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Articles tagged as mid century modern (view all)

Great Mid-Century Designers 101: Reff Furniture

24 October, 2018 0 comments Leave a comment

We’re always keen to showcase Canadian vintage furniture, as we did with a series of posts last year. In this post, we turn the spotlight on Toronto’s Reff Furniture.

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. 

Great Mid-Century Designers 101: George Nelson

30 May, 2018 0 comments Leave a comment

The name George Nelson is well known to fans of mid-century design. He is famously associated with furniture manufacturer Herman Miller, a company he “transformed” in his 27 years as design director, but Nelson’s legacy is wide ranging. Beyond furniture design, Nelson also made his mark as an author, editor, architect, industrial designer, graphic designer, teacher and “general provocateur.”

Great Norwegian Mid-Century Designers 101: Fredrik Kayser and Rastad & Relling

15 November, 2017 0 comments Leave a comment

While not as renowned as its neighbours, Norway has a proud design legacy that we will look at here, through the works of Fredrik Kayser and the firm Rastad & Relling.

Great Mid-Century Designers 101--Canadian Edition, Part Three

01 July, 2017 1 comment Leave a comment

Our series on great Canadian mid-century designers concludes with this post, where we’ll talk about a few well-known designers and manufacturers and highlight some iconic mid-century pieces by Canadian designers.

Great Mid-Century Designers 101--Canadian Edition, Part Two

27 June, 2017 0 comments Leave a comment

Our series on great Canadian mid-century designers continues. In this post, we will provide brief profiles of some of the more prominent Canadian designers of the era. Some were born here and some moved here from Europe, bringing their ideas about modern design with them. 

Great Mid-Century Designers 101--Canadian Edition, Part One

14 June, 2017 1 comment Leave a comment

With nationwide celebrations of our country’s 150th birthday taking place next month, we figured it’s the perfect time to shift the focus of our “Great Mid-Century Designers” series to Canada. In a short series of posts, we’ll look at the evolution of Canadian modern furniture and shine a spotlight on our most iconic mid-century designers.

Read Part 2 in our series here

Great Mid-Century Designers 101: Greta Grossman

03 May, 2017 0 comments Leave a comment

Greta Grossman has been described as a female pioneer and design icon, a mover and shaker in the male-dominated world of mid-century architecture and design. Her career trajectory is an interesting one: breaking barriers in her native Sweden; achieving fame and acquiring an A-list clientele after relocating to Los Angeles; and falling into obscurity from the 1960s until very recently when a 2010 exhibit of her work helped re-establish her name, returning this “unsung hero” of design to “her rightful place as a pivotal pioneer of mid-century modernism.” 

Great Mid-Century Designers 101: Florence Knoll

22 March, 2017 0 comments Leave a comment

When describing her work, Florence Knoll has said that she did not merely decorate space—she created it. Her design legacy proves the truth of that statement. She did far more than just place furniture in a room.

Great Mid-Century Designers 101: Charles and Ray Eames

22 February, 2017 0 comments Leave a comment

Eames is an instantly recognizable name in the annals of mid-century design. The husband and wife team continually pushed the envelope as they sought to design practical, functional, and cost-effective furniture.

Great Danish Designers 101: Peter Hvidt and Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen

30 November, 2016 0 comments Leave a comment

Peter Hvidt trained as an architect and cabinetmaker in Copenhagen. He created his influential Portex chair in 1944 but would realize his biggest achievement in 1950 with the AX chair, designed in partnership with architect and furniture designer Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen. The two worked together for 31 years, designing pieces for renowned Danish manufacturers like Fritz Hansen, France & Son, and Søborg Møbelfabrik. Scandinavian Modern notes that a common feature of the partners’ work was the construction of designs in solid wood, including “classics” like their storage units, day beds, and tables that are still highly sought after today. (Scandinavian.Modern, R & Company)

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