Ellen Malmer, Royal Copenhagen

by Ray on April 7, 2017

Royal Copenhagen Pattern 953 Ellen Malmer

Ellen Malmer, Royal Copenhagen 1965-1988

Ellen Malmer ( b1942 – ) is another of the great designers and artists who worked for Royal Copenhagen at the height of its popularity in the mid to late twentieth century. She was part of the group working with Nils Thorsson producing the now iconic Baca and Tenera series for Aluminia/Royal Copenhagen.

She trained at the Design School in Copenhagen and started with Royal Copenhagen as a designer in 1965 working there until 1988, primarily with Fajance ware. After leaving Royal Copenhagen she has worked in her own right as an Artist in the fields of textiles and collage/painting.

Each Designer who worked with fajance ware at Royal Copenhagen became known for their unique style of design, decoration, use of colour, and motifs – and the work of Ellen Malmer is no exception.

We often see only the most popular Baca and Tenera designs these days by Ellen due to their higher production, but they represent only a small range of her designs. I have tried to capture a wide cross section of her designs in the images below.

I really like the graphic and textural qualities of her designs, along with her subtle use of tone and colour. If I had to pick a favourite it would be the Nucella design dinnerware in blue. The shapes for this series were designed by Inge-Lise Kofoed and Leif Lautrup-Larsen, and the Pattern design by Ellen Malmer in 1966.