{"id":955,"date":"2013-07-17T13:01:05","date_gmt":"2013-07-17T13:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/danish\/?p=955"},"modified":"2013-07-17T13:01:05","modified_gmt":"2013-07-17T13:01:05","slug":"the-lure-of-a-danish-chair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/danish\/2013\/07\/17\/the-lure-of-a-danish-chair\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lure of a Danish Chair"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Danish design is renowned all over the world. I met J\u00f8rn, who knows something about Danish chairs, tables and sofas\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

What made you interested in design?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, I used to be the editor of a magazine for the Danish furniture industry. I did interviews with some of the young and upcoming designers and visited furniture fairs. It was really interesting to hear their thoughts!<\/p>\n

What makes Danish design unique?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s got something to do with the way shape and function are linked. I know this from the field of m\u00f8beldesign<\/strong> (furniture design), but I think it\u2019s true for other kinds of Danish design as well. Danish\u00a0 <\/strong>furniture design reached international fame in the 1950\u2019ies, with names like Hans J\u00f8rgen Wegner, B\u00f8rge Mogensen, Arne Jacosen, Finn Juhl, and Poul Kj\u00e6rholm some years later. In all their m\u00f8bler<\/strong> (pieces of furniture), form og funktion<\/strong> (shape and function) form a synthesis.<\/p>\n

Danish furniture has a very low-key style, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, the pieces that people all over the world fell in love with in the fifties, are very lette og lyse<\/strong> (\u201dlight and bright\u201d). Like the wooden stole <\/strong>(chairs) of Wegner and Mogensen. It\u2019s all minimalism, functionalism.<\/p>\n

I think this movement got a lot of inspiration from Kaare Klint, who became the leader of a prestigious design school in 1924. He was the first m\u00f8beldesigner<\/strong> who saw the m\u00f8bel<\/strong> primarily as a tool. He was far ahead of his age.<\/p>\n

Wegner and Mogesen were working for Den danske brugsforening<\/strong> (a group of shops where the customers are also the owners). They were asked to make a series of plain, cheap, useful m\u00f8bler <\/strong>that everybody could afford. That\u2019s how many of the most famous products were created!<\/p>\n

So, these are the chairs and tables found in the homes of ordinary Danes?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not anymore, I\u2019m afraid! Today the \u201dmoderne klassikere<\/strong>\u201d (modern classics) are quite expensive. On the other hand, they\u2019re still very popular. Many young people would rather buy a classy Wegner chair than a stol<\/strong> designed in 2013\u2026<\/p>\n

Okay, so if you\u2019re a normal family without a lot of cold cash, I guess you shouldn\u2019t look for Danish design when you go m\u00f8bel<\/em>-shopping?<\/strong><\/p>\n

You could visit Ikea! They\u2019ve kind of continued the Danish style. It\u2019s a Scandinavian style, after all. Plain and no frills. Many young designers from Denmark are actually working for Ikea.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to add that young Danish designers often have a hard time breaking through. The heroes from the 50\u2019ies and 60\u2019ies still loom large. For some years the Danish industry was a bit stuck in the past and lagging behind countries like Italien<\/strong> and Holland<\/strong>. But now, things are happening again\u2026<\/p>\n

What\u2019s a good piece of furniture to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

\u00c6gget \u2013 The Egg<\/p><\/div>\n

If it\u2019s a chair, it should be something that\u2019s really good to sit in. It should also be nice to look at. I really like the steel and leather works of Poul Kj\u00e6rholm, as well as many of the wooden pieces by Finn Juhl. And \u00c6gget<\/strong> (the egg) by Arne Jacobsen \u2013 that\u2019s just an amazing shape. It\u2019s like it\u2019s inviting you to sit down!<\/p>\n

Denmark is known as the land of hygge<\/em> \u2013 that pleasant feeling of just being relaxed and comfortable and having a good time with your friends and family.\u00a0 Can Danish furniture be hyggelig<\/em> as well?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, indeed! Wegner made some big l\u00e6nestole<\/strong> (armchairs). There is one called bamsestolen<\/strong> (the teddy bear chair). That sounds pretty hyggelig<\/strong>, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

Do you think a good piece of Danish furniture should be hyggelig<\/em> as well as plain?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, and useful!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Danish design is renowned all over the world. I met J\u00f8rn, who knows something about Danish chairs, tables and sofas\u2026 What made you interested in design? Well, I used to be the editor of a magazine for the Danish furniture industry. I did interviews with some of the young and upcoming designers and visited furniture…<\/p>\n

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