The name Kosta was formed from the first letters in the founder’s surnames. Kosta became the mother to many other glassworks in the area of Småland.

The artists of Kosta Boda are today Olle Brozén, Ernst Billgren, Anna Ehrner, Kjell Engman, Ulrica Hydman-Vallien, Åsa Jungnelius, Ludvig Löfgren, Bertil Vallien och Göran Wärff.

Please see further information under Orrefors Kosta Boda AB.

Since the 60’s Mr. Vallien has been one of the most influential and famous Swedish designers. He has affected the esthetic expression and brought new ideas to the production. In the 1980’s he introduced the concept Artist Collection, which gives the opportunity to mass-produce glassware and at the same time give every piece a unique touch by the artist. 

Bertil Vallien works with a mysterious, dreaming and symbolic world of motives. He is famous as the master of sand casting. His massive, deep blue colored Boats is part of the modern glass history. Bertil Vallien has also designed the famous Château collection. It is the most sold handmade glass dinnerware in the world. He wanted to create a series that could only be made by hand. The glass with the twisted shape, which started out as a mistake, became one of the most loved glasses in the Kosta Boda history. Other well-known collections made by Bertil Vallien are Schaman, Dreams and Brains.

Mr. Vallien’s creations are well known and are represented in many museums over the world, for example:

    - Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden

    - Corning Museum of Glass, New York, USA

    - Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England

    - Smålands Museum, Växjö, Sweden

    - Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris

    - Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Japan

    - Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, Australia

    - Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany

Ernst has made many exhibitions on his own and also participated in several group exhibitions. He has also made many public works which are to be seen at various museums, mainly in the northern countries.

Billgren’s motives are often inspired by National Romanticism, the nature and mythology. This time shown in glasses, decanters and bowls created by the glassblowers at Kosta Boda. New Friends, as the collection is called, is limited with 30 copies of three bowls and one vase. There are also six glasses and one decanter, completing the series. The artist himself describes the collection as “Glass sculptures disguised as vases, decanters, glasses and bowls”.

Kjell Engman’s glass works are inspired by music and the animal kingdom with a big portion of humor. He creates both using glass and art glass. He is an artist with great fantasy and he usually works with big installations where he also uses sound and light to create the right atmosphere. Mr. Engman has made many public exhibitions both national and international. He is also represented at several museums in Sweden and has decorated churches, hospitals, schools and banks.

As a true artist, Kjell observes the current zeitgeist and turns that into actual creations. In the series Catwalk, he has been inspired by fashion and stated a comment about today’s fashion industry. The series include vases shaped like vests, shoe-shaped sculptures and models. Other series that Kjell Engman has designed are Dino, Macho and The Band.

Ulrica is mainly a glass designer but she has also a passion for painting with oils and watercolors and a love for ceramics. It is easy to identify Ulrica’s works as she has a very personal and colorful style and paints dramatically directly on the glass. Some of her collections are Flower Power, Hearts, Open Minds and Mine.

Mrs. Hydman-Vallien has been exhibited in museums and shows all over the world, and has lectured at the famous Pilchuck Glass Center School in Washington State and at the Bildwerk in Germany. Since 2002 there is a permanent exhibition at the Vida museum on Öland, showing a collection of her works. She is also represented at several museums worldwide, such as the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, the Modern Museum in Stockholm and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

The name Orrefors probably heritages from “Orra” in Orranässjön, a lake in the area, and with the ending “fors” from the stream where the ironworks was built.

In the middle of the 19ths century the iron industry became less profitable as the competition from the mines in Bergslagen and also from England increased.  On the other hand, the forest management became more profitable.

Samuelsson from Linköping bought the great forests of Orrefors. In 1898 he let built a glassworks to seize the leftovers and the labor from the sawmill. The knowledge was retrieved from glassblowers trained at the nearby suited glassworks Kosta.

Consul Johan Ekman from Gothenburg acquired Orrefors in 1913 and Albert Ahlin became the new manager. The following year the production of crystal wear started and a new era came to light. Ekman could afford to employee artists like Edvard Hald and Simon Gate, which was something completely new in the Swedish glassworks.

Today Orrefors' group of artists consists of Lena Bergström, Jan Johansson, Erika Lagerbielke, Malin Lindahl, Martti Rytkönen and Ingegerd Råman.

Please see further information under Orrefors Kosta Boda AB.

After her education she started to work at Höganäs Ceramics Ltd. Anne came to Orrefors in 1982 and has since then created several glass successes. Some of the most popular collections are the candleholders Celeste, the glasses Clown, and the bowls and votives Hallon/Raspberry. Sixteen of her collections have been awarded with the Excellent Swedish Design award. 

Anne Nilsson stayed at Orrefors until 1999 when she decided to take a break. In the spring 2001 she started to work again, but this time at Kosta Boda. According to Anne self, she wanted to try something new, to work with warmer colors and not just the clear glass that Orrefors stands for.

One year after her examination, 1984, she got a big task which consisted of designing a glass dinnerware for younger people. The result was Intermezzo, which became one of the most selling and popular series through all times. Intermezzo started out with a blue drop but is now also available in black and white.

Another collection that is famous is Difference from 2002. Erika Lagerbielke created this revolutionary series in corporation with the wine expert Bengt Göran Kronstam. Together they developed a unique collection where every glass is designed with an awareness and precision to enhance a certain beverage. Other collections made by Erika Lagerbielke are Arctic, Merlot, Mitt och Ditt, Taste, Zodiak and Soft.

The simple and clear idiom is prominent in everything she does. Erika’s using glass designs are well known but she has also done several public decorations, from churches to public parks. She is also represented at The National Museum in Stockholm, Röhsska Arts Crafts Museum in Gothenburg and the Glass Museum in Ebeltoft, Denmark.

Gunnar came to Orrefors in 1959, and it was here he became famous for the colorful Pop Glasses (1967) and the Nobel tableware (1991). Mr. Cyrén also started his own silver forge in Gävle 1975. For Orrefors’s anniversary 1998, he created the magnificent crystal tableware Aida with simple decorations on all the glasses except the white wine glass which had been decorated with a golden elephant. Sofiero and Stenhammar are also famous collection designed by Gunnar Cyrén.

Through the years Gunnar Cyrén has participated in several exhibitions in Sweden and abroad. He received the Scholarship of the king 1962, the Lunning-price 1966 and Prince Eugén’s medal 1988.  

Mr. Johansson often uses the light to make the crystal become interesting. The shape and the grinding make the light dance and the contrast between clear crystal glass and massive stone, which he often uses, makes his sculptures even more interesting.

Jan Johansson has designed the glass sculpture which was the price for Eurovision Song Contest 2005, 2006 and 2007. When Renat Brännvin celebrated its 125^th year’s birthday 2002, Jan Johansson designed the new bottle, with inspiration from the sand formations at the bottom of Vättern. Other well-known collections are Horizon Arizona, Move and Street.

His glass works are to be seen at several museums such as The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, York, The National Museum in Stockholm and The National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.