JIE Keramik

manufacturer

JIE Keramik pressed earthenware household goods at Gantofta near Helsingborg, then shifted decisively to ornamental stoneware wall reliefs and animal figures in the mid-1960s. The Swedish manufacturer began ceramic production in 1952 and introduced hydraulic pressing for utility ware in 1964, but the defining turn came when designer Elsi Bourelius contributed hand-modelled figural pieces including the Skånetösen, a provincial girl that remained in production until the firm's bankruptcy. Aimo Nietosvuori joined in 1967 with candleholders and floral reliefs, eventually producing around 1300 models; Maria Ericson made over 200, including a series of endangered animals for WWF; Edith Risberg contributed approximately 160 figures and planters. Staffan Johnson, son of founder John Ewert Johnson, designed bird plaques drawing on ornithological knowledge. The company employed fifty-one designers over its operational life, decorating later pieces by silkscreen printing to replace costlier hand-painted work, and moved production to Portugal and elsewhere before closing.