a bed set with a base sheet, pillowcase and duvet cover in 100 percent linen. The pattern consists of stars after the name Estelle, which means star. The gift is enclosed in a paper package manufactured by Billerud.
- Both the gift and the beautiful packaging are good examples of products from our successful Värmland business community. It feels very funny that it is handed over in connection with the baptism, says Catarina Segersten Larsson, regional councillor, Region Värmland.
Learn more on the SVT website.
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Christening gift to Prince Alexander
For the Dukes of Värmland – Prince Cal-Philips and Princess Sofia's first-born son Prince Alexander, we wove towels with Alexander's very own monogram.
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