Jakob Kulle Ohlsson (1838-1898)

Ohlsson was  born in 1838 in Lund. He was apprenticed to a goldsmith in Malmo from 1855 and moved to Stockholm in 1860, where he worked as a goldsmith until 1867. From 1864 to 1872 he studied at the Academy in Stockholm. It was here that he developed his interest in folk culture which led him to become a pioneer in textile handicraft. He travelled around Skåne and studied the old Skåne decorative tissue. He collected thousands of designs that he found in the cottages in the countryside and in the 1880s he was a teacher of drawing patterns at the Technical School in Stockholm. Together with her sister Thora Hill, Ohlsson formed weaving schools in Lund and Stockholm.  Ohlsson’s work is represented by the National Museum in Stockholm, Linskäktning in Scania and Kistehammare in Torna county of Skåne, Hälsingborgs Museum, Kristianstad Museum and Cultural History Museum in Lund and Malmö Museum.  He is author of the book ‘Swedish patterns for art and embroidery’.