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 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 ...

where she worked with textiles in the Nordiska Kompaniet department store. While there, she met Elisabeth Glantzberg with whom in 1910 she established

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 ...

which not only offered courses but served as a fashion studio where textiles could be ordered. After breaking up with Glantzberg in 1914, Fick set up her own business which she called Santa Birgittaskolan. From the late 1920s, the company became recognized for its tapestries. After closing the establishment in the mid-1930s, Fick moved to

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

with her large collection of lace, clothes and furniture which she left to Östergötland Museum.

Biography

Born on 14 December 1876 in

, Emy Oscaria Charlotte Kylander was the eldest child of the merchant Paul Oscar Kylander and Edla Leontina Charlotta Kylander née Levin who was of noble birth. In 1921, she married the cavalry officer Emil Fredrik Fick who also competed in fencing at the Olympics. After studying at the

Friends of Handicraft The Friends of Handicraft ( sv, Handarbetets vänner) is a Swedish association for the education, development, production and experimentation of advanced textiles and design. History The association was founded in 1874 by Sophie Adlersparre. From ...

establishment around 1900, she embarked on study trips to

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

after which she travelled to France and Germany to study tapestry. She also spent a year in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

at the Worth fashion house. While working with textiles in Stockholm's Nordiska Kompaniet department store, she met Elisabeth Glantzberg who had recently returned from the United States where she had run a textile establishment in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. In 1910, they jointly established Birgittaskolan or the Birgitta School 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. Fick stressed that the clothes she produced were handsewn handicrafts designed for the upper class. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Sankta Birgittaskolan created a number of significant decorative tapestries. In particular, in collaboration with

Ossian Elgström Josef David Ossian Elgström (19 November 1883 – 20 May 1950) was a Swedish illustrator and writer. Personal life Born in Strövelstorp, Elgström was a brother of writer and visual artist Anna Lenah Elgström. Career Elgström studie ...

, she created ''Leif Eriksson upptäcker Vinland'' (Leif Eriksson discovers Vinland) which was exhibited at the 1933 Chicago World Fair. Fick exhibited her embroidery, woven images and household textiles at various international exhibitions. In 1925, she won both a gold and a bronze medal at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris. Emy Fick closed Sankta Birgittaskolan in the mid-1930s. She spent her remaining years in the manor at Strålsnäs in Östergötland. She died there on 19 November 1959, leaving her large collection of lace, clothes and furniture to Östergötland Museum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fick, Emy 1876 births 1959 deaths Swedish textile artists Swedish textile designers Swedish fashion designers 20th-century Swedish artists 20th-century Swedish educators 20th-century Swedish women artists Artists from Stockholm Swedish women fashion designers 20th-century Swedish businesswomen 20th-century Swedish businesspeople 20th-century Swedish women educators Swedish embroiderers