Bo Wretling for Otto Wretling Lounge Chair in Bicolor Purple Pierre Frey Mohair

Bo Wretling for Otto Wretling, lounge chair, Pierre Frey Teddy mohair, Umeå, Sweden, 1930s

Designed by Bo Wretling and produced in the Otto Wretling workshop, this rare lounge chair exemplifies the company's later phase, reflecting a commitment to the clean geometry and utilitarian sensibility typical of Scandinavian modernism.The chair’s low, reclining profile and generously contoured form signal both comfort and ergonomic clarity. The chair’s bold silhouette – marked by broad, wing-like armrests and a continuous flowing line from backrest to seat – embodies a distinct modernist softness, eschewing ornament in favor of form as function. The chair is fitted with discreet casters, subtly integrated into the base to preserve the sleek, uninterrupted flow of its form while offering practical mobility. Bo Wretling, one of several children involved in the firm, was especially dedicated to furniture design. After completing his journeyman’s test in 1929, he assumed a leading role in the workshop and later became known for his expertise furniture making. Newly upholstered in a Pierre Frey mohair fabric in contrasting plum and soft purple tones, the chair’s tactile richness enhances its sculptural form.

Biography

In the early 20th century, located in the northern Swedish city of Umeå, a unique artistic enterprise emerged that blended craftsmanship, family tradition, and modern design sensibilities. Known as Firma Otto Wretling för Modern Rumskonst (Otto Wretling Company for Modern Interior Art), this workshop grew from modest roots into a vibrant creative hub. The story begins with Otto Wilhelm Wretling (b. 1845), who originally registered a painting business in 1877. What started as a traditional painters' firm would, by the turn of the century, evolve into a multifaceted workshop that combined painting, furniture making, textile arts, and design – what could be called a Gesamtkunstwerk in workshop form.

The transition into furniture-making began in 1905, when the company expanded its focus, embracing interior art in a broader sense. After a decade of joint leadership between Otto's sons Vilhelm and Otto (the younger), the latter – Otto Wretling (1876–1971) – assumed full control in 1915. His tenure marked a turning point: under his guidance, the company grew into a family-centered artistic collective, drawing in his wife Frida, their children, and later even grandchildren. One descendant would later describe it as a "collaborative creative collective," a phrase that captures both the spirit and structure of the enterprise. The Wretling firm operated in the spirit of the old guild system, long after its formal dissolution in Sweden. Although Otto Wretling the younger began his training in 1889, well after the guilds had lost legal authority, the ethos remained: skills were handed down generationally, and children often apprenticed under their parents. This gave the workshop a continuity of knowledge and style, while also allowing space for individual artistic growth.

Frida Wretling, Otto's wife, managed the weaving workshop, where custom upholstery fabrics and rugs were crafted, ensuring that textiles and furniture were designed in harmony. Their son David, who had studied under the renowned sculptor Carl Milles, brought fine art sensibility into the workshop’s output, embellishing furniture and also pursuing a career as a sculptor. Other children contributed in diverse ways: Prior to his career as an architect, and eventual appointment as Umeå’s city architect, Kjell Wretling contributed furniture designs to the family firm; Stig was a painter and decorative artist, embellishing and decorating furniture; Anna focused on textile design; Britta oversaw the company’s sales and exhibition space; and Bo, perhaps the most dedicated to the family business, eventually took over its operations.

The stylistic evolution of the firm’s furniture mirrored larger design trends of the time. Early pieces drew inspiration from folk art, followed by the floral and flowing forms of Art Nouveau in the 1910s. In the 1920s, the firm shifted toward a more classical aesthetic, often incorporating elaborate marquetry. By the 1930s, as functionalism gained traction in Swedish design, Otto Wretling’s workshop responded with modernist innovations of their own – including the so-called "Ideal Table," patented in 1936.

Beyond his contributions to furniture and interior art, Otto Wretling was also a painter, with several ceiling paintings still extant in Umeå’s public and private buildings. His home served as a salon of sorts – a meeting place for artists and cultural figures – cementing his status not only as a craftsman, but as a local cultural patron.

What makes the Otto Wretling firm particularly compelling is how it combined artistry and domesticity, professionalism and intimacy. It was a place where the boundaries between work, art, and family blurred, producing a legacy that helped shape Umeå’s cultural identity well into the mid-20th century.