Until the 1930s, Sweden had relied on importing print designs from France and England, but under the influence of Astrid Sampe, who trained at the Royal College of Art in London, Swedish designers were encouraged to experiment with screen printing. In 1936 she became Design Director of a textile studio attached to the Nordiska Kompaniet department store which quickly became the focus for a revolution in Swedish textile design.
Astrid Sampe commissioned textile designs from leading artists and architects and her own fresh and bright printed textiles were widely exhibited and helped to popularise the Swedish modern style.