The artists in the Jobs family from Sweden
It all
really started with embroideries, sewn freely without other patterns than real plants and
berries. Elisabeth was called The Master of embroideries, and in 1901 married Anders Jobs
and had seven artistic children by him. Elisabeth later had to get out of her marriage,
and with the sole responsibility for the support and upbringing of her children she moved
to Stockholm. There she put aside money for food and rent to them all with the help of
what she could earn on embroideries and sewing clothes for wealthy families. - The
embroidered flora was used as decorations on the grown up children's ceramic objects, and
little by little the idea was formed that they could handprint these patterns onto linen
with templates.
The dream came true in the village Västanvik, near lake Siljan in the
heart of Swedish Dalecarlia. Elisabeth's daughters Gocken and Lisbet worked as designers,
and everything was printed onto the two 30 meter long tables where the linen waited as one
colour after another was added to the pattern. To day the old printing methods continue
with between 60 and 120 meter of fabric produced per day, everything handmade in linen and
cotton. The skilled workers take care of the process. Peer Jobs' widow Eva is now head of
the small, but well-known family business where they still print patterns from the 1940ies
and onwards. And each year between one and three new floral patterns are born.
The book on the family Jobs in Swedish is fascinating reading for everyone interested
in textile art. ISBN 91 78444 140 4. A real visit to the shop Jobsboden and to the studio
Jobs Textilhandtryck is a memory for life. Take a look at www.jobsboden.com or www.jobstextilhandtryck.se.
