More about the artist Märta Måås-Fjetterström and her studio in Båstad.

Märta Måås-Fjetterström (1873–1941) was a priest's daughter from Vadstena. She was educated at the School of Industrial Arts in Stockholm - today's Konstfack - and worked at the Kulturen museum in Lund, Malmöhus County Handicraft Association and the Weaving School in Vittsjö.

In 1919, Märta founded her own studio in Båstad, aided by the powerful Ludvig Nobel, who commissioned several rugs and draperies for his hotel, Skånegården. Märta - who composed the patterns but did not weave herself - employed local weavers who wove her stylised compositions. Märtha was greatly inspired by the Swedish flora and fauna but she was mostly interested in the balance of line rather than the colours.

Märta Måås-Fjetterström was in many ways a modern woman. At her weaving studio in Båstad she successfully combined her roles as a visionary artist, an astute businesswoman and an able director. Early on, she cultivated an interest in the stylised patterns of the Orient and in rustic colours and designs. She travelled extensively to major cities such as Paris, London, Amsterdam, Chicago and New York to gain new impressions. In Stockholm, her friend and colleague, the furniture designer Carl Malmsten, had a studio reserved for Märta.

Märta Måås-Fjetterström received her public breakthrough with a major exhibition at Liljevalchs in 1934, which was followed by exhibitions at the British Museum, London in 1936 and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York in 1939.

At the time of Märta's death in 1941, the studio's continued activities were guaranteed by, among others, Carl Malmsten, Erik Wettergren, director of the Nationalmuseum, and King Gustaf V of Sweden. The artist Barbro Nilsson was appointed artistic director and commissioned to administrate Märta Måås-Fjetterström's heritage. Over the years, many artists in collaboration with the weavers have contributed to MMF's imagery – a will and a desire for innovation, which is perhaps more tangible today than ever before.