NEWS and MEDIA Coverage

Chicago Tribune, October 2001

A look few knew anything about until recently is coming to Chicago, and it may be the look everyone wants. Designers, decorators and collectors on the West Coast who thought they had seen it all are already wild about the sleek blond wood pieces that are Early Modernist Swedish furniture.

Andrew Wilder introduced the West Coast to the genre in April 2000 through Svenska Mobler ("Swedish Furniture"), his high-style Los Angeles showroom specializing in Swedish furnishings from the era spanning 1900 to 1940.

"This is the best possible time to have introduced this furniture," says Wilder. "People are much more sophisticated about decorating these days--an eclectic mixing of styles is what they're aiming for. But it takes an exceptional eye to skillfully mix Traditional and Modern, and this is where this furniture really comes into its own. It is the perfect bridge between Traditional and Contemporary."

And that's his market, he says--the person making a bridge between styles.

Alex Jordan of Gregga Jordan Smieszny, an interior design firm here, has placed a number of Wilder's Swedish Modernist pieces in his clients' interiors.

"We've used them in Modernist rooms in conjunction with contemporary upholstery, and Chinese and Japanese antiques," says Jordan. "Whether the pieces are Biedermeier Revival or the Swedish Modernist pieces, they've very compatible with a lot of different cultures and styles."

"One has to keep in mind that, at the time these pieces were produced, the entire population of Sweden totaled 5 million. It was never mass-produced. It's a rare commodity with great investment potential."

Antonio da Motta, a designer at the prestigious Studio Sofield in Los Angeles, has used pieces from Wilder's collection extensively in clients' houses. He has found them to be "a very refreshing slice of European Art Deco that is not easily found in Los Angeles. ... They cover everything from Biedermeier to Midcentury, but there is continuity in the aesthetic."

Asked if he has early Swedish Modernist in his own home, Wilder says, "I certainly do. It is so nice to live with. These are great pieces to mix in an eclectic design scheme. They don't call too much attention to themselves. They're really beautiful, without being too specific or stylized. I've seen clients use this in so many different kinds of settings, really the gamut."