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  4. The Hästens Blue Check: where the pattern comes from

The Blue Check

Short answer

Hästens' blue and white check has existed since 1978. It was designed within the family — usually attributed to Jack Ryde, the fourth generation — as a break from the browns, greens and oranges of the seventies, and was first shown at the Stockholm Furniture Fair, on the 2000T. It has since become the most recognisable brand mark in the bed world.

A break with the seventies

In the late seventies, bedrooms were brown, green and orange. The check was a deliberate break with that: blue and white, crisp and graphic, and so recognisable that the bed no longer needed a logo.

Exactly who designed it is told in different ways. Most sources name Jack Ryde, the fourth generation of the family; what is certain is that the design came from within the family, not from an agency.

Together with the 2000T

The check was presented in 1978 at the Stockholm Furniture Fair, on the bed it has been bound up with ever since: the 2000T. In 2023 Hästens celebrated forty-five years of both.

That the 2000T stands in SleepSpa's first suite is therefore no coincidence. It is the bed that gave the brand its face, and the reference point the rest of the collection is measured against.

Why a pattern works better than a logo

A logo has to be read. A pattern is recognised from across the room, in a photo, in a magazine, in the background of an interview. That is why, in fifty years, the check has become the brand more than the name has.

It has a flip side too: see the check, think Hästens. If you see it on a bed that isn't a Hästens, ask questions — the check belongs to the brand, not to a style.

Sources

  1. Country & Town House. Hästens' Blue Check: The Story Behind The Celebrity-Loved Bed Maker's Iconic Pattern.
  2. designboom (2023). Hästens champions 45 years of craftsmanship for its iconic blue check bed and pattern.

Frequently asked questions

Since when has Hästens had the Blue Check?

Since 1978. The pattern was presented that year at the Stockholm Furniture Fair, together with the 2000T.

Who designed the Hästens Blue Check?

The design came from the family. Most sources name Jack Ryde, the fourth generation; accounts differ on the details.