Sophia Magdalena Gardelius (1804-1881) was a Swedish

damask Damask (; ar, دمشق) is a reversible patterned fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or synthetic fibers, with a pattern formed by weaving. Damasks are woven with one warp yarn and one weft yarn, usually with the pattern in warp-faced satin ...

weaver. She is regarded as a pioneer within the damask weaving technique of

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...

. She married a farmer of Roma parish of Gotland in 1822. When her spouse was ruined, they moved to her parents, and she began to weave and sell damask to support the family. In 1832, she advertised that she manufactured damask for commission and accepted pupils in the art. The art of weaving damask was then new and popular. Gardelius composed her own patterns by mathematic measurements, and her weaving stools were constructed to adjust to her needs to handle a thousand patterns. Her weaving school and workshop was very successful, she became famous in contemporary Sweden and her clients included the queen,

Josephine of Leuchtenberg Joséphine of Leuchtenberg (Joséphine Maximilienne Eugénie Napoléone de Beauharnais; 14 March 1807 – 7 June 1876) was Queen of Sweden and Norway from 8 March 1844 to 8 July 1859 as the wife of King Oscar I. She was also Princess of Bologna f ...

. Her school was closed in 1879 but her business was taken over by her daughters in 1881 and continued until 1921.

References

* Du Rietz, Anita, ''Kvinnors entreprenörskap: under 400 år'', 1. uppl., Dialogos, Stockholm, 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardelius, Sophia Magdalena 19th-century Swedish businesspeople 1804 births 1881 deaths Gotland Swedish weavers 19th-century Swedish businesswomen