Antiques of Tomorrow
Dyrlund has followed the same design and construction processes since its launch more than 50 years ago. Company director Bent Møller Jørgensen explains:
“Our designs grow out of the workshop as prototypes – we work directly with the raw material, which gives you a real feel for the possibilities and lets you get straight to the business of making a functional piece of furniture.”
Dyrlund still manufactures pieces in teak, along with cherry, walnut, oak, alder, and beech. As in the past, all of their furniture is created in their Denmark factory. Because they use traditional cabinet-making techniques and hand finishing, they employ only tradespeople of the highest skill level. The hand finishing is critical: it sets Dyrlund’s pieces apart and ensures they “grow more beautiful with time” to become “the antiques of tomorrow.” (Dyrlund)
The company’s current furniture may be the antiques of tomorrow, but their past works are today’s highly sought-after vintage pieces. Dyrlund’s mid-century furniture is prized for its exceptional craftsmanship and timeless, minimalist aesthetic, but also for certain signature elements and ingenious designs that were theirs alone. Whether developed in-house or created by the well-known designers they partnered with, Dyrlund’s mid-century modern pieces are in demand on the collectors’ market.
Vintage Dyrlund--Distinctive & Smart Design
Sometimes it’s the little things that stand out. For Dyrlund in the mid-century, it was handles. The company became known for a couple of distinct handle styles: a solid wood handle with an oval-shaped cutout, and a marquis-shaped handle that “extends from one drawer into the other.” (Mariekke)
You can see the oval handle in a gentleman’s dresser we had in our collection, now sold:
Image from VHB collection.
The marquis is seen in the rosewood sideboard we currently have in-store:
Another variation of the marquis is seen in this bar cabinet, dating from the 1960s:
Like many mid-century furniture manufacturers, Dyrlund worked with some of the more notable designers of the period. This striking, minimalist rosewood desk is by Gunni Omman, designer of teak highboard we currently have in stock.
Johannes Andersen also worked with Dyrlund, creating the sideboard that was in our collection and a night table that used the company's oval cutout handle:
Erik Buch is credited with this set of barstools made by Dyrlund. (In these stools you can see some of the elements of Buch’s famous Model 61, which we have available for order at VHB.)
This stunning and brilliantly designed rosewood bar cabinet, made for Dyrlund in 1960, has been attributed to both Andersen and Buch:
Images from Pamono.
Another of Dyrlund’s bars proved very popular, then and now. According to Pamono.ca, this rosewood bar by Knud Bent is one of the company’s most well-known pieces, appearing often in design literature. It’s easy to see why, with its modern lines and efficient design: shelves, bottle storages, a pullout tray for mixing drinks, and even a holder for an ice bucket.
Images from Pamono.
Catalogue pictures from 1968 show the bar cart in use, along with another of Erik Buch’s stools:
Images from Danish Modern San Diego.
Bar carts were also popular in the mid-century era. True to the period, with its emphasis on efficiency of design, bar carts were very versatile pieces. This teak model from our collection, now sold, was extendable, with a removable tray, and castors so it could be moved when needed:
Dyrlund applied its unique, ingenious design aesthetic to other rooms in the home, including the bedroom, where they became known for dressers and other storage, as well as bed frames. The design below includes tambour doors that open to reveal several drawers for maximum storage:
Images from 1stdibs.
A king bed frame, from our past collection, includes attached side tables with a carved oval handle:
Image from VHB collection.
The dining room is another area where Dyrlund offered innovative designs, including the “Flip Flap” or “Lotus” table. Extending tables were nothing new, but this is one of the more unique and functional designs of the period. The version we have at VHB features Dyrlund's well-known wood pedestal base:
Images from VHB.
The version below shows Dyrlund’s use of metal and wood, a not uncommon pairing in the mid-century era when designers were known to experiment with new materials. In this table, chrome legs complement the intentionally visible hinges for a truly modern look.
Images from Pamono.
A later design has a similar aesthetic:
Images from 1stdibs.
Another wood and metal combination resulted in an eye-catching look--a very modern teak media cabinet with hairpin legs:
Image from Vintage Retro UK.
In its dining tables, Dyrlund was known for using solid wood pedestal table legs that offered stability while also allowing plenty of leg room:
Images from VHB collection. Both tables now sold.
Dining table tops were equally solid and crafted to accentuate the grain of the wood, as with this rosewood pedestal table, currently in our store:
Image from VHB.
The company’s craftsmanship extended beyond furniture to lighting, including this gorgeous lamp with a base made of concentric circles of wood:
Image from 1stdibs.
Although fully dedicated to traditional techniques, Dyrlund has a long legacy of truly modern and innovative designs. So strong is its reputation that the company, now known as Dyrlund-Smith A/S, counts among its clients many celebrities and heads of state. Its vintage pieces are a testament to the quality of the Dyrlund brand, one now signified with a gold seal logo, indicating that when it comes to furniture production, "only the best will do." (Dyrlund)
Poul Volther: Beyond the Corona
Poul Volther was born in Denmark 1923. He worked as a joiner for a time then enrolled at the School of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen, where he studied cabinet-making and architecture. After graduating in 1949, he established his own design and architecture firm. That same year, design legend Hans Wegner introduced Volther to the FDB, a Danish cooperative for consumer goods producers. At the FDB Volther worked under Borge Møgensen. He took over as design director after Møgensen’s departure in 1959. During his career, he also taught at the Royal Danish Academy School of Design. (Pamono.ca, Wilhide, p. 117)
Volther shared the design ethos of his contemporaries. Furniture manufacturer Erik Jørgensen, the producer of the Corona chair, describes his approach on the company's website: “With a starting point in functionalism’s motto ‘form follows function’, Volther designed stylistic, functional furniture where the aesthetic was often paramount.”
One example of form following function is a chair he created while working with FDB. The J110 lounge chair is simple, yet striking in design, but also intended to be a functional, comfortable seat:
Poul Volther J110 Chair. Image from Danish Design Store.
The J110 has been described as “a Nordic and democratic version of a royal seat” with a “cosy” shell and “calm” expression that resembles a “hyper-modern sculpture...as the interplay between the slats and the light performs a delicate shadow dance on the walls and floor.” (ArchiExpo) A recent image from a Copenhagen restaurant shows how the light plays through the slats:
Volther J110 Chair. Image from Apartment Therapy.
Following in sequence, the J111 dining chair had similar sculptural qualities:
Poul Volther J111 Dining Chair. Image from Lauritz.com.
The clean, unadorned design of both the J110 and J111 are evidence of Volther’s general philosophy. He was “strongly opposed to superficial trends and fads in design and had a firm commitment to quality.” (Wilhide, p. 117) The result is timeless designs that remain popular decades later. Indeed, reproductions of both the J110 and J111 are being made today.
His aversion to trendiness did not mean he was afraid to try new things. Volther was keen to experiment with new materials and approaches to design. His first attempt at working with foam resulted in the Pyramid Chair. Created in 1953, it was inspired by time-lapse photos of solar eclipses:
Poul Volther Pyramid Chair. Image from ArtNet.
The Pyramid Chair was not a commercial success, but it did inspire Volther’s most famous design: the Corona chair. Breaking from the Danish tradition of working with hardwood, Volther designed the Corona with a metal frame. (Wilhide) Like the Pyramid, the Corona consisted of a set of elliptical cushions separated by open spaces. (Iconic Interiors claims the spaces in the Pyramid chair were not just aesthetic; they helped economize on materials in the postwar period.)
Volther designed the chair in 1961 and, in 1962, partnered with manufacturer Erik Jørgensen to produce it. The original Corona had a chromed steel frame and tomato red leather upholstery, like this one:
Poul Volther Corona Chair. Image from Lauritz.
The Corona is iconic. Yet Volther’s other designs are also noteworthy. He was a designer completely in sync with others of his time, combining “functional aesthetics” with “rational design thinking.” (Pamono.ca)
Volther’s rational thinking is seen in the flexibility of his designs. The notion of maximizing space was an important part of Scandinavian design; assigning more than one purpose to a given piece ensured smart use of space. His Model C35/J62 acts as both dining table and desk. The modular drawer unit can be moved from side to side or removed altogether and the table itself extends in length for times when more space is needed:
Poul Volther Desk/Dining Table. Images from 1stdibs.
An elegant round coffee table folds in half easily to reduce its size:
Poul Volther Coffee Table. Images from 1stdibs.
Daybeds were popular in the mid-century era. Volther’s model 981 teak version, also called the Diva, featured brackets on the side that easily lifted and slid back to convert the sofa into a bed:
Poul Volther “Diva” Daybed. Images from Pamona.ca.
Volther shared the minimalist, sleek design aesthetic common to other Danish designers, but added his own unique flair. A small teak cabinet he designed features legs in the shape of a mathematical compass that resemble stilts, adding visual interest while also providing enough height to make the cabinet easily accessible. Rounded edges on the body of the cabinet create contrast:
Poul Volther Small Cabinet. Image from Pamona.ca.
Unlike the curvy Corona, Volther’s teak rocking chair features sharp angles, yet it still suits the human body perfectly. Like the Corona, this chair has a spare, open design that provides a similar degree of “sculptural gravity.”
Poul Volther Rocking Chair. Image from 1stdibs.
Volther’s dining chairs use pronounced angles and curves to create comfortable backrests:
Poul Volther Oak J60 Dining Chair. Image from Pamono.ca.
Poul Volther African Teak Dining Chairs. From VHB’s Collection. (Now Sold)
Poul Volther Teak Dining Chairs. From VHB’s Collection. (Now Sold)
And his “Mama Bear” combines all of the various aesthetic elements he favoured: body-hugging curves; high, tapered legs; and angled backrest and armrests:
Poul Volther “Mama Bear” Upholstered Armchair. Images from 1stdibs.
Poul Volther was an accomplished and prolific furniture designer whose works go well beyond the Corona chair. As Erik Jørgensen concludes in its profile of the designer: “With his unerring sense of detail, love for materials and great craftsmanship, Volther has left his mark on Danish and international design history.”
]]>Hans Olsen: Outside the Mainstream
Hans Olsen was born in Denmark in 1919. He began his career as a cabinetmaker. At the age of 30, he enrolled at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art where he studied under design master Kaare Klint.
At the Academy, Olsen focused on ergonomics and the study of human body measurements (anthropometry). His studies were a sign of things to come. In his career he would show an affinity for experimenting with shape and materials, all with the goal of achieving “maximum comfort.” (Pamono)
With his more “playful and experimental approach,” Olsen stood outside the mainstream Klint school. (WarmNordic) In 1953, he opened his own studio and began exhibiting his works with the Cabinetmakers Guild in Copenhagen “to much acclaim.” (Artnet) The resulting interest in his designs led to partnerships with leading Danish manufacturers like Bramin Møbel, Frem Røjle, and N.A. Jørgensen.(Pamono) Looking at his early work, it is easy to see what made his pieces so popular: efficient, economic design; flawless construction; a wide range of textures and materials; and compelling, organic shapes that drew the eye.
One of his first creations was the Roundette dining set, an ingenious design that was both elegant and practical. Triangular seats fit neatly together, and the chair backs nestle seamlessly under the table top:
Hans Olsen Roundette Dining Set. Image from 1stdibs.
In addition to innovations in shape, Olsen did not shy away from trying unconventional materials, like bent, laminated wood. Olsen’s early chair designs showcase his use of bent wood, along with the exaggerated curves he was known for. The Model 134--also known as the “Orange chair” for its resemblance to an orange peel--was first made in the 1950s. Its seat and backrest were each made of a single piece of molded wood:
Hans Olsen Model 134 Orange chair. Image from Sharp Lines Old Times.
Similarly, the Model 107, made in 1957, also used a single piece of wood for its back and armrests:
Hans Olsen Model 107 armchair. Image from Archive Furniture.
Perhaps Olsen’s most famous bent wood chair is the Bikini. Designed later in his career, in 1968, it was recognized for its “futuristic lines and confident attitude” and considered a “radical piece for its time.” (Sharp Lines Old Times)
Hans Olsen Bikini chair. Images from ArtNet.
Olsen’s bent wood designs hint at the playfulness for which he was known. That trait appeared in other furnishings as well, including the widely recognized Model 188, better known as the “Fried Egg.”
Hans Olsen Fried Egg Chair. Image from Artnet.
The chair’s nickname comes from the top-down view, in which it looks like a fried egg:
Hans Olsen Fried Egg chair, seen from above. Image from Sharp Lines Old Times.
An article on ArchiProducts discusses the impact of the chair:
The Fried Egg chair stands out with its playful idiom, which in its very own way captures the zeitgeist of the 1950s, when experiments, bravery and skill resulted in world-class furniture. Hans Olsen had an exceptional awareness of line, surface and colour. In his designs, he was not afraid to combine classic values with humour, and Fried Egg aroused well-deserved attention when it was presented at the Cabinetmakers’ Guild Furniture Exhibition in Copenhagen in 1956.
Olsen’s innovations with form and materials are evident in two other well-known designs: his King Frederik VII chair and TV bench.
The King Frederik VII chair included a drop-leaf shelf attached at the back. It was inspired by its namesake king, who, it is said, preferred to sit backwards when reading and commissioned a chair that would allow him to do so. The Olsen version was “flexible enough to sit in either forwards, backwards or sideways.” Multiple chairs could also be positioned together around a larger table surface for playing cards or eating. In 1965, the chair won a gold medal from the American Institute of Interior Designers. (Mostly Danish Modern, Sharp Lines Old Times)
Hans Olsen King Frederik VII chair. Image from Mostly Danish Modern.
Ad for Olsen’s King Frederik VII chair. Image from Mostly Danish Modern.
Olsen’s TV bench combined a highly practical design with a novel use of materials. It was completely modular: all of the pieces could be separated and configured in a variety of ways, as shown below. It was also visually striking, with its intricate canework and open, minimalist design.
Hans Olsen TV bench. Images from Sharp Lines Old Times.
The angle of the backrests is also notable. With his knowledge of ergonomics and the human form, Olsen designed the seats in his TV bench to fit the body perfectly, ensuring total comfort. A similar angle is seen in the backrest of his rocking chair, which also featured beautiful canework and an open, airy design. Despite the lightness of its appearance, the rocking chair is remarkably sturdy, owing to its spring seat and solid construction:
Hans Olsen rocking chair. From VHB’s collection.
Olsen applied the same ergonomic principles to his more conventional upholstered furniture. In these pieces, the angle of the backrest and depth of the seat combine to envelop the body perfectly:
Hans Olsen lounge chairs. From VHB’s collection.
Hans Olsen 4-seater sofa. From VHB’s collection.
Ergonomics also factored into another of Olsen’s famous chairs. In his highly collectible Safari chair, he crafted a backrest and seat from a single piece of leather. This “sling” style of seat curves around the body for incredible comfort. He added leather armrests to complete the look:
Hans Olsen Safari chair with new leather. Image from VHB’s collection.
Hans Olsen passed away in 1992. With the permission of Olsen’s family, European furniture manufacturer Warm Nordic has pledged to “uphold [his] design legacy” with reissues of his more famous pieces, including the Fried Egg, “Gesture” chair (Model 107), and the “Orange” chair (Model 134). (Warm Nordic) These reproductions are a testament to the scarcity of the originals and increasing demand for Olsen’s unique and intriguing designs.
]]>Reff was co-founded in 1964 by three brothers and a cousin—Robert, Eric, Frank and Fred Drechsel. They launched the firm with a plan to create seating and office systems. Their motto? “Quality. Value. Service.” (Drechsel)
Their first forays into design went beyond what they had initially envisioned to include dressers, headboards, and other bedroom furniture that is still popular today.
]]>Reff was co-founded in 1964 by three brothers and a cousin—Robert, Eric, Frank and Fred Drechsel. They launched the firm with a plan to create seating and office systems. Their motto? “Quality. Value. Service.” (Drechsel)
Their first forays into design went beyond what they had initially envisioned to include dressers, headboards, and other bedroom furniture that is still popular today. The company was also known for its modular wall units for the home that incorporated small storage boxes, shelves, and desk units, like this one, from our collection:
Reff teak wall unit. Image from VHB.
As the company grew, the founders became more interested in modular construction, like that used in their wall units. Following this new direction, Reff Furniture moved exclusively to office furnishings in 1978. Five years later, they created System 6, a “revolutionary wood-panel office system.” (Knoll)
In 1989, Reff was purchased by Knoll, the company created by Hans and Florence Knoll. (Although the Drechsels no longer own Reff, there is still a link to the original founders. Fred Drechsel established Drechsel Business Interiors in 1991 and built it into Canada’s leading distributor of Knoll products. He was with the company until this year, when he stepped down in a planned transition, with his daughter, Tova, taking over as president.)
System 6 is the basis for the newest Reff line, produced by Knoll and called Reff Profiles.™ The new Profiles line includes freestanding cabinets and credenzas that sit above the ground to “communicate lightness in scale and a fluidity that are very modern.” (Knoll) A typical configuration is shown below:
Reff Profiles. Image from Knoll.
The lightness and fluidity of Reff’s modern office furniture is also found in the company’s original designs for the home, several examples of which have come through VHB’s doors.
The vintage Reff dressers we’ve had in our collection are elevated on high, slim legs to create a sense of openness. The quality cited in Reff’s original motto is also abundantly evident in the aesthetics and functionality of these pieces, as you can see below. Rosewood legs contrast beautifully with the teak drawers. Recessed drawer handles provide easy access to the interiors, while the absence of traditional drawer hardware creates a sleek, elegant look. Barefaced housing joints add strength to the drawers. Thick teak veneer was made to last and looks as stunning now as it did when these dressers were first made.
Reff teak 3-drawer dresser. Image from VHB. (No longer available.)
Reff wide teak 9-drawer dresser. Image from VHB. (No longer available.)
Reff tall teak 6-drawer dresser. Image from VHB. (No longer available.)
The design of the dressers is echoed in Reff’s bed frames, which were often made with floating side tables, as seen here:
Image from Furniture 1950.
Like the dressers, Reff bed frames had a very streamlined appearance and used both teak and rosewood to great effect. The teak headboard below is finished with rosewood trim and legs:
Reff teak and rosewood headboard. Image from VHB.
A similar aesthetic is seen in this unique dressing mirror with drawer. It uses the same construction in the drawer as was seen in the dressers. Also of note are the extremely clean lines of the frameless mirror.
Reff dressing mirror. Image from VHB.
Quality craftsmanship is seen as well in Reff’s teak modular wall units. Rails came with or without teak veneer. Shelves had varying depths and defined edges with pronounced angles and lines, as seen in this close-up:
Reff teak modular wall unit. Image from VHB collection.
In its fullest size, a Reff wall unit could incorporate several pairs of shelves and drawer units, like this one:
Reff wall unit. Image from Pinterest.
Reff’s wall units also came in freestanding models, like the one shown below, supported by tall tension poles:
Image from Tribute Decor.
In an interview with Canadian Business Journal in 2012, Frank Drechsel talked about the importance of quality and sustainable thinking in the furniture business. He recalled being appalled by the throwaway mentality he encountered when he first moved to Canada from Germany. Instead of poorly built furniture that will need replacing a few years after purchasing, Drechsel Business Interiors focuses on pieces that are made to last. As he noted: “Manufacturing is already something where you use a lot of resources, and those resources, whether you build something good quality or not as good, are the same—the same steel, the same fabric, the same wood, the same labour, so why not have something that is sustainable?” His company also stresses reuse, asking clients to update existing furniture and blend it with newer pieces.
It is a very mid-century modern way of thinking: create high-quality, timeless furniture that lasts for generations. And it is clearly a philosophy he and his colleagues followed with Reff Furniture, whose vintage pieces remain highly collectible today.
Post written by Crystal Smith.
]]>George Nelson: Uncomplicated Design
George Nelson was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1908. He would later study architecture at Yale, an interest that came about quite by accident. According to Nelson himself, he ducked into the architecture school to wait out a rainstorm and became “entranced” by the student projects he saw. After graduate studies at Catholic University in Washington D.C. in the early 1930s, he competed for and won the Rome Prize, which enabled him to study at the American Academy in Rome.
While in Europe, Nelson conducted interviews with prominent architects, including Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and Walter Gropius. Appearing as profiles in the American architectural journal Pencil Points, these interviews would launch Nelson’s writing career. By 1935, he was associate editor of both Architecture Forum and Fortune. He founded his own architectural practice soon after. He shut down the business during World War II, then moved onto teaching at Columbia University.
Nelson’s writing drew the attention of D.J. De Pree, president Herman Miller, who hired him as a designer in 1945. He would be appointed design director of the company in 1947. In that role, he would “forge the company’s image” and play “a key role in establishing Herman Miller as one of the most important modern American furniture producers.” (George Nelson Foundation.) Along the way, Nelson recruited “seminal” designers of the period, like Charles and Ray Eames, Alexander Girard, and Isamu Noguchi. (Design Within Reach) While working with Herman Miller, Nelson also established his own eponymous industrial design firm through which he began a collaboration with the Howard Miller Clock Company. (Howard was Herman’s brother.)
Despite all of this activity, he did not stop writing. His book Tomorrow’s House, written with the managing editor of Architectural Forum Henry Wright, showed why Nelson was considered a provocateur. The book was scathing in its criticism of contemporary home design, which he believed hewed to whatever trend was in fashion--English, French Provincial, Colonial--without regard for the needs of modern lives. He makes his viewpoint clear early in the first chapter:
“Today’s house is a peculiarly lifeless affair. The picture one sees in residential neighborhoods the country over is one of drab uniformity: pathetic little white boxes with dressed-up street fronts, each striving for individuality through meaningless changes in detail or color. The reason today’s house is so uninteresting is simply that it fails to echo life as we live it...Expressed in another way, it is hideously inefficient. Less honest thought goes into the design of the average middle-class house than into the fender of a cheap automobile.” ( Today’s House, Full text version.)
His writing in Tomorrow’s House shows that Nelson, like all mid-century modern designers, believed in efficiency and smart design where form follows function. To him it was all very simple: “[O]ne starts with a need, a problem, and ends up with a design for a thing. The basic rules are not complicated: a designed object has to do what it was made for.” (George Nelson Foundation)
As will see, Nelson practiced what he preached, starting with a piece he developed for Tomorrow’s House: the Storagewall. Featured on the cover of Life magazine, the Storagewall epitomized Nelson’s philosophy on modern design. It was practical, modern, and made very efficient use of space:
Image from George Nelson Foundation, Storagewall.
The Storagewall was also the basis for Nelson’s work on storage systems, which he would turn to frequently during the next twenty years. One of his more renowned designs was launched in 1957. The Comprehensive Storage System (CSS) was a modular system designed for the home and later used in offices. It had many possible configurations and optional tables or desk units:
Another variation shows the table extensions and cabinets:
Images from George Nelson Foundation, CSS.
Nelson’s quest for efficiency extended to the workplace. The Herman Miller Research Corporation studied office environments, productivity, and people’s “enthusiasm at work.” The end result was Nelson’s Action Office series of furniture which presaged today’s trends toward desks of “differing heights...to encourage alternation between sitting and standing to promote concentration and creativity and thus increase efficiency.” Rolltop desks, like the one pictured below from VHB’s collection, allowed “unfinished work to simply remain on the desk in the evening, to be resumed the next morning without delay.” (George Nelson Foundation, Action Office)
Image from VHB collection.
Nelson has been credited as the inventor of the first L-shaped desk, with the furniture in his Executive Office Group (EOG). In his biography of Nelson, Stanley Abercrombie notes that L-shaped desks had been produced before by Herman Miller, so the EOG desk’s shape was not what made it unique. Rather, it was its “comprehensiveness.” With the EOG desk, Nelson had created the “first example of what came to be called a workstation.” It included two levels of work surface, multiple options for storage that fit above and below the desk, and even built-in lighting. Drawer units could also be installed on either side of the table. (Abercrombie, p. 207) One possible configuration is shown below:
Image from George Nelson Foundation, EOG.
Beyond his storage systems, Nelson designed other iconic pieces for the home. Among his most well known designs are those with the most interesting names: the Pretzel Chair, Coconut Chair, and Marshmallow Sofa.
True to its name, the Pretzel Chair has a rather twisted history. Originally known as the Laminated Chair and, later, as the 5890 and 5891, it first appeared in 1952 without armrests in a small series of twelve models. (Unlike later renditions, these originals also featured holes in the seat for attaching cushions.) High production costs bumped the chair’s price to $100, making it too expensive for Herman Miller to produce as a series. Five years later, a company called Lawrence Plycraft came up with a cheaper production method and made 100 of the chairs in walnut and birch. A dispute between the two companies put an end to production until 1985 when Nelson allowed the Italian firm ICF to produce the chair. A limited series of 1,000 was also created in 2008 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Nelson’s birth. (George Nelson Foundation, Pretzel Chair) Highly collectible, the original versions of this chair are extremely rare and can cost upwards of $6,000.00 each. (A clip from Antiques Roadshow proves the value.)
Image from 1stdibs.
Like his contemporaries in the mid-century era, Nelson played with geometric shapes while also using technology to improve his designs. The Coconut Chair is one example. Nelson based it on the Winnipeg Chair created by Canada’s James Donahue (VHB Blog), refining the design to make it more of a triangle shape and adding bent steel rods to strengthen the base. His version was available in fabric or a very modern Naughahyde. It is still available from Herman Miller today, in the version shown below.
Image from Herman Miller.
A top-down view from a 1950s ad shows how the chair got its name, with the four chairs together resembling broken coconut shell.
Image from George Nelson Foundation, Coconut Chair.
Nelson and his associate Irving Harper fused geometry and technological innovation in the Marshmallow Sofa, shown below. An inventor who had developed an injection plastic disc approached Nelson and Harper, suggesting that the disc could be used as an inexpensive but durable cushion. Nelson and Harper were intrigued and put the discs on a metal frame. The original discs turned out to be more expensive and less practical than initially thought, but the unique look of the sofa appealed to both designers. Herman Miller ended up manufacturing the sofa, crediting its eye-catching appearance with ushering in the pop art style of the 1960s. (Herman Miller)
Image from George Nelson Foundation, Marshmallow Sofa.
Geometry also featured in the clocks designed by Nelson’s firm for the Howard Miller Clock Company. Their most famous design was 1949’s Ball Clock:
Image from George Nelson Foundation, Triangle Clock.
Other accessories also got the Nelson treatment. With their famous bubble lamps, the designers at Nelson’s office stretched standard geometric shapes and experimented with new materials. Seeking to create a more modern version of silk-covered Swedish hanging lamps, Nelson’s team used a resinous lacquer developed by the military, sprayed it over a wire cage, then coated the whole thing in plastic to mimic the more expensive and finicky silk of the originals. The result was one of the firm’s most popular designs. The lamps are still sold today:
Image from George Nelson Foundation, Bubble Lamps.
The items featured here just scratch the surface. George Nelson was an extremely prolific designer who consistently put his beliefs into practice, exploring modern shapes, incorporating efficiency and practical functionality in aesthetically pleasing designs, and taking advantage of the technology available at the time. To read more about him and view his many designs, visit the George Nelson Foundation.
Norway, Funkis, and the Struggle to Be Noticed
Like the other Scandinavian countries, Norway embraced the modernist movement that took hold in Europe after World War I. In that era, a need for the “rationalization of space” was recognized, creating a demand for simpler and more efficient housing and furnishings. A functionalistic design movement, also known as Funkis, was born, but not in Denmark as one might expect. Rather, it first began in Norway and Sweden. (Quinn, Scandinavian Style, p. 26.)
Elizabeth Wilhide, author of Scandinavian Modern Home, defines the Funkis look as “streamlined, efficient, economical and practical ” and notes that it applied to architecture, furniture, and interior design. The Funkis movement survived the Second World War, but evolved and “mutated into a softer, more individually Nordic style without losing its essential clarity or simplicity.” (Wilhide, p. 14)
By the 1950s, North Americans had taken notice of Scandinavian design, but the distinctions between the various Nordic countries had become blurred. In 1954, an exhibition called “Design in Scandinavia” toured North America. It included pieces from all Nordic countries but lumped everything under the rubric of “Scandinavian” design. In so doing, the exhibition established the notion of a singular, generic Scandinavian style “to the bewilderment of the designers” who believed each country possessed its own, unique design aesthetic. As Bradley Quinn writes:
“...the aesthetic principles of minimalism, clarity, understated stylistic features and naturalistic beauty are generally present in most of the Nordic decorative traditions, but the treatment of materials and the artistic élan vary widely from country to country.” (Quinn, p. 9)
The "Design in Scandinavia" exhibit proved very popular and, through heavy media coverage, influenced Americans looking for something new and fresh for their homes. Demand for “Scandinavian” decor increased, and department stores responded. Quinn notes, however, that stores followed the “tastes of the exhibition curators more than the design output of the Nordic nations.” (Quinn, p. 122) As far as furniture, the exhibition featured mostly Danish designers, causing “Danish” and “Scandinavian” to become synonymous in the minds of North American furniture shoppers. As a result, Danish furniture experienced an explosion in popularity that did not extend beyond its borders.
Danish designers certainly earned their stellar reputation and had not sought to outshine their neighbours. But, for a long time, furniture with the “Made in Denmark” label had a much broader appeal than anything produced in the other Scandinavian countries.
Norway, whose industries had struggled mightily after the war, became something of an afterthought during this period, known more for handicrafts and metalwork than furniture. Yet there were many award-winning furniture makers working in the country in the mid-century era. They have been highlighted in recent years by Oslo-based vintage furniture dealer Peppe Trulsen who, along with his partners, created a travelling exhibition and website of Norwegian design icons. Speaking with The Japan Times, Trulsen noted that his exhibition of vintage items includes 34 that won international gold medals, from designers who were contemporaries of Danish legends like Arne Jacobsen and Hans Wegner. In short, Norwegian designers could hold their own. Among these designers are Fredrik Kayser and Rastad & Relling, who serve as excellent examples of the country’s rich design legacy.
Rastad & Relling
Rastad & Relling, a firm that still exists today, opened in 1943. Founded by architects Rolf Rastad and Adolf Relling, the company was known for hiring young graduates of Norway’s National Academy of Craft & Art Industry and serving as an incubator for the country’s postwar furniture designers.
One of the firm’s most well-known designs is the Bambi series of chairs. Manufactured by Gustav Bahus Eftf., the chair came in many variations. The examples below include the dining chair and armchairs in cane and leather.
Bambi dining chair. Image from VHB. (Item no longer available.)
Rastad & Relling Bambi Chair in Leather. Image from 1stdibs.
Rastad & Relling Bambi Chair in Cane. Image from Design Addict.
Beyond chairs, the company also crafted unique tables and sideboards, each showcasing the efficiency and versatility associated with the Funkis movement and mid-century modern design. The side or sewing table shown here won first prize at the 1962 Norwegian Design Competition:
Rastad & Relling Side or Sewing Table. Images from 1stdibs.
The graphic sideboard, also made by Gustav Bahus, shows yet another unique design that offers smart, efficient use of space.
Rastad & Relling Graphic Teak Sideboard. Images from 1stdibs.
The firm’s reputation grew as it become involved in many prestigious projects. In 1947, Rastad & Relling was hired to design the interior of the upper deck smoking lounge on the royal ship Norway. In the 1950s, it was selected to design furniture and fixtures as part of an expansion and redesign of the Norwegian Parliament. The project was led by Adolf Relling and involved several designers, including Fredrik Kayser. Along with Relling, he created the firm’s “first design classic,” the “Kaminstolen,” shown below. (snl.no: Fredrik Kayser, Rastad & Relling)
Image from Imgrum.
The Kaminstolen would later be modified and used in Rastad & Relling’s Parliament commission. It can be seen in the image of the building’s main entrance, below. It differs from the original in its size and thicker cushion:
Image from Rastad & Relling.
Rastad & Relling also employed designers who would be recognized for their individual talents, including Sigurd Resell and Arne Halvorsen. It did not, however, go out of its way to draw attention to these individuals, preferring instead that designs created within its walls be given the company name. (snl.no.) In the 1970s, the firm expanded to provide architectural services and has worked on a wide range of projects, including living quarters on North Sea oil installations. (Rastad & Relling)
Fredrik Kayser
Fredrik Kayser was born in 1924 in Bergen. His parents owned a furniture business and Fredrik took up the family way of life early. He apprenticed as a carpenter and had his first chair produced at the age of 15. (Pamono.ca) He later studied at the National Academy of Craft & Art Industry.
His family was very musical and Kayser, who played both the cello and mandolin, was said to have been inspired by music when designing furniture. (Vatne Mobler) He joined Rastad & Relling after graduating from the National Academy in 1945, and made an immediate impact with his work on the Kaminstolen, seen above.
Kayser left Rastad & Relling in 1946 to launch his own company. He did not succeed on his own and returned to the firm in 1952. He stayed until 1956 when he once again left to establish his own design studio. (Pamono.ca) It was during his second stint with Rastad & Relling that Kayser created one of his most famous designs, the Krysset or Cross chair, so named because of its cross-shaped legs:
Image from 1stdibs.
After opening his own studio in 1956, Kayser worked as a freelance designer for various Norwegian furniture manufacturers, including Vikens Mobelfabrikk. The Hertug sideboard was one of his more well-known designs for the company:
Hertug Sideboard. Images from Sweden Antiques.
Kayser also worked with Vatne Lenestolfabrikk. His first design for the company was the Model 550 sofa, shown below:
Kayser Model 550 Sofa. Image from 1stdibs.
At Vatne, Kayser proposed a series of “knock-down models; ” that is, furniture that could be easily packed, shipped, and assembled. A profile from Vatne recalls a 1958 export trade show in Helsingborg which featured the new designs. Rather than go with standard colours, the company took the advice of a fabric designer and showed its new collection in black and white. The company feared it would be too bold a look, but it worked. Their designs stood out from the crowd and created interest from retailers around the world. (Vatne Mobler)
At Vatne, Kayser created some of his most celebrated designs. Among them were his 965 and 807 series, shown below in the sofa and armchair versions. Both are still being produced by Vatne today:
Kayser had many other notable designs. His stunning Model 599 rocking chair is included in the collection of the National Museum of Norway:
Image from nkl.snl.no.
Kayser’s 711 Series won first prize in the Industry Council for Furniture and Furnishing Industry chair competition in 1960. The chair has such an outsize reputation that it is being made again by Hjelle, with the permission of Kayser’s widow who worked with the company to ensure they “stayed true to her husband’s high standards.” (Design Within Reach)
Image from 1stdibs.
His Model 108, also made for Vatne, won an Award for Design Excellence in 1968 and was recognized at the Collection Price Furniture Fair in Oslo in 1983. In an interview on the Vatne website, the company’s Knut Sæter recalls Kayser’s pride in the Model 108; the designer thought it was his best work yet. It is shown below in rosewood.
Kayser Model 108. Image from Pamono.co.uk.
After a brief illness, Fredrik Kayser died in 1968 at the age of 44. In 1985, Norwegian interior designer Trinelise Dysthe was asked about Kayser. She believed that his love of music was reflected in his designs, which were “almost musical in form.” Continuing on that theme, she said he most closely resembled Mozart for his “clean and clear elegance.” Dysthe concluded by noting that, while Kayser was inspired by Danish designers, he imbued his furniture with his own unique style, creating pieces that are now considered classics in Norway’s furniture story. (Vatne Mobler)
Indeed, Kayser’s designs--and those of his fellow Norwegians--have gained greater international recognition. They are now commonly seen in vintage shops where they command prices in line with other Scandinavian design greats. We have had some rare pieces at VHB, including chairs by Rastad & Relling and a dining table by Gustav Bahus. Our current collection includes a Burmese teak shelving unit by Norway’s Torbjørn Afdal, pictured below. He is recognized as one of the most prolific and well-respected designers in postwar Norway, and his designs were collected by US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy for the White House, Japan’s Emperoro Hirohito, and the Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland. (Nomanordic)
Bookcase by Torbjørn Afdal. From VHB's collection.
]]>Russell Spanner
Russell Spanner was born in Toronto in 1916. He studied architectural drafting at Northern Vocational High School and in 1941 joined the family firm, Spanner Products Ltd. Originally a manufacturer of wooden battery boxes and separators, the company shifted gears when demand for its products declined. Spanner Products began designing other wood items, including the “breakfast suite” shown below.
Image from City of Toronto Archives.
Russell Spanner wanted to modernize his company’s offerings but his father was not interested in any kind of change. When the senior Spanner retired, Russell took over and completely transformed the company’s furniture. The first line he created was called Ruspan Originals. Its centrepiece was his most famous design, the Ruspan lounge chair:
Image from City of Toronto Archives.
The lounge chair and the entire Originals line were a complete departure for the company. Unlike the daintier breakfast suite, Ruspan Originals were solid and very sturdy, a fact Spanner--a former amateur wrestler--demonstrated by standing on the furniture in ads produced by the company. In a web exhibit about Spanner, the City of Toronto archives called the Ruspan Originals line simple, stripped-down, and futuristic. The line would eventually comprise 28 modular pieces that could be combined in multiple ways, as seen in this 1952 brochure:
Image from City of Toronto Archives.
The line’s modular nature was described in an exhibit introduction by Robert Fones:
The basic module of the Originals line was a box, measuring sixteen inches high, eighteen inches wide, and sixteen inches deep. Doubled in width, it became a two-door or two-drawer buffet; halved in depth, it became an open bookcase. In the Originals line, the combination of units was accomplished by means of an ingenious system of concealed metal brackets as well as quarter-inch-thick cork discs on the underside of each box to allow stacking.
Spanner refined his Originals designs to create the Catalina and Pasadena lines which “combined the sharp geometry of tapered legs and bevelled wood edges with the organic look of natural surfaces” including cork, seen in the top of the Pasadena buffet below:
Image from City of Toronto Archives.
In 1961 Spanner left the family firm to work as a plant manager at Ontario Store Fixtures. After experiencing financial difficulties, the Spanner company was dissolved in 1963. (City of Toronto Archives).
Imperial Furniture and Jan Kuypers
Imperial Furniture began in 1905 as the Imperial Rattan Company, a producer of rattan furniture for indoor and outdoor spaces. In 1941 the company launched a line of furniture designed by famous Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen and described as “modern with a purpose.” Made of “good Canadian birch,” the line was designed with mass production in mind. The pieces were also completely interchangeable so homeowners could mix and match but still have a cohesive look throughout their home. (Wright, p. 74) By 1949 the company had changed its name to Imperial Furniture Manufacturing Company. Two years later, it hired Dutch-born designer Jan Kuypers as an in-house designer and assigned him the task of designing contemporary furniture. (Hodges)
Kuypers’ designs gave Imperial the opportunity to enter and compete successfully in the growing market for Scandinavian-inspired furniture. His designs “introduced a precise, efficient minimalism previously absent from Canadian furniture.” (Wright, p. 142). His buffet is one example:
Image from Canadian Design Resource.
His Nipigon Chair has the exaggerated angles and curves typical of the period. It won an National Industrial Design Committee (NIDC) award in 1957:
Image from Canadian Design Resource.
VHB has had a number of Kuypers designs in its collection, including these African teak dining chairs and teak sofa:
Image from VHB.
Images from VHB archives. Sofa is sold and no longer available.
With Kuypers heading up design, Imperial Furniture won four NIDC Awards. Kuypers left the company in 1955 to study industrial design, then started a business designing office furniture in Toronto.
Leif Jacobsen
Leif Jacobsen was born in Denmark but his family came to Canada when he was still an infant. In 1952 he opened an eponymous custom millwork firm. The company was subcontracted to complete work for American firms Knoll International and Herman Miller, but soon moved into designing its own furnishings under the direction of Danish-trained cabinetmaker Svend Neilsen. Leif Jacobsen made furnishings for major retailers of the day, including Walter Nugent Designs, Nienkämper, and Metalsmiths. They were also known for their high-end custom office furnishings: a suite could cost upwards of $20,000 in the 1960s. (Gotlieb & Golden, p. 243)
The firm’s luxurious rosewood credenza shows why prices were so high. The workmanship is impeccable and the style timeless:
Image from 1stdibs.
A sofa and chair set also showed a very modern twist, with contrasting but complementary shades of bright green and yellow. The set would not look out of place in a home today.
Image from 1stdibs.
In the early 1960s, Jacobsen’s company was also marginally involved in the controversy surrounding the furniture contract for Toronto’s new City Hall. As Gotlieb and Golden write, the bidding process for the furniture was “both a blow to and rallying cry for Canadian modernist designers.” (p. 11)
In the end, Knoll International won the contract over three Canadian bids, yet it was Canadians who produced most of the furniture. According to Gotlieb and Golden, Canadians were seen as good enough to manufacture the furniture but not good enough to design it. The mayor’s desk was something of an exception. Knoll Canada’s head designer John Quigg was, in fact Canadian-born, although perhaps not as recognizable as independent Canadian designers like Robin Bush, Stefan Siwinski, and Walter Nugent (all of whom had designs in the various losing bids). Quigg designed a desk for Toronto’s mayor that Leif Jacobsen would manufacture from cast concrete and teak:
Image from BlogTO.
Svend Neilsen left Leif Jacobsen in 1979 to launch his own company. Leif Jacobsen was then sold to Global Group.
R.S. Associates, R Huber, and Punch Designs
Very little written has been written about these Montréal-based companies, perhaps because they focused on lower cost reproductions of Scandinavian style rather than the made-in-Denmark pieces seen at high-end retailers like Georg Jensen and Shelagh’s of Canada. But these companies produced extremely well-made furniture that has stood the test of time. They capitalized on the trends of the day, creating furniture with a clean, modern look. VHB has had several pieces by each of the companies in our collection. We’ve included a few examples below.
This eye-catching martini bar by R.S. Associates sold almost as soon as it came into the store:
Images from VHB. This piece has sold.
This R. Huber scoop sofa has both a colour and shape typical of the mid-century period:
Image from VHB. This item recently sold.
We have had several side tables and sideboards by Punch Designs, including this teak and oak sideboard:
Image from VHB.
The furniture produced by these three Montréal companies remains popular and collectible today because it so perfectly captured the Scandinavian modern aesthetic while bearing a made-in-Canada label.
Last But Not Least...A Few Iconic Canadian Designs
Some Canadian designers were prolific creators whose name recognition comes more from a single, iconic piece than their complete body of work. Jacques Guillon is among them. The company he founded in Montréal worked in commercial office planning and interiors and still exists today as GSM Design. Yet it was the cord chair he designed while a student in the early 1950s that brought Guillon his greatest acclaim:
Image from 1stdibs.
Fittingly, the chair was produced by a company that manufactured tennis racquets. (Wright, p. 148) In an article on the Canadian Design Resource website, Rachel Gotlieb placed the Guillon cord chair in second place on her list of top ten Canadian designs. In her book Design in Canada, she describes the chair as “the perfect balance of fragility and strength” and notes that it was load-tested and could support 1,533 kg (3,380 pounds). The chair appeared at the 1964 Milan Triennale and was sold in stores in Montréal and by American retailers Macy’s and Lord & Taylor.
Robert Kaiser also created two unique chairs that earned him recognition. An American who moved to Canada in 1950, he worked for a time as a technical illustrator for airplane manufacturers A.V. Roe and deHavilland, while also freelancing as a furniture designer. His armchair, made of steel rods and turned walnut, is highly sought by collectors but hard to find since production runs were limited. Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum has one in its collection. The chair is pictured below:
Image from Gotlieb and Golden.
Like his armchair, Kaiser’s dining chair also took “maximum advantage of the rich, organic properties of the walnut, contrasted with the industrial coolness of the chrome-plated steel.” (Wright, pp. 169-171)
Image from Wright.
Kaiser, Guillon, and the many other designers we have featured in this series demonstrate a proud legacy of design in Canada. To learn more about Canadian designers of the mid-century period and beyond, we recommend the website Canadian Design Resource and the books Design in Canada Since 1945 and Modern Furniture in Canada. Details on both books can be found below.
Sources:
Fones, Robert. A Spanner in the Works: The Furniture of Russell Spanner, 1950-1953. Exhibition Catalogue.
Gotlieb, Rachel and Cora Golden. Design in Canada Since 1945: Fifty Years from Teakettles to Task Chairs. Toronto: Knopf Canada, 2001.
Greve, Lynda. “Prominent businessman was devoted to Stratford.” Stratford Beacon-Herald. April 10, 2010. Accessed online June 22, 2017. http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/2010/04/10/prominent-businessman-was-devoted-to-stratford
Hodges, Margareth. “Nationalism and Modernism: Rethinking Scandinavian Design in Canada, 1950-1970.” Revue d’art canadienne/Canadian Art Review. 40, no. 2, 2015.
Wright, Virginia. Modern Furniture in Canada, 1920-1970. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997.
Post written by Crystal Smith.
]]>Sigrun Bülow-Hübe
Sigrun Bülow-Hübe has been described as the person who “brought Scandinavian modern design to Canada.” (Gotlieb & Golden, p. 131) Born in Sweden, Bülow-Hübe studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts under Kaare Klint. She came to Canada in 1950 to work as a design consultant for the T. Eaton Company in Montréal. Her work there was far from satisfying. As she noted in a 1968 interview with Swedish magazine Möbelvärlden, she had hoped to spread “ideas of lightweight, practical, new furniture” in Canada but was not welcome to promote her own ideas, draw new furniture, or “propose anything that didn’t belong to the department store’s own traditions.” (Adams & Toromanoff, p. 12).
After three years at Eaton’s, Bülow-Hübe left the company and partnered with Reinhold Koller to establish AKA Works (later AKA Furniture). Finding Canadian furniture of the day too conservative, heavy, and large, she was now free to design pieces that aligned with her design aesthetic: timelessness with minimal decoration and an emphasis on comfort and utility. A 1964 article in Canadian Art contrasted her award-winning minimalist armchair with a typical Canadian design, showing the stark difference between her design goals and the prevailing trends in her adopted country:
Image from Hodges.
Bülow-Hübe’s armchair won a National Industrial Design Committee (NIDC) award in 1957. The adjustable backrest of the chair reflected her concern for comfort, and the design would later form the basis of a line of office furniture produced by AKA Furniture.
In 1958 Bülow-Hübe designed furnishings for Ottawa City Hall. Her sketches are shown below along with an inset of the finished chamber:
Image from Adams & Toromanoff.
Bülow-Hübe would also be called upon to design a room for Moshe Safdie’s famous Habitat 67, as part of Expo 67. She was one of only two women among the twelve designers selected. As noted in the article “Kitchen Kinetics,” Bülow-Hübe did not choose pieces that would “complement the rather tough, modernist, concrete architecture.” Instead she opted for soft woods and printed textiles. The image below shows the designer in her suite, which featured drapes and a sofa she designed:
Image from Adams & Toromanoff.
Bülow-Hübe’s designs for AKA Furniture won twelve NIDC awards. After retiring from AKA in 1968, she worked as a researcher and, eventually, a senior design consultant with the National Design Council. In this role she aimed to “educate the Canadian public about the importance of design and attempt to bring out change at the national scale.” (Adams & Toromanoff).
Robin Bush
Born in Canada in 1921, Robin Bush studied at the Vancouver School of Art. He began his career as a designer when he partnered with Earle Morrison. The two designers made low-lying sofas and lounge chairs, like this sofa and Airform Lounge Chair:
Image from Wright.
Image from Canadian Design Resource.
In 1953, Bush set out on his own to form Robin Bush Associates Limited, through which he created his own furniture and sold Herman Miller products under license. Shortly after launching his company, he won a contract to supply metal frame furniture for Alcan’s mine at Kitimat. A 1959 article in Canadian Art emphasized Bush’s “intelligence and genius,” noting that Alcan chose Bush’s designs because they would increase comfort levels for workers and help retain employees. (Cited in Hodges.) The image below shows one of the sofas Bush created for the site:
Image from Kitimat Museum.
Bush’s early designs have been praised for their “clean, sharp and geometric” aesthetic and “interesting, and at the time, unusual colours.” (Hodges) After Kitimat, he continued working with metal and bold colours, creating the Prismasteel line for Canadian Office and School Furniture (COSF):
Image from Canadian Design Resource.
Image from Canadian Design Resource.
It was with COSF that Bush created his most memorable design. The Lollipop seating system featured comfortable curved backs in a unique circular shape. The system was completely modular, allowing for any number of seats to be added, along with circular side tables. In 1960 the Lollipop system was chosen for the new Toronto international airport terminal:
Image from Cool 60s Design Exhibit Review.
Bush left COSF in 1966 and began working in exhibition design before taking on the role of director at the Sheridan College School of Crafts and Design.
Peter Cotton
Also born in B.C., Peter Cotton studied architecture at the University of British Columbia intermittently in the 1940s while also serving in the war. He graduated in 1955 and helped establish the university’s School of Architecture. With his partner Alfred Staples, he opened Cotton Lamp Studio, which later became Perpetua Furniture. His designs were modest and economical, with wide appeal among the buying public and other architects.
Like his contemporary Robin Bush, Cotton also worked with metal. The spring-back dining chair is among his better known designs. It is made not of wrought iron, as it appears, but electrically welded steel rod, finished in black lacquer. (Gotlieb & Golden, p. 77).
Image from Canadian Design Resource.
Cotton was very concerned about “misuse of materials” and made his furniture as economically as possible. (CDR) The spring-back chair was easy to produce and weighed just 6.4 kg (14 pounds), making it affordable to ship. A high-backed version of the chair won an NIDC award in 1953. Wooden versions of the chair were also available:
Image from BC Museum.
Economy was the reason for a change in Cotton’s lamp designs as well. One of his first lamps, shown below, was the tripod, which was hand-forged from steel. The follow-up design replaced the steel with bent rod and was known as the lug lamp. Cotton displayed the lamps with the cord wrapped around the leg, “artfully disguising the problem of a dangling cord.” (Gotlieb & Golden, p. 126)
Image from Gotlieb.
Image from The Consortium.
Cotton also produced coffee tables and armchairs with his bent rod technique:
Image from Sheila Zeller Interiors.
Image from Wright.
Perpetua Furniture closed in 1954. Peter Cotton went onto work with various historical and preservation societies.
Walter Nugent
A former student of Toronto’s Oakwood Collegiate, Walter Nugent was working as an advertising executive when he developed an interest in design. Virginia Wright claims he was inspired by a 1958 Art Gallery of Ontario exhibit that featured works by Florence Knoll and George Nelson, among others. Gotlieb and Golden reference a trip to Denmark as a possible influence. Either way, he was motivated to try his hand at design. Completely self-taught, he “shook up the Canadian furniture industry” with his design for a sprung steel chair. (Gotlieb & Golden, p. 247-248).
The revolutionary design “consisted of a one-piece seat-and-back frame made from a piece of bent, sprung steel rod” which was covered with a canvas sleeve, two cut sections of foam rubber that provided the chair’s cushioning, and, finally, a wool or vinyl sleeve.
The striking design was also extremely versatile. Easily constructed and self-supporting, the seat could be attached to all kinds of different frames to make armchairs, multi-unit sofas, swivel desk chairs, or stacking chairs. (Wright) The two designs below show how very unique looks could be created from Nugent’s single seat design. The first, a walnut armchair from VHB’s collection, contrasts sharply with the metal and vinyl version that follows it, yet the seats share the same design:
Image from VHB.
Image from Gotlieb & Golden.
The vinyl and metal version was known as the #22 and was exhibited globally. Its various incarnations were produced for 15 years and won NIDC awards in 1960 and 1967.
Nugent’s pedestal coffee table was as versatile as his chairs. The standard chrome base, with either three or four legs, was made in various heights and topped with round, square, or oval tops made of glass or Arborite (Gotlieb & Golden):
Image from 1stdibs.
A close-up of the table's base shows the “spiralling arrangement of parts that animate the work.” (Canadian Design Resource)
Image from Canadian Design Resource.
Nugent had a dispute with investors and left his company in 1973 but Walter Nugent Designs continued making furniture until 1976.
Stefan Siwinski
Born in Poland in 1918, Stefan Siwinski relocated to Canada in 1952 and opened a small shop, sometimes called Korina Designs. He and his ten craftsmen made truly modern furniture out of a variety of materials, including plastic, metal, and wood. One of his first designs was this “playful” 3-legged dining chair that combined “Scandinavian organic modern with Pop imagery.” (Gotlieb & Golden, p. 91).
Image from Canadian Design Resource.
Like Robin Bush, Siwinski also had success designing furniture for commercial and public spaces, including airports. His lounge chair was used in many offices and, in 1960, was selected for the Toronto International airport departures lounge:
Image from Gotlieb & Golden.
In Design in Canada, Gotlieb and Golden make note of Siwinski’s “meticulous eye,” apparent in the lounge chair’s foam-rubber-and-vinyl upholstery which had to follow the shape of the seat without adding visible seams. To accomplish this design feat, Siwinski used heat and hand-stitching to mould the covers to the chair’s shell. Despite having only ten people in their shop, Siwinski and his team were able to produce 500 of these chairs in ten weeks to fulfill the airport order.
Siwinski also experimented with plastics, creating chairs from Plexiglass and fibreglass. He controlled all aspects of design and manufacture, from moulding to upholstery. Canadian Design Resource refers to the chair shown below as one of Canada’s most famous chairs and Siwinski as one of Canada’s “most creative furniture makers.”
Image from Canadian Design Resource.
The designer is shown, below, with another variation on his plastic tub chair.
Image from Canadian Design Resource.
Stefan Siwinski continued designing furniture into the 1980s.
In Part Three of this series, we’ll look at Jan Kuypers, Russell Spanner, and some of the major Canadian manufacturers of mid-century modern furniture. Read Part 3 Here.
Sources:
Adams, Annmarie and Don Toromanoff. “Kitchen Kinetics: Women’s Movements in Sigrun Bülow-Hübe’s Research.” Resources for Feminist Research/Documentation sur la recherche féministe. 34, nos. 3 & 4, 2015.
Gotlieb, Rachel and Cora Golden. Design in Canada Since 1945: Fifty Years from Teakettles to Task Chairs. Toronto: Knopf Canada, 2001.
Hodges, Margareth. “Nationalism and Modernism: Rethinking Scandinavian Design in Canada, 1950-1970.” Revue d’art canadienne/Canadian Art Review. 40, no. 2, 2015.
Wright, Virginia. Modern Furniture in Canada, 1920-1970. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997.
Post written by Crystal Smith.
]]>To begin, we’ll provide a little historical context and talk about some of the first modern furniture designs produced in this country. These landmark pieces paved the way for the designers we will feature in our next post. (Read Part Two and Part Three.)
The Birth of Modern Design in Canada
By the time the second World War started, modern design was well established in Scandinavian countries and the US. In Canada, it was a different story. Although the country had a long history of excellence in woodworking and furniture manufacturing, it was slow to embrace modern design. Furniture manufacturers and retailers tended to be quite conservative, which worked against the widespread adoption of the modern aesthetic. Even if companies were interested in something fresh and new, they could license designs from American manufacturers and “benefit, at no cost, from the advertising of these products in the widely distributed American magazines.” (Wright, p. 111) As a result, few manufacturers were interested in investing in their own in-house designs. With no demand for homegrown designers, there was no impetus for Canadian schools to teach design or for people to pursue a career in the field, which led to further stagnation. (The job of “industrial designer,” a thriving profession elsewhere, did not even exist in Canada.)
A shift began during the war. Throughout the mid-1940s, discussion in magazines like Canadian Art and Canadian Homes and Gardens, among others, centred on the importance of developing the furniture industry. In a country with abundant natural resources, the furniture industry was seen as one that could “absorb a large part” the the country’s industrial production and output of raw materials. Some publications even criticized Canadian manufacturers for not applying technologies developed during the war to furniture production. E.W. Thrift, writing in Canadian Art in 1945, noted that the Canadian home furnishing industry was “a most backward field in its lack of the use of modern technology” and pushed for training programs for designers who could help modernize the industry.
Perhaps the sentiments of the era were best summarized by the reactions to an Art Gallery of Toronto exhibit called “Design in the Household.” Held in 1946, the exhibit included both Canadian products and pieces from New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Visitors to the exhibition left comments asking why “all the modern designs” were American. They also described the Canadian designs as small, plain, inferior, and impractical.
By 1949 the National Industrial Design Committee decided to take action. It published a brochure called “Good Design Will Sell Canadian Products” and distributed it to 6,000 companies. It also commissioned a study of the furniture industry that revealed an interest among manufacturers in creating new designs. This study recommended the expansion of design courses in Canada and more scholarships for Canadian students interested in studying design in the US. (Wright, pp. 88-130)
There is more to the story than outlined here, but the end result was increased opportunities for Canadian designers who took full advantage and made their mark. (For the full history, we recommend Virginia Wright’s Modern Furniture in Canada, 1920-1970)
Canada’s First Forays Into Mid-Century Modern Furniture
World War II forced restrictions on the supply of materials used in furniture making but also led to innovations that would later be used in the furniture industry. The Canadian Wooden Aircraft Company was one of the first to adapt wartime technology to furniture production. During the war the company made plywood components for Mosquito bombers. After the war, designers W. Waclaw Czerwinski and Hilary Stykolt used their expertise with bent laminated wood and moulded plywood to create a dining table and chairs with a modern aesthetic:
Image from MetroRetro Furniture.
The company created a lounge chair with a similar look:
Image from Archinect.com.
As Virginia White notes in Modern Furniture in Canada, 1920-1970, Czerwinski and Stykolt were greatly influenced by Finnish modern designer Alvar Aalto who had crafted this bentwood lounge chair in the early 1930s:
Image from MetMuseum.org.
In their creations, the two designers were heeding the advice of W.F. Holding, the chair of the Toronto Branch of the Canadian Manufacturers’ Association, who said in 1946 that products made in Canada did not need to be “instantly recognizable as being Canadian.” Rather, he thought that Canadian designers should take the “best from the past or from the inspiration of other countries.” (Wright, p. 92).
Holding was expressing a viewpoint very much in keeping with modern designers of the era who, as we noted in other posts in our Great Designers series, often re-interpreted designs from the past and from other cultures. (For examples, see our posts about Poul Hundevad, Kaare Klint, and Hans Wegner.)
Canadians may have also been a source of inspiration for others. In 1946, Canadian architects A.J. (James) Donahue and Douglas C. Simpson designed a prototype for the world’s first moulded-plastic chair:
Image from Furniture Link.
For their design, Donahue and Simpson incorporated materials used in WWII fighter planes, namely fibreglass and epoxy resins. The chair, which had no joints or attachments, was made of “ten layers of glass-fibre reinforced cotton, 3/16 of an inch in total thickness, moulded onto a reusable form with epoxy-resin adhesives, and baked in an autoclave at 350 degrees Celsius.” It was also fire- and acid-resistant. (Gotlieb & Golden, p. 78; Wright, p. 98)
Although never produced, this chair preceded by three years the now iconic shell chair by Charles and Ray Eames. It also came 16 years before a one-piece plastic school chair created by Italian designers Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper, seen here.
James Donahue had studied under Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer at Harvard before returning to Canada to pursue a career as an educator and furniture designer. With his architecture students at the University of Manitoba, he developed yet another landmark piece that would serve as inspiration for a celebrated American designer.
Donahue’s Winnipeg chair, created in the late 1940s, included a bent plywood shell, rubber shock mounts, and a metal rod base. It is estimated that 200 of the chairs were produced and about two dozen of the highly collectible chairs exist now.
Image from Galerie Cazeault.
A version with a wood base was also made:
Image from 1stdibs.
As for that famous American designer? It was George Nelson, who saw the Winnipeg Chair during a visit to a Canadian design expo.(1stdibs). Inspired by Donahue’s design, Nelson created his legendary Coconut chair for Herman Miller in 1955:
Image from 1stdibs.
In an interesting twist, Donahue’s Winnipeg Chair is now more commonly known as the Canadian Coconut chair, even though it was produced long before Nelson’s.
James Donahue was one of the founding members of the Affiliation of Canadian Industrial Designers, which, with its creation in 1946, helped establish the profession of industrial design in this country. Donahue, who died in 1997, has been remembered as “an influential teacher and architect with a passion for furniture design.” (Gotlieb & Golden, p. 237). In our next post, we’ll look at some of his contemporaries and their impact on Canadian modern design.
Sources:
Gotlieb, Rachel and Cora Golden. Design in Canada Since 1945: Fifty Years from Teakettles to Task Chairs. Toronto: Knopf Canada, 2001.
Wright, Virginia. Modern Furniture in Canada, 1920-1970. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997.
Post written by Crystal Smith.
]]>Greta Magnusson Grossman: On Her Toes & One Step Ahead
Greta Grossman (nee Magnusson) was born in Helsingborg, Sweden in 1906. Defying the gender stereotypes of the time, in the late 1920s she finished an apprenticeship in woodworking and earned a scholarship to the Stockholm School of Industrial Design. She was one of the first women to graduate from the school, now known as Konstfack.
After graduating, she immediately set to work. The year 1933 included many achievements. She received second place in furniture design in a Stockholm Craft Association contest--the first woman ever to receive an award in that category. With her former classmate Erik Ullrich, she opened a store and workshop called Studio that “immediately became the most popular gathering place for young Swedish designers.” (Dwell) Through Studio, Grossman and Ullrich designed furniture and interiors and garnered a considerable amount of media attention. They exhibited at the Galerie Moderne, a “cultural mecca” in Stockholm. (R & Company) It was also in 1933 that Grossman married jazz musician Billy Grossman. Four years later, Grossman contributed a very famous design to a group exhibit at the National Museum in Stockholm: a crib for Sweden’s Princess Birgitta, shown below, that features a “decidedly modern tripod base with tapered dowel legs.”
Image from LA Times
With wartime tensions escalating across Europe, the Grossmans decided to emigrate to Los Angeles. They departed Sweden in 1940.
It did not take long for Grossman to establish herself in her new home. Swedish modern design had made headlines at the 1939 New York World’s Fair and when Grossman set up shop on Rodeo Drive, billing her studio as a “hub” of Swedish design, she found immediate success. Grossman sold her own “cutting-edge” furniture and lighting through her studio, but also took on interior design commissions. Her high-profile clientele included Ingrid Bergman, Greta Garbo, and Frank Sinatra. (Dwell, LA Conservancy, R & Company) She also began designing furniture for companies like Barker Brothers and Glenn of California.
It was with Barker Brothers that two of Grossman’s most famous designs originated. In the late 1940s, she created the Grasshopper and Cobra lamps. They were among the first lamps to use directional shades and flexible arms. (R & Company) Danish retailer Gubi, which sells reproductions of Grossman designs, notes that the Grasshopper’s unique stance makes it look as though it is “alive and stalking its prey.”
Image from 1stdibs.
The Cobra lamp won a Good Design Award in 1950 and was exhibited at the Good Design Show at the Museum of Modern Art. Like the Grasshopper, the striking design of the Cobra is also highly functional. Its arm and shade can be rotated in all directions:
Images from Artsy.net.
While her lighting helped make her name, Grossman also made her mark with furniture, especially her designs for Glenn of California which have been called her “most sophisticated and best known.” Although designed in 1952, the iconic desk and dresser shown below were part of her “62-series,” so named because it was considered ten years ahead of its time:
Images from 1stdibs.
Image from R & Company.
This rare bookshelf was also designed for Glenn and has a similar aesthetic to the dresser and desk above, with its formica surfaces and iron legs:
Image from 1stdibs.
Mid-century furniture was known for its sense of openness, achieved in part through elevated, tapered legs. In her designs for Glenn of California, Grossman re-interpreted that aesthetic with extremely slender legs resting on small spheres. It was a completely new look, but very much in keeping with the Scandinavian modern design ethos.
Many of her pieces featured the organic curves that were a hallmark of Scandinavian modern design. This crescent coffee table is one example, with its curved surface and elegantly tapered supports:
Image from 1stdibs.
Her circle coffee table takes the use of curves even further:
Images from R & Company.
Grossman also experimented with other shapes, including this “ironing board” table with its curved triangular surface:
Image from R & Company.
Her choice of materials showed a “desire for experimentation” typical of mid-century modern designers. (Dwell) The pieces shown above feature iron and brass legs and formica surfaces, but Grossman also made use of other materials. This colourful chair--made of fibreglass, bright red upholstery, and tubular steel-- is one example:
Image from 1stdibs.
Her lounge chair used a highly textured upholstery along with a wrought iron base:
Image from R & Company.
In one of her designs for Studio, she added a glass top to a sofa and coffee table, the first rendered in elm and the second in birch:
Image from 1stdibs.
Image from R & Company.
Sometimes it was what was inside the furniture that showed Grossman’s ability to innovate. As design blog DPages notes, her “simple forms belie a sophisticated technical expertise.” The Modern Line set of sofas, designed in 1949, featured her signature slender metal legs, but was also one of the first to use industrial techniques for upholstery and “to exploit the Nozag springs technology, which revolutionized the comfort of sitting” in the postwar period. (Scandinavia Design)
Image from DPages.
As unique and creative as her furniture was, Grossman’s architectural commissions have been called her “most enduring work.” (R & Company) In 1940s Los Angeles, she was the only woman to own an independent architectural practice. In Grossman’s words, being the only woman in a male-dominated field “kept you on your toes. You had to be a step ahead or else.” (Dwell) Her work showed that she was certainly up to the task. In the years between 1949 and 1959, she designed fourteen homes which, according to the Los Angeles Conservancy, showed “...Grossman’s architectural acumen. Many of her glass-walled houses stood on problematic hillsides, requiring stilts and other structural solutions.” The Conservancy worries over her legacy, since only ten of her homes remain, including Nelson House which provides a good example of the challenges Grossman overcame as an architect.
Grossman shared her knowledge of design and architecture, teaching at UCLA and Pasadena’s Art Center. She was praised widely and received considerable media attention for her work, yet in 1966 she left her design and architecture careers behind, retiring to her home in Encinitas and turning her attention to landscape painting. She passed away in 1999. A 2010 exhibit and book by gallery owner and author Evan Snyderman brought her back into the spotlight. Her original designs are now in high demand, selling for very high prices, and reproductions are being sold by Danish retailer Gubi. What has led to this renaissance? In the words of Evan Snyderman, Grossman’s furniture resonates today because it is “quite simply, good design.” (Gubi)
]]>Full article can be found here.
BEST VINTAGE STORES IN TORONTO.
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Florence Knoll: Functional, Organized, and Never Flamboyant
Florence Knoll (née Schust) was born in 1917 in Saginaw, Michigan. Although orphaned at the age of twelve, she would go on to have “perhaps the most thorough design education of any of her peers.” (1stdibs) Her guardian sent her to the Kingswood School for Girls in suburban Detroit. Kingswood was part of the Cranbook Educational Community, which also included the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Knoll had shown an early interest in architecture and design and soon got the attention of Eliel Saarinen, the head of the Academy. While a student there, she became close to the Saarinen family and, particularly, Eliel’s son Eero, the now famous architect and designer. In her time at Cranbrook, Knoll also befriended future design legends Harry Bertoia and Charles and Ray Eames.
With a recommendation from the elder Saarinen, Knoll went onto study under three “Bauhaus masters”: architects Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer in Boston, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe at the Illinois Institute of Technology. (Mies van der Rohe is known locally for designing the TD Centre at King and Bay in Toronto.) Knoll was eventually hired by Mies van der Rohe in 1940 and was his sole female employee. As the only woman in the firm, she was often assigned project interiors, the work “her male colleagues were consistently neglecting.” It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Knoll would not only excel at this work, but also set a new standard for corporate interior design.
Although she faced resistance from corporate clients wedded to the status quo—“heavy, ornate desks placed on an angle” and “closed-off and claustrophobic spaces”—she followed the tenets of her Bauhaus mentors, focusing on creating functional, efficient spaces. In 1941 she met Hans Knoll, a man who shared her dedication to modernism and was just launching his own furniture company. The two began working together and were married five years later. Their company would become “an international arbiter of style and design” featuring the furniture of—among others—Eero Saarinen, Bertoia, Mies van der Rohe, and Florence Knoll herself.
In 1946, Knoll became head of the Knoll Planning Unit, a service that was ahead of its time in offering clients a “total design” package. The approach of the Planning Unit was novel: researching and surveying clients to find out their needs and how they used a space, then using this information to create a complete, functional interior design. The Planning Unit made design history, although no one on the team realized it at the time. They were just “going along doing what [they] wanted to do” not knowing that their modern, efficient designs would shape “the ethos of the post-war business world” and open the door for high-profile projects with companies like IBM, CBS, and GM. (1stdibs, knoll.com)
The Planning Unit also designed the Knoll company’s showrooms as a way to highlight the modernist aesthetic. Florence Knoll’s design philosophy is especially apparent in these rooms. The San Francisco showroom created in 1954 and pictured below is one example:
Image from knoll.com.
Knoll often used floating colour blocks, screens, and foliage to delineate “rooms” where customers could sit and experience the furniture. It was a truly new approach. As designer Richard Schulz noted at the time, “You could walk into a Knoll showroom and see how the furniture worked.”
Knoll’s showrooms were spare yet balanced, conveying warmth and depth with simple touches of colour, texture, and natural elements. They perfectly captured the minimalist aesthetic the company was promoting. They also allowed the Knoll company to showcase the considerable talents of its designers. The San Francisco showroom, like many others, featured now iconic designs from Mies van der Rohe (the Barcelona chairs facing the coffee table in the foreground) and Eero Saarinen (the Womb chair, in blue at the back of the main floor). Also included? Designs from Florence Knoll herself--in this case, the white sofa and parallel bar settée near the Womb chair.
Although Knoll considered her pieces “filler,” intended to complete a space without drawing attention away from the work of other designers, today her designs have become as “revered and celebrated” as those of her colleagues. (Knoll Company: Florence Knoll, 1stdibs, Knoll Company: Knoll Showrooms)
As retailer 1stdibs notes, Florence Knoll’s designs were dedicated “to functionality and organization, and never flamboyant…pure functional design, exactingly built; their only ornament from the materials, such as wood and marble.”
One of her most well known designs was a new take on the conference table. Recognizing the need for better sightlines, she used an oval shape instead of a traditional rectangle, as shown below. At 96 inches wide, this table offers ample space for meetings. It also demonstrates Knoll’s belief that materials provided sufficient ornamentation. The chrome base adds a strikingly modern element that beautifully complements the rosewood. Nothing else is needed:
Image from 1stdibs.
Knoll used a similar approach to her executive desk. Considering her criticism of the “heavy, ornate desks” that were common at the time, it is no surprise that her version is so streamlined. As with her conference table, the design is very clean and simple:
Image from 1stdibs.
In a 1964 entry about commercial interiors for the Encyclopedia Britannica, Knoll noted that behind most of the heavy, ornate desks in traditional offices there was typically a table that became “an unsightly storage receptacle.” (Knoll.com) Her solution? A sleek and highly functional credenza. This model, a very large 13 feet in length, was intended for use in an office and contains multiple filing and stationery drawers. The marble top adds subtle ornamentation:
Image from 1stdibs.
Like other designers of the period, Knoll often raised her furniture up on slim legs to provide a sense of lightness. Even her pedestal bases, seen above, had a feeling of airiness, given their sleek supports and elevation from the floor. Her use of high, narrow metal legs carried throughout much of her furniture, including storage and seating. One early example is this chest with a stainless steel frame:
Image from 1stdibs.
Her double-pedestal desk is another example:
Image from 1stdibs.
Knoll’s Parallel Bar series of sofas and armchairs, so named because of the bar at the back, includes the same style of leg:
Image from 1stdibs.
Her sofas have a similar base, including the long model with attached cabinet and three-piece sectional shown below:
Image from 1stdibs.
Image from 1stdibs.
Tables and benches had the same aesthetic, “a spare, geometric presence that reflects the rational design approach” Knoll learned from Mies van der Rohe. (Knoll.com) Her highly recognizable bench is shown below in a custom, 12-foot model:
Image from 1stdibs.
Although she maintained a consistent look throughout much of her furniture, Knoll—like all modernist designers—added visual interest through the materials she used. Granite, glass, and marble were among them:
Granite table on metal legs. Image from 1stdibs.
Glass-topped table. Image from 1stdibs.
Marble-topped coffee table. Image from 1stdibs.
Leather was another material Knoll used in her seating, seen in the black bench shown earlier and this custom-made cognac daybed:
Image from 1stdibs.
The leather and chrome combination continues in contemporary versions of her famous lounge chair design. This particular item is available new from the Knoll company:
Image from Knoll.com.
It is easy to imagine all of these pieces in an office lobby or the executive suite, and that was the genius of Florence Knoll’s designs. They were simple and easily adaptable to any interior. The clean, minimalist look of her furniture also makes it timeless—the pieces she created in the 1950s and 1960s fit seamlessly into today’s décor.
Florence worked at Knoll until her retirement in 1965, guiding the company throughout the period after Hans' death in 1955. Many of her designs are still being manufactured by the company, including the lounge chair shown above, and her executive desk, credenzas, bench, and tables.
]]>Charles & Ray Eames: Pushing Boundaries
Charles Eames was born in 1907 in St. Louis. From an early age, his gift for drawing was apparent, as was his thirst for knowledge and affinity for learning by doing. The latter skill would serve him well in his future as a designer.
His father died when he was just 15, meaning Charles had to take a job to support the family while going to school. He worked at the Laclede Steel Company in summer and on weekends during the school year, but still maintained excellent grades at school. After high school he received a scholarship to the architecture program at Washington University in St. Louis, not so much because of what he studied but because of his work at the steel mill. As part of his job he was asked to work with patterns and do some “vague engineering work.” As Eames himself said, “I would draw a lot and then I had been sort of introduced to the idea of architecture and because of this combination of experience and things, which was a little bit in advance of what would normally be expected, I was given a scholarship to the university.”
Eames never did graduate. He was asked to leave Washington University after four semesters because "[h]is views were too modern.” He asked his professors to broaden their view beyond Bauhaus and discuss Frank Lloyd Wright, who was seen as something of an outlier at the time. This “premature” interest in Frank Lloyd Wright did not sit well with the faculty and led to Eames' early departure from the university. (Eames Office: A Good Learner)
Ray Eames was born Beatrice Alexandra Kaiser in Sacramento in 1912. Little is known of her childhood, although it is said her artistic talent was recognized at a young age. When Ray was done high school, she and her widowed mother moved to New York where Ray studied art under abstract expressionist Hans Hofmann. She met Charles in 1940 at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Detroit, the same place that Charles had met designer Eero Saarinen. Ray helped Charles and Saarinen prepare designs for the Museum of Modern Art’s 1940 Organic Furniture Competition. Eames and Saarinen won two first prizes, including one for their molded plywood “Organic Chair”:
Image from Vitra Design Museum
Charles and Ray married in 1941 and moved to California where their “extraordinary personal and artistic collaboration began.” Their goal was to “utilize new materials and technology, so that everyday objects of high quality in both form and function could be produced at reasonable cost.” (FemBio) To that end, they continued their experiments with molded plywood.
The Organic Chair had been a success from a design perspective, but the technology for mass production of furniture made of molded plywood with complex curves did not yet exist. Charles and Ray decided to figure out a solution. They developed something called the Kazam! Machine, shown below:
Image from the Eames Office.
The Eames Office describes how it worked:
“They started the process by placing a sheet of veneer into the Kazam! Machine mold and then they added a layer of glue on top of it. They repeated this process five to eleven times. Then, they used a bicycle pump to inflate a rubber balloon after the machine had been clamped shut, and the balloon pushed the wood against the form. Once the glue was set, Charles and Ray released the pressure and removed the seat from the mold, ‘ala Kazam!—like magic.’ (Hence the name). Finally, they used a handsaw to obtain the finished shape and hand-sanded the edges to make them smooth.”
These experiments did not yield immediate results in the form of finished furniture, but they did provide a solution to another problem. In 1942, in the midst of World War II, the Eameses learned that the standard metal splints used by the military were causing further injury to soldiers, mainly because the metal stretcher bearers “amplified vibrations in the brace.” Charles and Ray created a molded plywood brace that conformed to the leg. The brace included symmetrical holes that relieved the stress of the bent plywood and provided a place for medical personnel to thread through bandages and wrappings. Because of their elegant design and historical significance, the braces are still considered collectible today.
Image from the Eames Office.
In addition to helping the Eameses gain a better understanding of a specific material—molded plywood—the invention of the leg splint led to a partnership with Evans Products which allowed the Eameses to increase production. Not only did they produce leg splints from molded plywood, but also airplane fuselages, arm splints, a body litter, and pilot seat. (The full story of the leg splint is here.)
In 1946, with the war over, the Eames Office, as their production centre was now known, turned back to furniture. Five years after the invention of the Kazam! Machine, the Eameses would produce their first molded plywood chair, the LCW (Lounge Chair Wood):
Image from the Eames Office.
Time magazine called the LCW the “chair of the century.” It was evidence of the Eameses' belief in learning by doing. There were various iterations of the chair, including many attempts to create a single-piece shell. In the end, they settled with the curved legs and the two-part seat shown above. Did they regret spending five years developing one piece of furniture? No, said Charles to an inquiry about another piece. This work ensured that they had “the right answer.” (Eames Office: LCW)
After the LCW, the couple got the attention of manufacturer Herman Miller and entered into a production contract with the company. Herman Miller still produces their designs today. Other iconic pieces followed the LCW. Working with molded plywood and metal, the Eameses created the DCM (Dining Chair Metal):
Image from the Eames Office.
The DCM offered comfort rarely felt in wooden seating, namely because of its contours and the rubber mounts between the seat and legs that allowed the chair to flex and shift. (Eames Office: DCM)
Website 1stdibs notes that, although the Eameses “embraced new technology and materials,” one of their “peculiar talents was to imbue their supremely modern design with references to folk traditions.” As an example, they cite the Wire Chair from the early 1950s which was inspired by basket weaving techniques:
Image from the Eames Office.
Fibreglass was another new material the Eameses incorporated into their designs. The now famous fibreglass armchair, shown below, is an example of Charles and Ray’s belief in making things the way they should be made. As Charles said: “…when you set out to do a chair, you’re not setting out to do something that will floor somebody. You just want to do it the way it should be, so that it’s appropriate and reflects the way it’s made.” (Eames Office: Five Things About Charles and Ray Eames That Inspire Us Today) It was a design philosophy that echoed the Danish design ethos of the period: nothing extraneous and no excessive ornamentation, just excellent form and function.
Image from the Eames Office.
This armchair was originally created in stamped steel as part of the 1948 International Low-Cost Furniture Competition. (It won second prize.) Since steel proved to be problematic because of cost, coldness to the touch, and the potential for rust, Charles turned to fibreglass. (Eames Office: The History of the Eames Molded Plastic Chair.)The rest, as they say, is history. Charles and Ray would go on to produce other designs based on their fibreglass armchair, including “La Chaise” which was also entered in the low-cost furniture competition, and the very popular side or shell chair:
Image from the Eames Office.
Image from Eames Office. For a similar design, see the shell chairs now in-stock at VHB.
The couple continued working with molded plywood and in 1956 created yet another iconic design: the lounge chair and ottoman, also known as the 670/671. An original in rosewood is shown below:
Image from 1stdibs.
Comfort was the main goal of this design; Charles and Ray wanted it to have the “warm receptive look of a well-used first baseman’s mitt.” Still in production today, the 670/671 “remains a symbol of luxurious comfort.” (Eames Office: Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman)
The Eameses also worked with aluminum. Among the designs from their Aluminum Group was the EA 108 which was, and still is, a popular office chair owing to its sturdy, minimalist design:
Image from 1stdibs.
Beyond seating, the Eameses designed desks and storage units: lightweight, modular, and made of plywood, lacquered Masonite, and chrome-plated steel framing. Charles Eames noted that the units were as “simple and openly engineered as a bridge” and allowed for “exceptional economies in fabrication.” Like their other designs, the emphasis was on making things the best way possible with no excess or unnecessary complications. An original storage unit is shown below:
Image from 1stdibs.
Always experimenting and fulfilling their desire to learn new things, Charles and Ray worked in textiles, graphic design, and architecture. They created a series of exhibitions in partnership with IBM on everything from Copernicus to the Fibonacci sequence and computer technology. They also produced a number of films, including Powers of Ten which, as noted in its opening sequence, deals with “the relative size of things in the universe and the effect of adding another zero.” The significance of this groundbreaking short film was recognized when it was added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. (Slate magazine has an interesting overview of how the film was made, and the entire film is available for viewing on YouTube.)
Unsurprisingly, the couple also had a unique perspective on toys, believing that toys and games were not just for fun but were “preludes to serious ideas.” (Eames Office: House of Cards) They tried their hand at designing toys, including their very popular House of Cards, a set of slotted cards that could be used to create structures of various sizes and shapes. An original version is shown here:
Image from 1stdibs.
When asked by Alcoa to create a toy in aluminum, the Eameses experimented with different ideas and came up with something truly innovative. Having learned about photovoltaic cells while developing the toy, they decided to put them to use. The end result was the “Solar Do-Nothing Machine.” Video footage they took stayed hidden until their grandson discovered it and produced this short YouTube video:
In reality, the “do-nothing” machine did quite a bit. It was cited by Life magazine as a “forerunner of future solar-power machines” and, according to Mental Floss, the toy was a “relatively early use of solar power,” created at a time when 8% efficiency was considered cutting-edge.
Charles Eames passed away in 1978. Ray died exactly ten years later, to the day. Their designs are still in production today through Herman Miller and Vitra. The couple accomplished so much that it is hard to encompass it all here. For more insight into their prolific careers in design, visit www.eamesoffice.com.
]]>Step one: get out your measuring tape and notepad.
You’ve got some work to do. Before thinking about anything else, be sure to measure:
Step two: educate yourself about the construction of sofas.
Yes, this sounds frightfully boring but you won’t regret it. To ensure you are getting good value for your money, you need to know what is inside a sofa. If you have a general idea about things like frames and springs, you’ll know how to interpret the information your salesperson provides. Here are a few things to consider:
Step three: consider colour and fabric.
When thinking about colour, ask yourself who will be using your couch: pets, kids, accident-prone friends, messy relatives? If you said yes to any of those, you may want to avoid white or even lighter shades altogether. Black couches can also show pet hair and some stains. Consider grey—we have more than 50 shades in our custom sofas—or a pattern. If you want your sofa to be a focal point, a bold colour, as shown below, is also a great option. Take a good look at your room and the accessories you already have then look online to see what’s trending in upholstery. You can also visit stores, like VHB, to see and feel the fabrics on offer.
Fabrics should be durable and you should know your options for cleaning them before buying. Do you want a fabric that is vacuum-only or dry-clean only, or something that can be scrubbed a little in case of spills? What about leather instead of a textile?
Factor the amount of maintenance required with any potential sources of damage to gauge whether the fabric fits your lifestyle, perhaps with questions like these: Will Kitty’s claws tear up your beautiful woven pattern? Does red wine stain taupe leather? Will you damage the fabric scrubbing out the butter from your movie night popcorn?
Speaking of stains, you may want to inquire about stain guards. Although very popular, the Scotchgard brand is also very toxic. Our Brentwood sofas are available in a wide selection of Crypton fabric, the latest innovation in Greenguard Gold Certified non-toxic upholstery fabric that resists stains and spills.
Step four: sit down and ask questions.
Once you have a general idea about what you want in a sofa, it’s time to visit your local store and put a few sofas through their paces. Sit on each model you are considering to see how they feel. Listen for squeaks, as we noted above, but also try to get a sense of the firmness of the cushioning. And ask the salesperson all the questions you prepared in steps two and three. If he or she can’t answer you, ask to see the manufacturer’s specifications.
Step five: read the fine print.
Before swiping your credit card, ask about warranties in workmanship and construction and care and cleaning (as noted above). Our Brentwood Classics custom sofas offer an industry leading lifetime warranty on frames and springs, 5-year warranty on cushion cores, and 1-year warranty on fabrics and leathers. And the fact that they are made right here in Toronto means you will get repair service directly from the manufacturer, not from a third-party tradesperson hired by a distant company.
Happy shopping!
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Where do you get your stuff? We get this question every....single....day. Actually multiple times a day. Our answer is simple. All over the place. We have several people we work with who buy and sell this type of furniture professionally. But we mostly get items from people who call and email us.
So if you are looking to sell your well cared for Mid Century Modern / Scandinavian Modern furniture feel free to reach out to us.
Here is what we need:
General rules of thumb:
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Hvidt and Mølgaard-Nielsen: Innovations in Solid Wood
Peter Hvidt was born in 1916. He studied at the School of Arts & Crafts in Copenhagen and taught there from 1942 until 1945. Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen, born in 1907, trained first at the Aalborg Technical School before moving onto the School of Arts & Crafts. He continued his studies under Kaare Klint at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts between 1931 and 1934. The two men formed their own design studio in 1944 and would work together until 1975 when Hvidt retired. (Scandinavian.Modern, R & Company) According to Galerie Møbler, the pair designed no less than 256 pieces of furniture together. Their most iconic piece was the AX Chair, introduced to the world in 1950 and exhibited as part of the 1951 “Good Design” show at New York’s Museum of Modern Art:
Image from Pamono.ca.
The AX chair was the first ever to use double curved laminated wood in the seat and back. To understand the significance of this accomplishment it helps to know the process. Laminating involves gluing several thin layers of wood together. Bent lamination adds another element, requiring the woodworker to glue the strips together over a rigid form to create a curve. The woodworker has to design the form and then determine the right thickness for the various layers. Canadian Woodworking gives an example: a typical ¾” curved piece of laminate would require six strips of 1/8” wood. If, however, the curve is tight or the wood is thicker, adjustments have to be made. Thinner strips would be required for tight curves to ensure the wood could bend without breaking any fibres. The closeup below shows the curve of the seat and thickness of the laminate the designers created.
Image from Pamona.ca.
In the era when Hvidt and Mølgaard-Neilsen worked, they would have had to create their own laminate layers by cutting the wood and then planing it to get the desired thickness, ensuring a consistent thickness as well. The innovation in the AX came via the double curves in the seat and back. The seat of the chair curves up slightly at the back and downward in the front where a person's legs would bend over it. Similarly, the back of the chair curves inward at the bottom and outward at the top. Bent laminate had been used before, but not to create opposing curves in a single piece as was done here. The effect is impressive, from the perspective of both comfort and aesthetics. With its subtle, symmetrical curves, the AX chair paid special attention to the needs of the person sitting in it. The double curves also contributed to the streamlined, flowing appearance of the chair, giving the seat and back the look of gentle waves.
Image from 1stdibs.
The AX contrasts with the Portex, an earlier incarnation of a solid wood armchair designed in 1944 by Hvidt. The Portex had a fairly straight seat, while the back had a traditional concave shape. While it may not seem as innovative as the AX, the Portex was significant because it was the first stacking chair produced in Denmark.(Scandinavian.Modern)
Image from 1stdibs.
The AX Chair had one other novel element: the seat and back could be removed for shipping. Easier shipping meant increased exports to the US and Europe, which helped put Danish designs on the map. The AX was also a very versatile design that was produced in different variations, including reversible leather seats and back, and versions with fabric upholstery and no arms, like the one shown below. (Galerie Mobler, Scandinavian.Modern)
Image from 1stdibs.
Fabric, like that used in the AX, was one way Hvidt and Mølgaard-Neilsen experimented with texture. Like many designers of the mid-century period, they also incorporated leather in their designs. This daybed is one example, with its leather seating resting on a solid teak frame. For contrast, the designers included a tabletop made of travertine marble.
Image from 1stdibs.
They also used cane to add visual interest to their solid wood furniture, as seen in the sofa below.
Image from RetroStart.
Cane makes an appearance in this tapered teak coffee table as well:
Image from RetroStart. (VHB has a table of similar shape in stock now.)
The surface of the Minerva coffee table is also inlaid with cane:
Image from RetroStart.
With its unique shape and aesthetic, the Minerva table could stand alone. It was, however, part of modular sofa set, easily adaptable for spaces of various sizes. Together, all three pieces form a large sectional couch. For smaller spaces or just to create a different look, the sofas could be separated without losing their sense of connectedness:
Images from Pamono.com.
This modular coffee table is another famous design from Hvidt and Mølgaard-Neilsen. Its flowing shapes and extreme versatility are hallmarks of Danish mid-century design:
Images from 1stdibs.
The emphasis on modular furniture and practical, functional elements was quintessentially Danish. Hvidt and Mølgaard-Neilsen created many pieces with these traits. Working with Søborg Møbelfabrik, they created a line of storage units using solid teak timbers, like the modular bookcases below.(Scandinavian.Modern)
Images from 1stdibs.
Rosewood coffee and side tables included a pull-out tray and drawer for storage:
Image from RetroStart.
And this dresser could be transformed into a vanity, complete with a hideaway mirror.
Images from 1stdibs.
Another of the designers’ coffee tables showed both practicality and a flair for design. Sold this year by VHB, the table had a unique triangular shape and could be fully collapsed, making it easy to move and store to create extra space.
Images from Vintage Home Boutique.
Dining tables were also versatile, as seen in this drop leaf design.
Images from 1stdibs.
In all of their work, Hvidt and Mølgaard-Neilsen showed a typically Danish tendency to experiment with shapes, whether in the legs of the dining table shown above or the AX chair and Minerva table. This tendency was also clear in the partners’ teak dining chairs with their semi-circle backs, diagonal stretchers, and rounded arms. The woven grass seats, like the cane in the pieces shown above, added texture and a striking contrast to the teak. Scandinavian Modern notes that these dining chairs are, to this day, one of the most popular Hvidt and Mølgaard-Neilsen designs:
Image from Scandinavian Modern.
In the 1960s, the firm started by Hvidt and Mølgaard-Neilsen turned increasingly to architecture, designing housing projects and bridges. Peter Hvidt died in 1986 and Oral Mølgaard-Neilsen in 1993. Their company operated until 2009, when it was split into two separate architecture firms, one of which is co-owned by Peter Hvidt’s son Henrik. (Wikipedia Translation of Danish Sources)
]]>Grete Jalk: Embracing Social and Technological Progress
Grete Jalk was born in Copenhagen in 1920. She studied modern languages and philosophy before enrolling at the Copenhagen Design School for Women. In 1942, she moved onto the Danish Royal Academy where she studied under famed designer Kaare Klint. She completed her education in 1946 and, in the same year, won first prize at the annual Cabinetmakers’ Guild Competition.
Jalk was known for creating “thoughtful designs” that were well adapted to people’s needs and “embraced societal and technological progress.” Perhaps one of the best examples of this progressive mindset was her “self-supporting woman’s den.” Introduced in 1947, it combined a sofa bed, wall-mounted storage space, and desk, and was designed to act as both bedroom and study for professional women. Jalk’s “Watch and Listen” living room unit is another example of a design created for modern lives. Made of pine, it included compartments for a television, stereo system, records and tapes, and a small film projector. Space for speakers was provided at either end. Countering the prevailing trend of the day, the speakers were open to view instead of being placed behind lattice work, signalling Jalk’s intention that the technology be displayed instead of hidden. (Unfortunately, we could not find pictures of either design online.)
In 1951, Jalk attended the Milan Triennale and received wide acclaim for her designs. Two years later, she opened her own design studio. Working under her own name, she designed furniture for major Danish manufacturers, including Poul Jeppesen, Fritz Hansen, Glostrup, and France & Son. Her minimalist designs were, true to her Danish heritage, multifunctional. They included storage units with pull-out seating, day beds with built-in storage, and folding tables that could be tucked away when not needed.
With “clear, comfortable lines,” many of Jalk’s designs were particularly well suited for quick and cost-effective mass production. Interestingly, her most famous design was not. The GJ Chair, which has been described as a “staggering example of postwar design innovation,” was so complicated to create that mass production was not possible. It is estimated that only 300 copies of the chair were made. (Pamono, Retro Obsessions, R & Company)
The GJ, pictured below, was made of molded plywood and teak veneer. Its shape, likened to origami, was achieved through an “intricate process” of bending and laminating. In 2008, Denmark’s Lange Productions was given authorization to create reproductions of the chair, but originals are highly sought after and command high prices. At the time of writing, the chair shown below was priced at $59,000 CAD.
Images from 1stdibs.
The significance of the GJ Chair was immediately recognized. It won first prize in a competition held by the UK’s Daily Mirror newspaper in 1963, the year it was produced. In the same year, the Museum of Modern Art acquired a GJ Chair which is still in its collection today.
While less complex than the GJ, Jalk’s other designs still demonstrate the high level of artistry, utility, and craftsmanship for which Danish mid-century furniture was known.
She created many lounge chairs, including this pair, currently in stock at VHB. The design was notable for its simplicity and comfort, seen in the gently curved armrests and coiled spring seat and back.
Images from VHB.
Her day bed offers a clean, modernist design with a surprise element of practicality: the seat back opens to provide storage.
Images from 1stdibs.
The unit shown below, made of teak, includes a modular bookcase system and two dressers with pull-out seating underneath: a banquette on the right and two stools on the left. The interior of the cabinets includes drawers with oak veneer.
Image from Invaluable.
Also designed with busy modern lives in mind, Jalk’s folding nesting tables and cart. The listing for this set refers to it as an “ingenious solution for sensible storage and elegant entertaining.”
Images from 1stdibs.
Her adjustable stool, shown below, provided a versatile seating option for modern homes. This design was exhibited at the Copenhagen Cabinetmakers’ Guild Exhibition in 1961, an event Jalk participated in nearly every year throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
Image from 1stdibs.
Deceptively simple but highly practical, Jalk’s teak coffee tables often included storage tucked elegantly underneath the tabletop. This Grete Jalk table with slatted shelf was in VHB’s collection but has been sold:
Image from VHB.
Like other designers of the day, Grete Jalk chose to work with a wide range of materials. Her veneer work, seen in the GJ Chair and bookcase shown above, is one example. She also worked with leather and vinyl, metal, and various woods.
In the 1950s, she combined naugahyde and teak, as seen in this lounge chair and ottoman produced by France & Sons:
Image from 1stdibs.
By the 1970s, she was designing leather seating on a curved steel base:
Image from RetroStart.
Like other mid-century designers, Jalk also used leather and leather-like materials in her dining chairs. In the armchair shown below, the black vinyl provides the perfect contrast to the sleek rosewood frame:
Image from 1stdibs.
Using the same materials, Jalk created a very different look, with sharper corners than were seen in the gently curved chair above:
Image from 1stdibs.
As these two starkly different dining chairs show, Jalk was known to experiment with a variety of shapes and angles. The coffee tables shown below incorporate two different structures to achieve the floating look that was so popular in the mid-century period. The first uses dramatically curved legs to create the illusion of space between the legs and rounded tabletop, while the second uses slender dowels to lift the sharply rectangular tabletop from the base.
Image from 1stdibs.
Image from 1stdibs.
Texture and a touch of whimsy also factored into Jalk’s designs, in the form of decorative circles applied to the surface of some of her coffee and side tables. The first is made of rosewood with Bakelite circles; the second is teak with laminate circles:
In addition to designing, Grete Jalk taught at the Danish Royal Academy from 1950 to 1960 and had two six-year tenures as editor of the Danish design magazine Mobilia. In the mid-1970s, the Danish government asked her to curate a travelling exhibition of Danish design, and in 1987 she edited the four-volume book Forty Years of Danish Furniture Design. Grete Jalk passed away in 2006. (Pamono, Retro Obsessions)
]]>Leaving aside the first paragraph, which is an appeal for a picture of Østervig’s grave, we are left with about 100 words as our soul source of information about the man. His work will have to do the talking, and it speaks volumes. Østervig had a flair for the dramatic, infusing his furnishings with unique elements that stood out among the designs of the day.
Kurt Østervig: From the Shipyard to the Wood Shop
A Google translation of the page shown above tells us that Østervig was born in Odense, Denmark in 1912. His father was in the military. Østervig began his career in a related field, working as a naval architect at Odense Steel Shipyard. He soon discovered a passion for woodworking and changed careers, finding employment for a time at E. Knudsen Architects in Odense. He opened his own studio in 1947.
Østervig’s biography notes that he liked working with oak, but it is clear from browsing the websites of vintage furniture dealers and auction houses that—like his contemporaries— he also crafted many items from teak, rosewood, and walnut.
Using oak as his medium, Østervig created versatile looks, including two very different styles of dining chair. Both are minimalist but each has a distinct aesthetic. The first is boxy with a casual sensibility while the second, with its oak legs and teak backrest, is curved and tapered with a more sophisticated look:
Image from Scandinavian Modern
Image from Pamono.ca.
Another of his oak pieces recalls the rattan chair above, with is straight, sturdy legs and somewhat rustic appearance:
In this sideboard, manufactured in the 1960s, Østervig may not have used the organic, curving shapes common among Danish mid-century designs, but the prominence of the wood’s grain shows that he, like other designers of the period, had a keen appreciation for the natural beauty of wood:
Images from Pamono.ca.
Like other designers of the period, Østervig incorporated distinctive shapes in his furniture. Triangles featured prominently in many of Østervig’s designs, including the butterfly chair shown below. It has only three legs, attached at the corners of a triangular seat. The back rest consists of two slightly distorted triangles that recall butterfly wings and give the chair its name:
Image from Pamono.ca
Østervig used triangles in his tables to challenge conventions of structure and shape. Rather than place table legs at the corners and have them descend in a straight line to the floor as was typically done, Østervig decided to try something a little different. The results speak for themselves. His unique approach to table design has incredible visual impact:
Image from 1stdibs.
Image from 1stdibs.
True to his Danish heritage, Østervig focused on efficiency and versatility as well as aesthetics. This rosewood dining table is a perfect example. Its legs swing closed and the leaves fold down via the intentionally visible and beautifully rendered hinges. Closed, it can serve as a console table; open, the table offers enough space to seat eight for dinner.
Images from 1stdibs.
In addition to the boldly geometric elements seen above, Østervig also employed a more subtle touch, using gentle contours to soften his designs, as seen in both his day bed and surfboard coffee table:
Images from MCM Daily.
Image from Invaluable.com.
Like his oak sideboard and other works, Østervig’s day bed and surfboard table demonstrate a reverence for wood typical of Danish mid-century designers. In our post about Ib Kofod-Larsen, we referred to his “talent for honouring the innate qualities of his chosen materials.” Østervig shows a similar tendency, choosing a minimalist aesthetic that allows the natural beauty of the wood to shine. Streamlined and sculptured, these pieces also showcase his extraordinary skills as a craftsman.
Although intentionally exaggerated in their proportions, Østervig’s upholstered and leather lounge chairs are every bit as sleek as his wood pieces. This ad from 1962 shows his Model 62H chair, a re-interpretation of a classic wing chair:
Image from DanishModernUK.
Østervig’s Model 57A features a round shape in a minimalist design that uses colour, in one version, and texture in the other to create “domestic cheer” and a sense of warmth. Both were important to Danish designers, living, as they did, through very dark and cold winters. (Scandinavian Modern Home)
Image from Wright20
Image from ArtNet
Østervig played with texture and proportion in many of his wood pieces as well. In addition to contrasting colours, the bookcase shown below features dramatic tapering in the vertical supports, echoed in the cabinets and shelves.
Image from 1stdibs.
Østervig, like many mid-century designers, was known to use tambour doors in his cabinets for practical and aesthetic reasons. These doors could open without being pulled out and taking up space, and the slats provided a contrasting texture for added visual interest. In the pull-out table of the bar cabinet shown below, Østervig included another contrasting texture. The smooth black formica finish would have been seen as a very modern touch in the 1950s, but it also added an element of utility by providing the perfect surface for mixing cocktails.
Images from SimplyMod.com
While little has been said about the man, Kurt Østervig’s design legacy helps tell his story. Østervig died in 1986 but his furnishings are still in demand today, fetching high prices on the resale market. His day bed, a rare find, was listed at more than $17,000.00 at the time of writing, while a complete butterfly dining set—including table—was priced at over $20,000.00.
Editor's Note: This post has been amended from its original to remove references to a chair that our sources mistakenly attributed to Østervig. The chair was actually designed and patented by Palle Pedersen and Erik Andersen. The patent can be found here.
]]>
Save the date:
November 3, 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Vintage Home Boutique 710B St Clair Ave W
Wine and appetizers will be served.
Niels Møller: Five Years Invested in Each Design
Niels Møller was born in 1920 in Århus, Denmark. After completing an apprenticeship in cabinetmaking in 1939, he enrolled at the Århus School of Design for further studies. In 1944 he opened his own furniture company, JL Møllers Møbelfabrik, in a small workshop in his hometown. By 1952 the company had begun exports to Germany and the US. With increased production, they found themselves in need of more space and opened a larger facility just outside of Århus in Højbjerg. By 1974 they were exporting to Japan where their minimalist designs proved extremely popular. Japan remains one of the company’s biggest markets today. (Design Within Reach)
Soon after setting up shop Møller was recognized for his “consistent excellence in quality and workmanship.” (Pamono) His son Jørgen elaborated in an interview about his father: “My father never compromised on anything…When he designed a chair, he would find the materials and then design the furniture. Each design took him five years to complete.” (Design Within Reach)
Such dedication meant that Møller produced far fewer designs than his contemporaries, but the relative scarcity of his pieces makes them even more valued.
The emphasis on old craft traditions endures at JL Møllers. Even today the company avoids the use of assembly lines and, as far as possible, modern technology. An outline of their processes shows the attention to detail in their furniture production:
Production methods may be the same as they were in the mid-century period, but the choice of materials has narrowed. Rosewood, a favourite of Niels Møller, is now an endangered species and cannot be used today. The company continues to use teak in some of its designs, but works more often with oak, beech, and walnut, and sometimes cherry or maple.
One of the resulting adaptations the company has had to make is seen in the very popular Model 75 dining chair. Once made in teak, as shown below, new versions of the Model 75 are now only available in oak:
VHB’s original Model 75 chairs in teak with new Danish cord seating.
When describing a Møller chair, people use words like “sculptural,” “clean,” “simple,” and “timeless.” Those words are all applicable to the Model 75. The back, shown below, seems to be constructed of a single piece of wood. It is utterly absent of ornamentation, yet is still elegant and sophisticated in appearance. It is also curved ever so slightly to provide comfort.
Image from 1stdibs.
A similar aesthetic exists in Møller’s other dining chairs. The Model 78 in rosewood is a particularly striking example:
Images from Pamono.ca.
Again, the design is very simple, with only a subtle, pointed flourish on the front of the legs and the very top of the chair. The backs of these chairs are a testament to Møller’s exceptional workmanship: the horizontal and vertical pieces flow almost seamlessly into one another with the curves providing the sculptural quality he was known for.
His Model 65 armchair shows a similar grace, with tapered legs that create considerable lightness in appearance:
Images from 1stdibs.
Like many mid-century modern designers, Møller experimented with different shapes. The sharp angles of the Model 84 chair, created in the 1970s, contrast significantly with the sinuous curves of his earlier work, yet still have a similar sense of sculpture and flow:
Images from 1stdibs.
Inspired by nature and organic forms, Danish mid-century designers would create pieces that highlighted the natural grain of the woods they worked with. Rosewood, with its pronounced grain, was a favourite among designers from the period, including Møller. The pieces he created in rosewood are among his most beautiful. This round dining table is one example:
Images from Pamono.ca.
This Møller coffee table also showcases the natural beauty of rosewood:
Image from Scandinavian Modern.
Møller did not design a lot of sideboards, but he applied his usual attention to detail when he did. In the sideboard below, he used the wood’s natural grain to create symmetry between the two doors:
The interior is equally eye-catching, with darker hues used for the shelves for contrast:
Images from 1stdibs.
In the larger sideboard shown below, the wood grain is more subtle but still provides a sense of symmetry. The interior shows typical mid-century Danish practicality, offering flexible storage with its adjustable shelves:
Images from 1stdibs.
By 1969 both of Møller’s sons had completed their training in cabinetmaking and joined the family business. Younger son Jørgen added to the company’s legacy with the Model 401, designed in 1974 while he was a student at the Copenhagen Design School. Although the overall feel of the chair is different, the influence of his father is clear in the workmanship and sculptural qualities:
Image from jlm.dk.
In 1981, the company received Dansk MøbelIndustri’s Furniture Prize. In explaining their choice, the jury mentioned J.L. Møllers Møbelfabrik’s “ability to combine the best craft traditions with modern furniture manufacture” and went onto say that the company “has always obstinately held firm to its high quality level.” (jlm.dk) Indeed it has, as both its new output and vintage pieces show.
Niels Moller passed away in 1982. His legendary company is still producing several of the models first made famous in the mid-century period, along with works from new designers. Niels’ son Jørgen is currently managing the company, with his son Michael following in his footsteps as the next generation to run the iconic firm.
]]>Hans Wegner: Tireless Pursuit of the Perfect Chair
The son of a cobbler, born in Tønder, Denmark in 1914, Wegner apprenticed as a carpenter before moving to Copenhagen. He trained at the Technical Institute in Denmark’s capital and then attended the School of Arts and Crafts, graduating in 1938. Two years later he joined the architectural office of Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller where he helped design furniture for the Aarhus City Hall, known then and now as a “classic example of Scandinavian modernism.” (ArchDaily)
By 1943, Wegner had opened his own office and began working on a series of chairs that would later be known as the “Chinese chairs.” Like other Danish designers of the mid-century period, Wegner looked to the past for designs he could re-interpret. In the case of this first series of chairs, it was ancient China that inspired him. His Wishbone chair was the most famous among these early designs. It recalls Ming furniture produced in fourteenth-century China and, according to many sources, is Wegner’s most commercially successful design. (Wilhide, Carl Hansen, DanishDesign.com) The Wishbone is still produced by Carl Hansen today. An original is shown below:
Image from 1stdibs.
Elizabeth Wilhide, author of Scandinavian Modern Home, described the Wishbone as an example of Wegner’s “mastery of form,” noting how the curve of the back legs is echoed in the semicircular top rail and wishbone shaped back support. Similar design elements would appear in Wegner’s later chairs, including the Peacock.
An adaptation of the classic Windsor chair, the Peacock was first produced in 1947 and debuted at the annual exhibition of the Cabinetmakers’ Guild of Copenhagen. Technically known as the PP550, the more poetic “Peacock” name was supposedly bestowed by noted designer Finn Juhl, in reference to the fan-shaped slatted back rest. Always designing with comfort in mind, Wegner improved the slats, which were traditionally just round dowels, by flattening them at the exact point where the shoulder blades meet the chair:
Image from 1stdibs.
Wegner was a presence at every Cabinetmakers’ Guild exhibit from 1941 until 1966, debuting a new chair each time. Wilhide credits Wegner’s “tireless pursuit of the perfect chair form” as a driving force behind his work. Many say he found perfection, or something very close to it, in the PP501/503, also known as the Round Chair. Initially produced in 1949, the Round Chair was nicknamed inadvertently when Wegner asked an assistant to bring a chair to him from his design studio. When the assistant asked which one, Wegner replied very simply, “the round one.”
This seemingly simple design brought Wegner international fame. In 1950, the American magazine Interiors featured the Round Chair on its cover and called it “the world’s most beautiful chair.”
The presence of the Round Chair in the first televised US presidential debate between Kennedy and Nixon only added to its reputation:
Image from API Images.
It is still regarded as a landmark design today. In its review of Wegner’s most iconic designs, Dwell magazine is effusive in its praise of the Round Chair, saying it is:
“minimalist art reduced to its bare essentials. It required incredible craftsmanship to create such smooth curves—each of the crescent-shaped armrests are fashioned from a block of wood, and interior mortise-and-tenons hide the connection between the arms and legs.”
In his book Scandinavian Style, Bradley Quinn commented on the elegance of the design, seen in the way the armrests and back merge gracefully into one another. And Elizabeth Wilhide talks about the “minimal use of material, exquisite craftsmanship and refined form” that give the chair a timeless quality. In her assessment, Wegner reached his ultimate goal with the Round Chair, since it is, indeed, beautiful from all angles. The images below, of a Round Chair from VHB’s collection, show all of those angles:
Images from Vintage Home Boutique.
The Round Chair was originally produced by Johannes Hansen, a small Danish furniture manufacturer with whom Wegner worked very closely. While it was common for Danish designers to collaborate with manufacturers, Wegner was “unusual” in that he worked alongside the company’s skilled craftsmen to fine tune his designs, rather than leaving them to figure out the technical details. (Wilhide)
Wegner’s relationship with Johannes Hansen was a fruitful one. Along with the Round Chair, Johannes Hansen produced the Peacock and the PP512, a chair that combines several traits of Danish mid-century design. It was streamlined and minimalist, used organic materials (wood and cane), and was highly practical since it could be folded and hung on the wall, as the reproduction below demonstrates.
Images from twentytwentyone.
It was also with Johannes Hansen that Wegner designed the Ox Chair, a significant shift in direction for the designer. Known to “revere” wood, Wegner was apparently inspired by Picasso’s drawings of bulls when he created this dramatic armchair with ox hide and chromium-plated steel legs:
Image from 1stdibs.
As the Ox Chair shows, Wegner was known, on occasion, to have a little fun with his designs. Several years before the Ox Chair came to be, Wegner had re-imagined the wing chair. His thoroughly modern take on this very traditional piece was playful in appearance but also showed his commitment to human-centred design. As Wilhide notes, Wegner believed that a chair should “not impose a single posture” but allow people to be comfortable in any position they choose. The AP 19 fit the bill. This chair became known as the Papa Bear chair after a critic commented that the arms look liked paws reaching around to hug the person seated in it.
Image from Vintage Home Boutique.
Also known as a “witty” design was the multi-purpose Valet chair, which provided seating but also served as a place to hang a man’s suit. (Wilhide) The backrest is in the shape of a coat hanger, and pants could be hung on a rail at the edge of the seat which lifted to reveal more storage. The reproduction, below, shows all of the storage options and the detail of the unusual back:
Image from PP Møbler.
Beyond seating, Wegner created many other types of furniture with a wide range of Danish manufacturers. The bar bench, below, is another well-known design made by Johannes Hansen:
Image from 1stdibs.
Sleek storage solutions were always important to Danish mid-century designers and Wegner was no exception. He created many sideboards, some with distinctive elements that added flair and visual interest. His Model 20 sideboard was one of his most popular. The two-level construction sets it apart from others of the period:
Image from scandinavianmod.com.
The CH 304 sideboard was originally made by Carl Hansen, a Danish company that still produces Wegner designs today. The crossed legs have brass supports, giving this piece a very unique look:
Image from 1stdibs.
Wegner was so prolific that it is nearly impossible to capture all of his designs in one article. With such a large volume of work, it is no surprise that he won several prestigious awards in his lifetime, from the Lunning Prize and the Grand Prix at the Milan Triennale in 1951 to an honourary doctorate from Royal College of Art in 1997. He continued to work into his eighties, and passed away in 2007 at the age of 92. His designs live on in modern reproductions, and many are featured in museums around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
]]>Ib Kofod-Larsen: Honouring the Innate Qualities of His Chosen Materials
Ib Kofod-Larsen was born in Denmark in 1921. Like many of his contemporaries, he studied at the Danish Royal Academy in Copenhagen. His first recognition as a designer would come in 1948, when he won the Holmegaard Glass Competition. In that same year, he was rewarded for work in another medium, receiving the Danish Cabinetmakers Guild’s annual award. (Pamono.ca) Danish furniture maker Faarup Møbelfabrik saw his potential and hired him. It was here that he designed one of his more spectacular pieces: the Model 66 sideboard, shown below.
Image from MCMDaily.com.
His work with Faarup established him as a designer. He followed the basic tenets of Danish mid-century design, creating versatile, practical pieces with a graceful, minimalist aesthetic. Yet, in the minds of some collectors today, he stands out from other Danish designers of the mid-century period because of his “talent for honouring the innate qualities of his chosen materials.” (Pamono.ca) Kofod-Larsen was known for working with the natural grains and patterns in the raw materials he used and making those elements the focus of his designs. One of the finest examples of this tendency is a rosewood sideboard he designed for Faarup:
Images from 1stdibs.
In this sideboard, Kofod-Larsen created symmetry from the natural grain of the wood, highlighting an X-shaped pattern in the centre of the piece. In a testament to how much his designs are valued today, the asking price for this particular sideboard is nearly $14,000.00.
His work with Faarup brought Kofod-Larsen to the attention of furniture makers in Sweden and the UK. In Sweden, he worked with OPE Möbler to create one of his most famous designs, the Salen or Seal chair which was first made in the 1950s. The now iconic chair epitomized the human-centred design that was prevalent in the mid-century period. Comfort is the main focus, seen in the angled frame and arms that invite reclining, and the warm leather seating. Despite being made of heavy materials, there is still a lightness in the chair’s appearance, seen in the way the “leather shell seems to be floating inside the wooden frame.” (1stdibs)
A similar design for OPE Möbler received considerable attention from a very influential individual. Initially known as the U-56, this armchair was reportedly renamed after Queen Elizabeth II purchased a pair in 1958. Now more commonly known as the Elizabeth, the chair’s rosewood and leather version is among the most rare and valuable to collectors of Kofod-Larsen’s work. (JustCollecting) The chair shown below has an asking price in excess of $40,000.00.
Image from 1stdibs.
The Elizabeth was also designed as a settee, an especially rare piece, shown below.
Image from MCMDaily.
We’ve been fortunate enough to have several of Kofod-Larsen’s armchairs at VHB, including the two below—one in teak and the other in walnut. Both sold very quickly, a sign that his designs still resonate with homeowners today.
Among the seating Kofod-Larsen created, the “Penguin” chair was also very popular and remains one of his most well-known designs. The first incarnations were made in Denmark of solid wood. Later, the Selig company in the US would import the wooden components from Denmark and place them on a made-in-America metal base, as shown below. (Remodelista)
Image from 1stdibs.
As with his Seal and Elizabeth chairs, the focus of the Penguin chair was the person sitting in it. The curved back and angled seat cradled the body, offering a surprising amount of comfort in such a simple design. The solid wood version is shown here:
Image from Pamono.ca.
In 1962, Kofod-Larsen began working with British furniture manufacturer High Wycombe. The company had noticed a loss in market share as Scandinavian modern designs became more popular, and partnered with Kofod-Larsen to create the G-Plan line. (MCMDaily) The line included desks, sideboards, armchairs, sofas, and even room dividers, like this piece in our current collection.
His G-Plan designs proved very popular then and still sell well today on the vintage market. The desk and sideboard below show more of the range and style of the line. As with his initial designs for Faarup, you can see how he uses the wood grain to create a sense of symmetry, evident in the desk’s drawers and in the three doors of the sideboard.
Image from MCMDaily.
Image from 1stdibs.
The G-Plan line also included furniture for the dining room, like this set from our past collection. The chairs and table are made of African teak:
We also have in-stock another Kofod-Larsen teak dining table. The close-up of the leg joint shows the incredible craftsmanship he was known for, as the leg blends virtually seamlessly to the table top.
Ib Kofod-Larsen passed away in 2003, but his designs live on, both as vintage collectibles and reproductions. His Penguin chair has inspired many knockoffs, but Danish company Brdr. Petersens has recently announced that it will produce a “sanctioned” Kofod-Larsen reissue, or a “Penguin for purists.” The company, run by twin brothers Egon and Elring Petersen, specializes in making Danish modern upholstered seating and has also re-launched Kofod-Larsen’s famous Seal chair, proving that good design never goes out of style.
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If you have any other questions please let us know.
]]>Arne Vodder: A Long and Varied Career
Arne Vodder was part of the “second generation” of Danish furniture designers. Born in 1926, he trained as a cabinetmaker and architect, studying under Finn Juhl at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. After graduating in 1947, Vodder enjoyed a long and diverse career, keeping a hand in both furniture design and architecture.
Immediately following his graduation, he worked as a designer of office décor with Findsgaul in Copenhagen. He established his own design and architecture firm with architect Anton Borg in 1950. Together, Vodder and Borg designed furniture and more than 1,100 low-cost houses.
As an architect, in addition to his work with Borg, Vodder spent 25 years designing interiors with department store Havemann’s Magasiner A/S. As a designer, Vodder worked with many furniture manufacturers—including Fritz Hansen, France & Son, Cado, and Bovirke—but it was his work with Sibast that brought him the most attention. With Sibast he created desks, tables, chairs, and cabinets used mainly in offices.
His partnership with Borg ended in 1975, but Vodder kept working as a designer. In the mid-1970s he partnered with manufacturer Erik Jørgensen, for whom he created several armchairs and easy chairs. In the 1980s he designed garden furniture with Kirkodan and worked on new designs for lacquered furniture with InterForm Collection and Xcol. In the 1990s he joined with Nilaus Furniture to create reproductions of Fritz Hansen designs. By 2006, it was Vodder’s designs that were being reproduced, in limited numbers, in response to growing consumer interest in his sideboards and dressers. Vodder passed away in 2009. (arnevodder.dk, 1stdibs, pamono.ca)
Vodder’s Iconic Sideboard
According to Scandinavian Modern, the sideboards and desks Vodder designed for Sibast were his most “beautiful and desired objects.” This is an assessment with which Vodder seemed to agree. When asked in 2009 to choose a favourite among his many designs, Vodder selected the Model 29 sideboard. The now iconic piece featured drawers shaped to avoid the need for handles. It also showcased the asymmetry with which Vodder often experimented. In the Model 29, the curves of the drawers provide a counterbalance to the rectangular doors:
Image from RetroStart.
The design elements apparent in the Model 29 sideboard appeared in other pieces designed for the home, including Vodder’s hall furniture, dressers, and desks.
Vodder’s rosewood hall set also shows the asymmetry that appealed to him, with the tall mirror offset by a compact set of drawers with handles similar to those on the Model 29.
Image from 1stdibs.
Yet symmetry was not completely absent from Vodder’s designs. The dresser below is all symmetry, with each drawer perfectly balanced and seeming to flow into the next.
Walnut Commode, Image from 1stdibs.
Also beautifully balanced, this Vodder desk combines teak and rosewood for added visual interest.
Image from 1stdibs.
This mixing of woods was very typical of mid-century Danish designers who used imported, durable hardwoods in all of their pieces. Combining contrasting woods like teak and rosewood enabled them to create the illusion of added depth.
Colour was another hallmark of Danish mid-century design. As we have noted in previous posts in this series, Scandinavian designers used bold colours to add “domestic cheer” to rooms that could feel quite dark in the long winter season. As a designer of business and residential furniture, Vodder knew exactly when and where to use colour. For the home, he created bold designs with bright lacquer accents, as seen in a different version of the Model 29 which he enlivened with bright yellow:
Image from pamono.ca.
In the dresser below, Vodder combined dark rosewood with bright blue lacquer.
Image from 1stdibs.
And in one of his better known designs, he used multiple colours to brighten a desk and sideboard combination.
Image from pamona.ca.
On the business side, Vodder was more conservative. In fact, as a designer, he was keenly aware of the intended uses of his furniture, and was known for maintaining “sobriety in the boardroom [and] playfulness at home.” (1stdibs.com)This is likely the reason that his designs were chosen for such august locations as the United Nations Office in Geneva, President Jimmy Carter’s White House, and various embassies around the world. One could certainly imagine pieces like this rosewood conference table or “President desk” in such places:
Image from designaddict.com.
Image from 1stdibs.
But for the busy executive who conducted business far differently from the way it is done today, another option in office furniture: a desk with built-in bar that, again, features the asymmetrical lines Vodder loved.
Images from 1stdibs.
Like all mid-century designers, Vodder did not limit himself to one particular type of furniture or iconic design. He was also known for his seating. On the domestic front, the chaise longue he designed for Erik Jørgensen stands out. It is evident just from looking at the chair that it was designed to follow the contours of the body, providing comfort while also looking beautiful itself.
Image from designaddict.com.
An article in Wallpaper magazine noted that the chaise longue was the “first item to be designed by Vodder with a full metal frame in matte steel and cast in the synthetic material ‘ironside.’” With these materials, Vodder was clearly showing an experimental side not uncommon among Danish designers who often incorporated modern materials into their work. The chaise longue was first designed and produced in 1972 but, as recently reported in the Wallpaper article, Erik Jørgensen began remaking the chair this year.
In his other seating, whether for the dining room or office, Vodder was known for creations that were “quiet in form—projecting an air of sturdiness and strength, rather than avant-garde styling.” (1stdibs) The model 431 is a particularly stunning example of these traits:
Image from scandinavianmod.com.
The Model 431 chair was suited for business and home, and showed the “quiet form” and excellent craftsmanship for which Vodder was known. His easy chairs and dining chairs, some of which are shown below, had a similar aesthetic and are much sought after today.
All images from 1stdibs.com.
The final word on Vodder comes from the man himself, through the interview he gave before his death in 2009. He was asked why his furniture was still popular. His answer is a perfect summary of his creative output. He talked about the timelessness of the designs and noted that people appreciate “that there is thought about the quality, and it does not look factory produced, but looks like real craftsmanship. Organic, aesthetic and beautifully created.”
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https://vimeo.com/169154443
Thanks Alex we had a great time and can't believe how great it looks!
]]>H.W. Klein: Mathematician, Marine & Modern Designer
Henry Walter Klein was born in Norway in 1919. As a young man, he studied mathematics and linguistics. He would later serve in the Norwegian Royal Marines, where he developed an interest in cabinetmaking. In 1949, he moved to Denmark to study interior design at the Tekniske Skole in Frederikberg, where he trained under renowned designer Finn Juhl. Three years later, upon completing his education, he moved back to Norway to open his own business designing furniture and interiors. He returned to Denmark in 1960, working closely with furniture manufacturer Bramin. Very little documentation exists about Klein’s life, but some sources say his work for Bramin helped finance a newfound interest in plastics that would see him develop a new method for manufacturing plastic furniture. (http://bit.ly/1TtMZ07)
An historical record of his experiments with plastic is hard to come by, but we can look to Klein’s Danish inspired furniture—in demand and highly collectible still—for examples of his skill and artistry as a designer.
Klein’s Danish Design Aesthetic
Like his contemporaries, Klein followed the Danish design aesthetic of “well proportioned, well crafted forms” that seemed to float while also being perfectly grounded and balanced. The end result? Stunning visual impact, as the following examples show.
Looking at this piece, it’s reasonable to assume that Klein incorporated his background in mathematics in his designs. This rosewood desk combines rectangular, square, and triangular shapes in a fluid geometry:
Image from 1stdibs.com.
Klein’s 4-seater sofa offers a similar aesthetic to the desk, with a long rectangular shape balanced on a spare base:
Image from One Kings Lane.
As the 4-seater sofa shows, Klein also followed the Danish trend of using colour and texture when designing furniture.
In her book Scandinavian Modern Home, Elizabeth Wilhide talks about the ways Scandinavian designers incorporated “domestic cheer” and “psychological warmth” as a counterbalance to the dreariness of winter’s short days and long nights. These feelings of warmth and cheer were achieved through the use of bold colours and textures like those seen in Klein’s 4-seater sofa. In addition to the green shown above, Klein used several other bright colours in his furnishings.
The colour in this ingeniously designed recliner is very typical of Danish modern furniture, adding panache and making a strong visual statement. The design itself creates a sense of comfort through both the warmth of the fabric and the curved shape that cradles the body.
Image from 1stdibs.com.
Klein favoured other primary colours in his living room furniture, seen in pieces that, like the recliner above, followed the Danish tradition of human-centred design:
Image from 1stdibs.com
Image from 1stdibs.com.
This advertisement of Klein’s furniture, dating from 1962, shows how bold colours were combined to brighten a room:
Image from danish-modern.co.uk.
While not as warm as wool, leather is another textile that was commonly used by Danish designers in the mid-century period. Leather and leatherette fit beautifully with the Scandinavian aesthetic: they were visually appealing, very modern, and could be rendered in bold colours. Like other designers of the period, Klein used leather in both living room and dining room furniture.
When talking about Klein’s leather chairs we have to start with this one, a particularly striking example, shown in its original black leatherette:
This armchair includes a feature that is not necessarily desired today, but would have had considerable appeal at the time of manufacture: a built-in ashtray.
Images from liveauctioneers.com.
Note the characteristic streamlined design—the armrests are so beautifully rendered, one would never even guess that anything lies within.
Danish designers in the mid-century period were known for reinventing classics, as Klein did with his leather swivel chair, shown below. This piece combines old and new: the bright colour and chrome are thoroughly modern while the tufted leather recalls more traditional leather armchairs.
Image from 1stdibs.com.
Leather was also a predominant feature of dining chairs from the mid-century period, and Klein made frequent use of it in this context. We have a beautiful example in stock at VHB: our set of six teak dining chairs with their original leatherette upholstery, shown below.
Klein designed many dining chairs, and all possess the hallmarks of Danish design: exquisite workmanship, fluid design, and an openness that visually lightens pieces made from heavy materials like leather and teak or rosewood. His chairs are also timeless, as seen in the fact that replicas of one of his more famous designs, sometimes referred to as the Bramin chair, are still produced today:
Image from Place Furniture, Australia
Also present in Klein’s work are the practicality and efficiency for which Danish design was known. These traits are apparent in his sideboards which maximized space and had a tidy appearance. This image shows a model in teak; its sliding doors glide neatly over the centre drawers to reveal additional storage.
Image from room-of-art.de.
VHB has a similar sideboard in gorgeous rosewood:
Images from scandinavianmod.com.
Here is another made of rosewood that emphasizes the beauty of the wood’s grain:
Images from 1stdibs.com.
Also in the spirit of maximizing space, Klein designed elegant dining tables with a minimalist aesthetic that could suit parties large and small, like this one from our collection, which includes leaves to extend the seating to ten people:
Klein was a prolific designer, known for dining room furniture, lounge chairs, coffee tables, sofas, and even fold-down sofa beds, as this 1961 advertisement shows.
Image from danish-modern.co.uk.
As a Norwegian mathematician who became a quintessential Danish modern designer, H.W. Klein made his mark in a very singular way. Although very little has been written about him, his creative output speaks volumes about his talents as a craftsman.
Next in our series: Arne Vodder
Read more in this series: Johannes Andersen, Kai Kristiansen, Poul Cadovius, Poul Hundevad, Finn Juhl, and Kaare Klint.
This guest post was written by Crystal Smith of Pertingo Content Marketing.
]]>Kaare Klint: Function and Form
Kaare Klint was born in 1888 in Frederiksberg. By the early years of the twentieth century, his father, Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint, had developed a reputation as Denmark’s leading architect, which certainly would have influenced young Kaare’s career path. The younger Klint studied painting for a time but began training under his father in 1903. He landed his first job in an architecture practice, working with Carl Petersen. It was while working with Petersen that Klint found his first success as a furniture designer. Just 26 years old, Klint co-designed the Faaborg chair for the Faaborg Museum.
The Faaborg chair. Image from 1stdibs.
In 2015, Architectural Digest commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Faaborg chair, noting that it “was one of the first pieces of Danish furniture that expressed a new design language focused on simple form and rigorous function while stripping away superfluous ornamentation.”
How did function affect the form in this case? The chair had to be light and easy to move so patrons of the museum could position it exactly where they wanted for optimal viewing of the artwork on display. The chair also had to provide support from all angles so museum visitors could comfortably shift their vantage point. By first understanding how the chair would be used, Klint was able to determine the best form and materials. He chose rattan because it was light and would allow the decorative tiles on the floors of the museum to be visible. The back and armrest were sleek and economical, providing comfort and support without adding excessive weight. (1stdibs)
The attention to form and function evidenced in the Faaborg chair would become the driving force behind Klint’s future work as a designer and teacher.
In 1923 Klint helped establish the department of furniture design at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. He began teaching there in 1924. He became known for his radical teaching methods, instructing students to construct furniture “from the inside out,” starting with a thorough analysis of the piece’s function before deciding on design and materials. (carlhansen.com)
To help with this analysis, Klint developed a set of data based on human measurements, proportions, and dimensions, believing there should be an interrelation between “the proportions of the human body and the object it sits on.” Beyond considerations of the human form, Klint and his students also “strived to create ideal proportions for all objects,” (Scandinavian Style) as seen in the analysis that preceded the creation of his first dining room sideboard.
The website dmk.dk describes this very scientific process. Klint had his students “compile a list of all the objects a sideboard might contain and the list was accompanied by the standard dimensions on all the objects. After having analyzed the many notes and measurements, Klint and his students arrived at an approximate common denominator and began test arrangements.” Klint said this work “…formed the basis for a simple systematic organization of china and glass by size. In reality, the basis for a standardization.”
The end result of the dinnerware analysis was a sideboard that could hold a full dinner service for 12 people: 60 plates, 78 glasses, coffee service, bottles, decanters, and other objects required for meal time. Holding true to his Danish heritage of efficiency in design, Klint’s sideboard consisted of multiple compartments with sliding trays that made everything accessible. These trays could also be removed to carry items to the dining table. The schematic below shows that virtually no space in the sideboard was wasted:
And the final product:
Sideboard images from dmk.dk.
Klint’s tendency to look to the past is also in clear evidence here. His sideboard recalls both Chinese and English Chippendale chests and buffets, remade to maximize function and remove the “superfluous ornamentation” that added visual and literal weight to the object. How important is this design? At the time of writing, an original Klint Cuban mahogany cabinet was available through 1stdibs and valued at $55,000.00.
Klint would create two of his most iconic designs in the early 1930s. Like his other work, these pieces showcased his two primary design principles: form following function, and “creative revisitation.”
His Safari chair, created in 1933, is said to be modelled on a camp chair designed toward the end of the 19th century by British Army engineers stationed in the Indian town of Rorkhee. (Popular Woodworking, Apartment Therapy)
Klint’s intention with the Safari chair was to make a light, portable armchair. He clearly succeeded. Still made today, the chair can be rolled into a carton for shipping. (Scandinavia Design). The Safari chair has been called the world’s first DIY furniture because it can be assembled and disassembled easily without tools. A brief YouTube video shows the simplicity and genius of the chair’s design.
The Safari chair. Image from 1stdibs.
Klint’s teak deck chair, also dating from 1933, is one of his most famous creations. The comfortable, humanistic design of the chair is readily apparent. Its foldout footrest offers essential functionality suited to the chair’s purpose: lounging poolside. That it was collapsible and made of canework with a removable cushion and headrest only enhanced its functionality.
Deck chair. Images from the Victoria and Albert Museum.
As with all of Klint’s designs, the aesthetics were not sacrificed for the sake of functionality. Encyclopedia Britannica notes that all of his pieces balanced “a beautiful appearance with a fulfillment of purpose,” and goes on to comment on the deck chair specifically, saying it was “unquestionably functional and …designed to provide the maximum amount of comfort, yet in itself a clean and beautiful piece.”
Kaare Klint died in 1954, having lived long enough to witness the start of the “golden age of Danish design” which he helped usher in. He was a mentor to many Danish designers who would go onto build very successful careers for themselves, including Hans J. Wegner, Mogens Koch, Arne Jacobsen, Børge Mogensen, and Poul Kjærholm. Klint enjoyed a long working relationship with cabinetmaker Rudolf Rasmussen, whose firm still operates today, offering modern versions of many of Klint designs. Given the company’s dedication to maintaining Klint’s legacy, it seems fitting to give the last word to Rasmussen:
Klint’s work was characterized not only by the harmonious balance between form and materials, but also by his objects’ relationship to their environment, with Klint ensuring that his pieces never dominated a given space. His were objects of timeless utility that united form and function to create a greater whole.
The next designer in our series: Niels Moller.
Read more in this series: Johannes Andersen, Kai Kristiansen, Poul Cadovius, Poul Hundevad, and Finn Juhl.
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Finn Juhl: The Pioneer Who Put Danish Design on the Map
Born near Copenhagen in 1912, Finn Juhl aspired to a career in art history. His father had other ideas, however, and convinced Juhl to enrol at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts to study architecture.
Juhl worked as an architect for eleven years, alongside Vilhelm Lauritzen. While employed with Lauritzen, Juhl began experimenting with furniture design. He learned by doing and was completely self-taught. Eventually, he would partner with famed Danish cabinetmaker Niels Vodder in a working relationship that lasted until 1959. Together, Vodder and Juhl developed new methods of joining and bending teak and adding leather, cane, and upholstery to their designs. Their work would prove very influential to other designers of the period.
After the Second World War, Juhl set up his own design practice and began to gain recognition in Europe for his “exquisitely handmade” furniture which displayed a “refinement of teak jointing” and helped make teak the signature of Danish modern style. In fact, he was one of the first designers to use teak indoors. (Danish Modern)
He won multiple gold medals at the Milan Triennales during the 1950s, but it was a Chicago exhibit in 1951 that really put Juhl and Danish design on the map. Juhl designed an interior for the “Good Design” show that featured some of his furniture. From this single exhibit, he earned a commission from Michigan’s Baker Furniture to mass-produce furniture of a similar style. This line would consist of 24 pieces, including chairs, tables, sideboards, desks, and storage units. From here other important commissions followed. Juhl was asked to design: a DC-8 cabin for Scandinavian Airlines System, as well as over thirty of the airline’s ticket offices; Georg Jensen showrooms in New York, Toronto, and London; the Trusteeship Council Chamber in the United Nations headquarters in New York; and the interior of the Danish ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C. (Scandinavian Modern Home, Scandinavian Modern) Eventually, Juhl’s designs would also be manufactured by Danish companies France & Son and Bovirke.
Stylistically, Finn Juhl stood apart from his contemporaries. He “embraced expressive, free-flowing shapes” in chair and sofa design before many of his colleagues. His “radically different” style proved controversial at first. He was considered somewhat avant-garde, drawing inspiration from sculpture more than historical design. (1stdibs, Danish Modern)
One of the best examples of this tendency is also one of his earliest designs: the Pelikan chair from 1940 which Juhl designed for his own home. In Scandinavian Modern Home, Elizabeth Wilhide refers to the Pelikan as a “radical interpretation of a wing chair” that shows the influence on Juhl of modern artists like Henry Moore, Picasso, and Alexander Calder. The Pelikan is being manufactured today by the House of Finn Juhl. One such version is shown below.
Image from Design Within Reach.
Another landmark design also emerged from Juhl’s own home furnishings in the same period. Like the Pelikan, the Poeten (or Poet) sofa, created in 1941, showed Juhl’s use of sculptural forms.
Image from 1stdibs.
As pioneers in the use of teak and leather, Juhl and his partner Niels Vodder created the now iconic Chieftain Chair. The Chieftain Chair was part of the collection created by Baker Furniture; the pair below are originals from the Baker line.
Image from 1stdibs.
Design Within Reach talks about why the Chieftain is so remarkable: with its “distinctive shapes inspired by primitive weaponry and a seat that appears suspended above the frame, the sculptural form of the Chieftains Chair…changed the future of Danish design.” Vodder and Juhl created only about 80 of these chairs; the rest were produced by Baker Furniture. Because of their relative scarcity, Finn Juhl designs by Vodder are among the most sought-after Danish designs from the mid-century period. (Danish Modern)
Equally iconic is the Model 45 Easy Chair, also known as the NV-45. Like the Chieftain, the seats of the NV-45 appear to float above the frame.
Image from 1stdibs.
In Scandinavian Modern Home, Wilhide describes the significance of this chair:
Images from House of Finn Juhl.
The beautifully designed cabinet swings open to reveal colour-coded drawers originally intended, it is said, to help his wife organize her many pairs of gloves.
A truly prolific artist, Juhl also designed ceramics, glassware, and teak bowls. His home still stands as a tribute to his many talents, furnished with his designs and accented with his own objets d’art, lighting, and custom bookshelves and cupboards. This seating area, featured in Dwell magazine, shows the Poet sofa and Chieftain chair in the Juhl home:
In a final nod to Juhl’s significance as a designer, Danish company One Collection secured the rights to his designs and, in 2011, began manufacturing reproductions of the Pelikan, Poet, Chieftain, NV-45, and Glove Cabinet, among many others. The collection is sold under the label The House of Finn Juhl and its range shows the incredible gifts of this architect turned cutting-edge furniture designer.
The next designer in our series: Kaare Klint, the father of Danish mid-century design.
Read more in this series: Johannes Andersen, Kai Kristiansen, Poul Cadovius, and Poul Hundevad.
This post was written by Crystal Smith of Pertingo Content Marketing.
]]>Poul Hundevad: Combining Past Traditions with Modern Practicality
Poul Hundevad was born in Vamdrup, Denmark in 1917. He trained as a carpenter and, for a time, owned his own cabinetmaking shop and furniture factory. In 1960, he began production of his most famous work, the Guldhøj chair. The design was a direct copy of a folding chair found in a burial mound in Vamdrup that dated back to the Scandinavian Bronze Age. It was the oldest preserved piece of furniture in Scandinavia. (http://bit.ly/1Ql6k0p)
Hundevad measured the original chair, streamlined the design, and put it into production, using four different types of wood and leather seating in light and dark shades. The chair was an immediate success and was sold around the world. According to some sources, it continued to be produced into the early 2000s. (http://bit.ly/23chj1r, http://bit.ly/1Ql6k0p)
Image from 1stdibs. http://bit.ly/1nvzJK4
As a trained cabinetmaker, Hundevad made more than just folding chairs. He was also recognized for his dining chairs, tray carts, sideboards, and bookcases.
Like his contemporaries, he was an expert craftsman. Bradley Quinn notes in Scandinavian Style that this legacy dates back to the Vikings who were “world leaders” in their ingenious methods of tooling wood; techniques that enabled them to “transform several separate pieces into a single entity.” Danish designers of the mid-century were particularly well known for their exceptional joining techniques. A chair from Hundevad provides an example. The backrest flows almost seamlessly into its supports, creating clean lines and a sense of one piece flowing into the other:
Images from 1stdibs http://bit.ly/1RxViGl
Hundevad’s gorgeous “Egyptian Chairs” offers another example. With the contours of the wood, it is hard to tell where one piece starts and the other ends. The lines of the Egyptian Chair are exactly what author Elizabeth Wilhide described when she wrote that Danish joining techniques allowed “separate members such as backs, arms and legs to read as a single, fluid whole.”
Images from 1stdibs http://bit.ly/1PEZ22X
Coming of age as a designer in the mid-century period meant that Hundevad was also concerned about functionality and flexibility in his designs. Multi-purpose furniture was all the rage in the mid-century period, a trend whose roots lie in the Scandinavian heritage of small, efficient homes that required adaptable furniture. VHB has had some wonderful pieces from Hundevad that show his practical side.
This teak dining table, now sold, included draw leaves to provide more seating, and a reversible top: the wood side was for dining; the leather side was ideal for a game of cards.
In addition to spaces for play, Hundevad incorporated spaces for work in his designs. This teak cabinet includes a drop down desk surface, movable shelves in the bookcase, and, in the bottom section, locking doors that hide four drawers and two movable shelves. This is another piece sold from the VHB collection.
Functionality abounds in this sideboard from VHB’s past collections. Looking at the sleek exterior, you would never guess what lay behind its disappearing sliding doors: vertical storage, adjustable shelves, and a pull-out shelf.
Hundevad’s transformable trolley carts offer another example of ingenious design. The top slides to one side to make room for the bottom tray, doubling the space for serving.
The trolley cart, dating from 1960, was one of many items Hundevad made in rosewood. While teak is most commonly associated with Danish mid-century furniture, many designers used other woods as well. Hundevad was no exception. He worked frequently with teak but also used beech, oak, and other tropical hardwoods in his furniture. He even designed his famous Guldhøj chair in oak, teak, wenge, and rosewood. Many of his bookcases were also done in rosewood, including two from VHB’s current collection, shown below.
This bookcase has the small footprint desired by homeowners in the mid-century period and now. Narrow and shallow, this piece follows the Danish design aesthetic of practicality and efficiency, offering storage without taking up too much space:
Also in rosewood, this bookshelf and matching media cabinet provide flexible storage for small spaces. In a unique design twist, the shelves include a recessed, angular edge on the front, adding visual interest and a sleek appearance:
Poul Hundevad was a quintessential Danish furniture designer. He looked to the past, stayed true to traditional craftsmanship and techniques, yet created pieces that were thoroughly modern.
The next designer in our series: Finn Juhl, architect and self-taught furniture designer.
Read more in this series: Johannes Andersen, Kai Kristiansen, and Poul Cadovius.
A Tradition of Efficiency
Nordic architects and furniture designers have a long history of creating efficiency in built spaces. Even before the mid-century period, houses were designed to minimize or eliminate wasted space. Furniture designers followed the same principle by creating modular furniture that could adapt to different uses and save precious space. The end result was “an acute spatial awareness among generations of Scandinavians, and an appreciation of the interior as a flexible entity rather than a static fixture.” (Scandinavian Style)
Translated to the real world, this focus on efficiency led to:
Shelving was another area where efficiency and flexibility came to the fore. Bradley Quinn wrote about the way shelving was transformed by Scandinavian designers:
"Shelving moved beyond the confines of the bookcase, and was reinvented as a flexible, modular system featuring sleek display surfaces in addition to storage spaces."
Modular shelving units can accommodate desks, closed cabinets, and open shelves. According to Quinn, this flexibility allows everyday personal items to be kept close at hand, but behind closed doors, while also providing “lustrous display surfaces” for decorative objects.
Poul Cadovius recognized the need for this kind of flexible storage system in the 1940s. By the end of that decade he had created an original wall-hung shelving system that would become one of the Danish furniture industry’s biggest success stories.
Poul Cadovius: King of Modular Shelving
Poul Cadovius was born in 1911 in Frederiksberg, Denmark. Trained originally as a saddler and upholsterer, he later moved into furniture design. (http://bit.ly/1kLZh3y)
Although recognized as a very influential designer, there is surprisingly little written about Cadovius. From the few sources that do exist, we can glean that his design impulses were very much influenced by his Danish upbringing. Like other designers of the period, he was interested in creating furniture that would provide comfort and make the living space larger. He also sought to make highly customizable pieces that were flexible enough to suit any décor and be arranged in a manner that underlined the “personal atmosphere of the interior.” (http://bit.ly/1MT8xt8)
In 1948, he designed the Royal System®, shown in this German print ad from 1960:
Picture from Design Addict.
Cadovius later purchased the furniture manufacturer France & Sons, which he renamed Cado. He continued producing his shelving system, which sometimes goes by the name Cado, but also designed other furniture. In fact, according to Nest.co.uk, Cadovius registered more than 400 patents in his lifetime. In his later designs, he followed the Danish tradition of using tropical woods like teak and rosewood, but also experimented with other materials.
His Royal chair, designed for the Royal System, featured corded seats that added texture and warmth, along with the clean lines and eye-catching angles typical of Danish design:
Picture from 1stsdibs.com.
Also popular today, the rosewood “chess” tables he designed for Cado:
The stunning inlay showcases the natural grain of the wood and the attention to detail in the construction of the tables:
Pictures from 1stdibs.com.
In a departure from traditional wood carpentry, Cadovius used aluminum in some of tables he designed for Cado, including this rosewood and aluminum coffee table:
Picture from 1stdibs.com.
He also partnered with painter Susan Fjedldoe Mygge to create aluminum tables with gorgeous hand-painted designs, like this one in blues, greens, and gold filigree:
Pictures from 1stdibs.com.
As his number of patents suggests, Cadovius was always innovating. He even modified his most successful design, creating a version of the Royal System that was freestanding rather than wall-mounted:
Picture from 1tsdibs.com. VHB currently has a freestanding Royal system in-stock and on display in the front window of the store. For more details, please contact us.
Royal shelving systems may have been designed nearly 70 years ago, but they are “hot collectibles” today. With our urban centres increasingly focused on efficient use of land and smaller living spaces, modular designs are essential. Like other designs from the mid-century period, those of Poul Cadovius have stood the test of time, and may be even more relevant now than they were then.
The next designer in our series: Finn Juhl, architect and self-taught furniture designer.
This post was written by guest blogger Crystal Smith of Pertingo Content Marketing.
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