KARIN BJÖRQUIST (born 1927 in Säffle, Sweden, died 2018) was raised by her parents along with her four siblings. As a child she planted herb gardens, and in her youth she developed a talent for drawing leaves, plants and other nature studies.

Her interest in art and design led her to start taking night classes in 1945 and then to continue her studies at Konstfack in Stockholm. Her focus shifted from visual arts and textiles to glass and ceramics. Unlike many of her fellow students, who dreamed of having their own studio and potter’s wheel, Björquist’s ambition was to work in the manufacturing industry.

She realised early on that her best chance of earning a living from ceramics was to take a job with a manufacturer. After a work placement at Gustavsberg, she was encouraged by the then artistic director, Wilhelm Kåge, to come back and apply for a permanent job, which she did in 1950. She later moved to the faience painting department under Stig Lindberg. In the early 1950s she was given her own studio to work in, and her first dinner service entered production in 1952.

Study visits to many parts of the world, including the United States, Mexico and Japan, provided Björquist with a great source of inspiration and reference in her work. She retained a lifelong interest in plants, which inspired her designs and table settings. Motivated by a desire to offer people more beauty in their daily lives, she refined the Gustavsberg tradition of functionality coupled with a feel for the materials and thoughtful design – whether the piece belongs in the hand or in a public space. After almost 50 years at the porcelain works, Karin Björquist was appointed as Gustavsberg’s first female artistic director.