Porslinsfabriken in Lidköping Preserves and Develops Ceramic Traditions

Almost every Swedish home has at least one object made at the Rörstrand porcelain factory in Lidköping. When the company left the city in 2005, a smaller operator took over parts of the factory’s premises and machinery. Today, Porslinsfabriken Lidköping (The Porcelain Factory Lidköping) keeps the craft tradition alive, producing ceramics in the same way they have been made on the site for hundreds of years.

“It’s such a useful material, and you’re never fully learned! No matter how many times you open a kiln in the morning, it’s always just as exciting - how did the firing turn out this time?”

Kristin Andersson and Sandra Eringfält are keeping the tradition of porcelain production in Lidköping alive. For hundreds of years, the Rörstrand porcelain factory was one of the city’s major employers, and in the very same premises where the company once operated, there is now a much smaller - but equally skilled - craft-based business: Porslinsfabriken in Lidköping.

Porslinsfabriken produces for well-known Swedish companies and designers such as Svenskt Tenn, Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, Swedese, and Skultuna. They also manufacture tiles for architectural ceramic artworks and renovation projects.

“We want to pass on the knowledge and the craft! Most people who have worked their entire lives in the industry are now retired, and it’s difficult to find people with the right expertise. We want to keep the tradition alive, but that requires greater interest in what is actually produced in Sweden. It would be great to see more Swedish architectural ceramics in architecture,” says Sandra.

17,000 Tiles for Hötorget Metro Station

Although not all architects and developers have discovered the advantages of ceramics, some certainly have. For several years, The Porcelain Factory worked together with Stockholm Public Transport (SL) on a major project: producing tiles for the restoration of Hötorget metro station in Stockholm.

The station was inaugurated in the 1950s, and Porslinsfabriken was tasked with producing new copies of all the tiles that needed replacing. Sandra and Kristin say the project amounted to around 17,000 tiles and describe it as a true dream assignment.

“It’s always exciting to replicate older glazes. There’s always a risk they contain materials that are prohibited today, which makes it a challenge to achieve the right color tones,” says Sandra.

“We usually succeed in the end, but it’s a journey! There are many tests before we get it right. For the tiles at Hötorget station, we experimented for a long time - it involved hundreds of tests and a lot of lab work,” Kristin adds.

Craftsmanship on the Rise

Kristin and Sandra believe it’s clearly noticeable that more people have discovered working with clay in recent years.

“Craftsmanship has really gained momentum in recent years. Throwing on the wheel, for example, is extremely popular. But working in production with us is a bit different - it’s on a completely different scale and based on someone else’s design. The similarity is that we also do absolutely everything by hand. Many are surprised that this is how it works here, but we manufacture everything from prototypes and plaster molds to the finished product. That’s quite unusual,” says Kristin.

The duo hopes that the growing interest in clay as a hobby will contribute to a renaissance for clay as a building material.

“Ceramics and clay are materials that have proven themselves for thousands of years. And they have so many different expressions. They can be shaped in countless ways and are both durable and timeless. More people should use Swedish-made tiles,” Sandra asserts.

In addition to the metro station project, Porslinsfabriken has recently produced an artistic installation for Dalängsskolan, right in Lidköping. One of the building’s gable walls has been adorned with an artwork partly made of ceramic. The designer is artist Ida Persson.

“Most of our clients are in Stockholm and other large cities. Creating something for our own city has been incredibly fun!” they both say.

This text has been translated with the help of AI.