Kinnasand’s storied history began in 1800 when Mr. Johnsson founded a weaving mill, which produced textiles in Kinna, Sweden. In 1838, his son-in-law, Sven Andersson, took over and the company started to influence the entire Swedish textile industry. In the1840s, the Engdahl family took control and ran the business for the next century.

In 1873, the company registered its name as Kinnasand, a shortened version of KinnaSanden. Kinna comes from the town, while Sanden literally means the “sand or ground of.” The Company industrialized in 1890 with the construction of its first factory building and the introduction of mechanical looms, beginning a long legacy of technical innovation.

In the 1960s, Kinnasand received international recognition for the creation of the world’s first linen wall covering, patenting Novalin and designing a special machine to produce it. The Engdahls converted their home, which was originally built in 1874, inaugurating the concept of a design studio. In the 1970s, Kinnasand began collaborating with a select group of international manufacturers and designers. The manufacturer started to produce cotton-based upholstery textiles as well as clothing fabrics. In the 1980s, Werner Hoffman expanded the collections into printed and burnout textiles, and introduced its first collection of exquisite handmade carpets. Kinnasand textiles and Kinnasand rugs are now highly recognized pieces.

In 2004, following a management buyout, Werner Hofmann relocated the company headquarters from Sweden to Westerstede, Germany, where it remains today. The company then opened numerous new international showrooms increasing its global visibility and availability to architects and interior designers. Kinnasand was acquired by Kvadrat, one of Europe’s leading textile manufacturers, in 2012.

The company is a founding member of the Stockholm Design District and has showrooms in Stockholm, Munich and Oslo. In 2014, Kinnasand opened its first showroom in Milan designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Toyo Ito. In 2015, it opened a showroom in the Marais district of Paris.

The Kinnasand collections are designed by its Creative Director Isa Glink, and have received numerous prestigious national and international design awards. These include the German Design Award, the Interior Innovation Award, the ICFF Editors Award, the Designpreis der Bundesrepublik Deutschland and the Red Dot Design Award.

Kinnasand is known worldwide for its visionary and cutting edge designs, which is reflected by its choice of materials, techniques, colors and the exceptional detailing of its products.