Greta Magnusson Grossman (1906–1999) was an early pioneer in the male dominated worlds of mid-century industrial and interior design and architecture, gaining international recognition for her work. She was born in Helsingborg, Sweden into a family of cabinetmakers. Following in their footsteps, she became the first woman in the workshop when she undertook a woodworking apprenticeship at a young age. She went on to win a scholarship to study furniture design at the renowned Stockholm arts institution, Konstfack, and was among the first women to graduate from its School of Industrial Design. In 1933, she opened Studio, a combined store and workshop in Stockholm, with a former classmate. In the same year she married jazz musician Billy Grossman – sometimes described as the ‘Benny Goodman of Sweden’ – and they lived happily together in Sweden until the onset of the Second World War.

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