She was supposed to become a drawing teacher. And that was the profession she had trained for at the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design (Konstfack). So when the then 26-year-old Ingeborg Lundin arrived at Orrefors in 1947, it was hardly with any great expectations of becoming a renowned and memorable glass designer who would write herself into history.
The Apple Comes to Life
The piece that she is most famously associated with – The Apple – was created in 1952. However, it wasn’t presented to the public until the large H55 exhibition in Helsingborg in 1955. The beautiful and fragile yet powerful glass apple truly made its mark when it was displayed at the Triennale in Milan in 1957. Ingeborg Lundin's contribution was awarded a gold medal, and overnight, she became internationally renowned.
From Drawing Teacher to Iconic Glass Designer. Ingeborg in her studio, 1953. © Sune Sundahl ArkDes
– Ingeborg Lundin’s strengths as a designer were primarily her sense of colour, form, and pattern, says Auctionet’s antique expert Tom Österman.
– This comes from its beautiful form and lovely colour. Then, an item becomes trendy when it is seen in the home of a famous person who showcases their home in an interior design magazine. This has happened with Berndt Friberg’s ceramics, Märta Måås’ rugs, and even Äpplet.
A Timeless Icon
The popularity of Äpplet remained strong throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, but it became a Swedish icon only in the 1990s.
The design remained in Orrefors’ collection until 1986, when the company stopped producing signed classics.
The transition from a beloved Swedish design item to an international icon was largely due to a series of exhibitions in the early 1990s. A solo exhibition at the Nationalmuseum featured Äpplet on the cover of the catalog, and in the book The New Look: Design in the Fifties, Äpplet appears both in the book and on the poster for the touring exhibition that followed. Around the same time, an exhibition about Swedish 20th-century glass was held in various locations in Japan, with Äpplet as the obvious symbol and main attraction.
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– The Apple is truly fantastic. The spherical shape is really striking. The Apple comes in several different color tones, but it is the green variant that has become iconic. A really nice green apple is currently auctioned for around 35,000 to 45,000 SEK. However, by keeping an eye on online listings, it's not impossible to find a Lundin apple for 10,000 SEK, concludes Tom Österman.
