Quality crafted brass pieces by Skultuna
Quality crafted brass pieces by Skultuna
Image: Supplied

While their claim to a four-century long company history is nothing to be sniffed at, this iconic Swedish design house is responsible for some of the globe’s finest contemporary homeware and fashion accessories.

Synonymous with quality crafted brass pieces, Skultuna has been producing items of beauty from their burned and resurrected riverside foundry since 1607. Whether it’s a candlestick holder, vase, votive or bracelet, their products have a gleaming allure that makes them hard to ignore.

It all began with the manufacture of fine brass chandeliers, which at the time were a rare art form and remain at the core of their business to this day. In order to adapt and keep up with the times, Skultuna began collaborating with some of the world’s foremost designers, the likes of Gam Fratesi, Richard Hutten and Luca Nichetto on a range of products that are distinctly modern but hold true to the same craftsmanship as all Skultuna pieces. Between 1955 and 1986, at the hands of designer Pierre Forsell, the brand shaped itself as a producer of luxury homeware items with a modern appeal.

Today, pieces like the Tulip Candle Sticks and Sconce Reflex (a refined brass sconce that reflects light into the room) are a legacy of Forsell’s, with the latter recently incorporated into the new Tashas Nelson Mandela Square washrooms.

Most recently, the brand unveiled both the Spike and Claw series designed by Swedish jeweller Maria Nilsdotter. The range includes trays, candle holders and plant pots that bear her signature unapologetic, punk-centric aesthetic with spikes and claws a central theme. It’s this very ability to retain traditional ways but part with traditional styles that ensures Skultuna’s popularity today.

Since introducing Skultuna to South Africa in 2014, the brand’s most popular pieces locally have been the Lily Candle Sticks designed by Ivar Alenius Bjork in 1939 for the World Fair in New York. “They’re a modern classic with their clean botanical inspired lines and come with an insert, making their use as a candle stick or vase really adaptable,” says Carolyn Lee, director of Scarlin Brands, the official distributor of Skultuna 1607 into SA.

Growing their presence locally, Skultuna recently added two Kramerville stores to their list of stockists, namely Hush Interiors and The Grand Living. Of the latter Lee says: “Andre Geldenhuys has a real eye for beautiful pieces and the Skultuna products with their reflective, clean lined qualities fit in really well with the play of dark and light happening in The Grand Living’s atmospheric showroom.” 

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