Black Isolite and gleaming silver
The beautiful shining black plastic Isolite arrived when the Indian Das Gupta was in Perstorp during the early 1900s. The purpose of his visit to Sweden was not to manufacture plastic but pharmaceuticals. However, his experiments led Perstorp to develop a plastic that could be compared to the German Bakelite. The company elected to call the patented material Isolite and production volumes were accelerated by heavy demand from the electronics industry.
Isolite was also used to make ornaments and, in 1935, “Tidit” got the idea of combining Isolite with silver. “Tidit” – Wilhelmina Wendt – was no other than one of Perstorp’s founder Wilhelm Wendt’s six daughters (he actually also had six sons) who was also a designer. She was one of the first to manage the plant that manufactured silver Isolite up to 1968. The idea of pressing an engraved silver plate into the black Isolite was innovative and artistic. Numerous objects in silver Isolite were produced and proved popular as presents for many years. Silver Isolite is still produced today by the goldsmith Leif-Åke Andersson in the village of Perstorp. His father took over production when Perstorp elected to phase out manufacturing.
It all ended up as ”Virrvarr”
In the early 1950s, Perstorp made a major breakthrough when it produced bright laminate. A new era was ushered in and the company doubled its sales in just a few years – it actually moved from the edge of bankruptcy to becoming a highly profi table company. At an early stage, Perstorp linked up with designers in an effort to develop patterns for the laminate. The Borås Textile Institute and independent designers, such as Kitler and Orup, worked with Perstorp. But Sigvard Bernadotte – son of the King of Sweden – was by far the most famous designer with whom the company worked. In 1958, Bernadotte and his colleague Bjørn Akton presented a collection of ten patterns. One of them was called Virrvarr and this was later to go down in history as the design that was synonymous with Perstorp’s laminate sheeting. Several hundred thousand Swedes have lived with this pattern – in kitchens, on school benches and in restaurants. Virrvarr (Swedish word for chaos, confusion) was a major sales success. This is what Bernadotte wrote in his letter that accompanied the pattern when it was presented: ”I believe it’s important that a pattern that can be used in as many contexts (and for such a long time) as Perstorp Laminate Sheeting should not be intrusive or dated in its design.” Dated – definitely not! In 1999, Virrvarr was relaunched in four of its five original tones. Today, Formica continues the tradition – with Virrvarr as a best seller in its product range.
Kniga means book in Russian
These are designer Peter Cohen’s own words regarding his decision to use thermoset material in his new collection and for future products: ”I had an idea of making a bookcase series in two sections, one part of which would be used for large books. This meant I needed a material that had what is referred to as a high E-modulus, meaning high rigidity. I considered metal, porcelain and thermoplastic – but I finally opted for thermoset. This is a material that I have been very fond of since the 1960s, thanks largely to Sigvard Bernadotte’s incredibly beautiful ‘Margrethe’ bowl, which is manufactured from Perstorp thermosets. ”The material has a very smooth surface that is far superior to thermoplastic; it has a skin that remains most beautiful when left unpolished. It’s an extremely strong and durable material, with a high E-modulus, as well as having other good properties, such as stability and being fireproof.
“When I designed my bookcase system, the idea was that it should consist of two separate sections that complemented each other.
Cell is the name of the wire-suspended bookcase in which you place books in the conventional manner. Made of lacquered steel and high-pressure laminate, it is very shallow, which means that large books don’t fit into it. Instead, these are placed in Kniga XL – kniga means book in Russian – which is designed to hold large books. “When I designed Kniga XL, I was delighted with the shape, so I wanted to use it again. My thoughts went to one of my favorite designers who made a screen wall in the 1930s, which was beautiful but not particularly functional and extremely expensive. I decided to design a screen wall that was both decorative and practical. That was Pixel, which is also manufactured from Perstorp’s urea-based thermoset. The idea is that the sheets will be suspended from aluminium rods like an abacus. The name derives from the fact that you can form pictures by means of tones and lighting – digital images are built up of pixels. “Kniga XL is a typical consumer product that can be bought in units, while Pixel is designed primarily for public environments. At the moment, I’m engaged in discussions with a prospective partner regarding the possibility of large-scale production and distribution.”
