Nordiska Kompaniet

Scharinska villan in Umeå, designed by architect Ragnar Östberg. It was constructed between 1904-05 and remained in private ownership until 1957 when it was acquired by Umeå Municipality. In 1960, the villa transitioned to become the first headquarters for Umeå Student Union.
Before the sale to Umeå Municipality, the furnishings were sold, and the present furniture was purchased by a private individual for a new mountain lodge in Hemavan, which was completed in 1956. Since then, the lodge along with its furnishings has been inherited by the current owner.

Nordiska Kompaniets verkstäder (the Nordiska Kompaniet workshops) were a Swedish manufacturer of furniture and lighting fixtures for the department store Nordiska Kompaniet (NK) between 1904 and 1973. The company had its factory in Nyköping and was once the city's largest industry. In the workshops, both specially commissioned and serially produced furniture were executed. During the 1920s, NK's workshops produced interiors for many public buildings including the Concert Hall in Stockholm and the offices of the Swedish Match Company. From the 1930s and onwards, commissioned interior design projects were an essential part of the workshops' output. The architect Carl Bergsten was chief architect at the workshops between 1917 and 1921, and Axel Einar Hjorth held the position between 1927 and 1938.