Axel Einar Hjorth

Designer Ralph Lysell and Bell Calmeyer, tence by descent.

Ralph Lysell and Bell Calmeyer. He from Sweden and she from Norway, met in the USA in the 20s, they married in 1926 and my father (Rolf Gösta Calmeyer) was born in 1927 in New York. A year and a half later they would move to Stockholm. My grandmother asked grandfather to furnish the apartment, while she took the child with her to her parents at Oscarsborg fortress in Norway.

Ralph went to NK and bought the furniture there, which has been in the family's possession ever since. According to family legend, it was made for Ivar Kreuger, but he rejected it because it was too "delicious".

In 1930 their second child was born in Stockholm and not long after that they separated. Bell moved with the children into the Oscarsborg fortress with Bell's father, colonel and commandant Ole Mathias Calmeyer. An installment agreement for the furniture was drawn up between Bell and NK. The debt of 1212.35 was to be paid off with SEK 75/month.

Bell then lived for many years on Solheimgata in Oslo and in the late 60s bought a house in Benidorm on the Spanish sunny coast, and she took the furniture there with her. When she returned to Norway ten years later, she left the furniture in Skåne with the eldest son, who has used it as his kitchen furniture ever since.

Ralph Lysell (1907-1987) Designer and industrial designer. Ralph was formerly called Rolf Åke Nystedt, but began to call himself Ralph over the years in the United States. He later changed to his mother's surname Lysell and eventually also officially changed his first name to Ralph.

Bell Calmeyer Callin (1899-1986) Midwife. Bell's name was Bergljot, a name she disliked very much and she changed to Bell, probably already during her studies in Scotland.

Rolf Gösta Calmeyer (1927-2022) Artist. Born Nystedt and later called himself Nystedt Lysell to finally take his mother's maiden name Calmeyer.

Axel Einar Hjorth is considered one of Sweden's most significant furniture designers during the 1920s and 30s. Hjorth's early employers included Svenska Möbelfabrikerna in Bodafors and the Stockholm Crafts Association. The big breakthrough came as chief architect for Nordiska Kompaniet, a position he took up in 1927 and held until 1938. Hjorth's first major assignment was the Nordiska Kompaniet's lavish stand at the World Exhibition in Barcelona in 1929, to then participate in several major international exhibitions during the following decade. In 1929, Hjorth also breaks new ground and designs the first series of rustic furniture in stained pine, the so-called sports cabin furniture that was named "Lovö", "Utö" and "Sandhamn" after the islands in the Stockholm archipelago.