Elisabeth Glantzberg
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Elisabeth Margareta Glantzberg (1873–1951) was a Swedish textile artist, educator and
fashion designer Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
. After spending several years teaching
weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...
and promoting Swedish textiles in Boston, Massachusetts, at the beginning of the 20th century, she returned to Sweden in 1909 where together with
Emy Fick Emy Oscaria Charlotte Fick née Kylander (1876–1959) was a Swedish textile artist, educator and fashion designer. After completing her education with study trips to Italy, France and Germany, she returned to Stockholm where she worked with texti ...
she established the
Birgittaskolan Birgittaskolan or the Birgitta School was a Swedish textile arts establishment in central Stockholm founded in 1910 by Elisabeth Glantzberg and Emy Fick. It not only provided courses in sewing, embroidery and lace work but acted as a fashion stud ...
in
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
. In addition to providing courses, the Birgitta School served as a leading textile studio producing decorative works, tapestries and rugs. She went on to produce fashionable clothing there until the mid-1930s, based on Parisian trends in
haute couture ''Haute couture'' (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design that is constructed by hand from start-to-finish. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Paris became th ...
and everyday wear.


Biography

Born on 20 October 1873 in Dalarna in central Sweden, Elisabeth Margaretha Glantzberg was the daughter of Christian Magnus Glantzberg, a cleric, and Hilda Dorotea Glantzberg, née Arborelius. The youngest child in the family, she had three sisters and a brother. Although she had no formal training, Glantzberg and her sisters sewed and created textiles at home, like many other children of the times. Around 1900, she and her sister Ellen moved to Boston where her brother Ernst had emigrated in 1891. The two sisters created a business called The Misses Glantzberg which was both a textile school and a retail business displaying Swedish handicrafts and home furnishings. From 1903, as an active member of The Society of Arts and Crafts of Boston, she exhibited her creations on several occasions. She returned to Sweden in 1909. Working with children's clothing in Stockholm's Nordiska Kompaniet department store, she met Emy Fick. In 1910, they jointly establish Birgittaskolan in central Stockholm. Offering courses in sewing, embroidery and lace, the firm also satisfied orders for underwear, decorative textiles and rugs. Apparently as a result of their varying backgrounds, Glantzberg, who encouraged women to learn textile arts so that they could work professionally, broke up with Fick, whose training was directed towards women keen to produce textiles at home. They split the business into two separate firms. Glantzberg kept the name Birgittaskolan while Fick called hers Sankta Birgittaskolan or Saint Birgitta School. In 1917, Glantzberg moved into fashion, employing two designers to follow Parisian trends creating remarkably daring collections. Glantzberg's business thrived until the mid-1930s. She later returned to her native Dalarna where she ran a weaving school. She died in Älvdalen on 10 December 1951.


References


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Glantzberg, Elisabeth 1873 births 1951 deaths Swedish textile designers Swedish fashion designers 20th-century Swedish textile artists 20th-century Swedish women artists 20th-century Swedish businesswomen 20th-century Swedish businesspeople 20th-century Swedish educators People from Malung-Sälen Municipality Swedish women fashion designers 20th-century Swedish women educators