Efva Attling

Efva Attling - now designs for Orrefors

Efva Attling has widened her horizons again.  Among all the other creative ventures upon which she has embarked, Efva now has added crystal design.  The theme of her creations is love.  As the mystery of love knows no boundaries, Efva already has an international audience.  Efva Attling's list of accomplishments is virtually endless.  A sampling of some of Efva Attling's work is listed below.

She was born in Stockholm 1952. She made her first piece of jewelry when she was eleven. At the age of 16 she was a pupil of one of Sweden’s greatest silversmiths. After Eileen Ford spotted her a 12-year modelling career began. Efva worked as a model in Milan, Paris, London and with Ford Models in New York, but she wanted to change her career, and so she did. Having music in the family and in her heart (her father was a jazz musician), she started a band in 1981 called the X Models. The band, in which Efva composed both lyrics and music, had a huge hit ”Two of Us” in the 80´s.

While she kept on writing, singing and releasing records, she also worked with design in different forms. She designed clothes for Levis and H&M. When Efva got pregnant she couldn´t find any black maternity wear with a modern cut on the market, so she created her own line of maternity wear called "Pretty Pregnant ." Since 1996, she’s been back to where she once started: working with silver, gold and precious stones.

She opened her own workshop in February 1999 on Hornsgatan 42 in the southern part of central Stockholm. After two years she expanded and bought the next door premises as well. This was her first owned and designed jewelry shop nowadays she owns shops in London and Helsinki as well. In November 2004 her flaggshipstore “Efva Attling Stockholm” opened. This is located on Birger Jarlsgatan right in the center of Stockholm just between Gucci and Luis Vuitton. All the stores are built with the same kind of atmosphere as the first one.

Efva´s speciality is playing around with words and expressions. This gives you one more dimension to the jewellery. Titles like : ”Human” as a strive to be a good human being, paying respect to others and yourself ”From Here to Eternity” what is more romantic then having Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr kissing on the beach in the back of your mind, ”Wild at Heart” :”Even when I´m 80 years old I hope to be Wild at Heart”, says Efva laughing. ”Homo Sapiens”: We are all equal. “Time will come” meaning that we will not loose time but on the contrary we will gain.time. It´s a moore laid back thought. “Amor Vincit Omnia” (Love Concours All) “Carpe Diem“ (seize the day) “Pencez de moy” ,think of me, in 13th century french spelling “I found the expression in a museum. It was the inside graving in an old French ring from the 13th century and I thought, it´s a lovely gift to give and to get, to receive such words”, she says. “And as I used to write lyrics I still want to move people with words. I call my jewellery Beauty with a thought”.

One day a friend of Efva, Johan Renck, (who produced Madonna’s video ”Nothing Really Matters”) brought Madonna The Human ring and the Homo Sapiens dog tag necklace. Madonna choose to wear both of the lewellery pieces in the TV commercial for Max Factor Gold lipstick, and is wearing Efva´s jewellery both for private use and in public. Not only Madonna likes Efva´s jewellery, Jennifer Aniston has the necklace ”Hope”, Kylie Minogue wears “Kisses” necklace, Iman has the ”Genie” earrings.

In 2002, when Efva Attling turned 50, she was elected as the best dressed woman by Swedish Elle magazine. And 2003 one of the best dressed in Amelia magazine.

Efva Attling Stockholm is supporting a project for The Red Cross in Cambodia. ”The Cross bracelet ” is bringing in quite a bit of money and contributes to The Red Cross and enable them to go out in schools and lecture how to prevent AIDS. Efva was there recently and she met and discussed this problems with the children.

”It was a great moment , I was really touched by their spirit to learn. Some of them wanted to work with the Red Cross when they finished school”, Efva says. After the Tsunami catastrophe Efva made ”Angels” a silver pendant in order to help the surviving vicitms. Angels is also a co-operation with the Red Cross. ”I was devistated when it happend. I have friends who lost their loved ones. I travel to Thailand once a year and I love the spirit of the Thai´s. I had to do something to help.” Now ”Angels” connects people who see others who have done the same.

Since 2002 Efva designs eyewear for Scandinavian Eyewear. She launched her first collection of optical frames and sunglasses in the fall the same year. She made one pair of eyewear in complete Sterling Silver, a numbered edition only in 925 pieces. ”Of course I like to design frames with an attitude”, Efva explaines . ”I see eyewear as a piece of jewellery too. And some of my jewellery is made to match the frames. The Carpe Diem Monocle as an example which I am very proud of.” Celebrity’s as Lisa Marie Presley, Ronan Keating and Swedish soccerplayer Fredrik Ljungberg all wear her sunglasses and Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA looks elegant in Efva Attling optical frames as do many others of course.

ABSOLUT ATTLING 2005
Efva Attling was asked to design a bottlepourer in sterling silver for Absolute vodka. She designed a bottlepourer and a shotglass with the signifigant Absolut A, but a twisted A to make it the Attling way.

EFVA COOPERATES WITH ORREFORS
This year Orrefors offered Efva Attling a partnership as an external designer,an offer she accepted with great excitement. She will design chrystal glass in different forms. ”This is a great challenge for me and I am proud to be chosen” Efva Attling says.