Friday 22 June 2012

Hans J. Wegner: The Man Behind the Genius

Hans J. Wegner affirmed the place of handcrafted perfection in the spectrum of twentieth-century furniture design. Born in 1914 in Tønder, Denmark and the son of a shoemaker the young Wegner was surrounded by skilled craftsmen on whose services his fellow towns-people depended on. As a child, Hans Wegner is said to have often asked for scraps of wood to play with and from an early age displayed a talent for molding it into something beautiful.

Following a number of apprenticeships in local cabinet shops where Wegner learned the basics of constructing furniture and fittings, he left home in 1936 to refine his skills at the Danish Institute of Technology and later the Copenhagen School of Arts and Crafts. At the School of Arts and Crafts, Wegner gained a more comprehensive training in wider visual arts; he mastered drawing, painting, sculpting and art history. It is often said that while at the School, a fine arts professor was so impressed with Wegner’s painting skills he tried to convince the youngster to change his course of study.
Hans Wegner in his study.
Though being a professional painter might have appealled economically, Wegner stuck with his trade; believing that there was potential demand for quality, well-designed furniture in Denmark. He was right. Throughout the 1920s-30s, the Danish furniture market was inundated with cheap furniture imports. With the encouragement and good reference of his furniture design teacher, O. Moelgaard Nielsen, the young Wegner was quickly snapped up by the drawing office of Arne Jacobsen (creator of the famous Egg chair) and Erik Møller in 1938. Under their guidance, he worked on furniture design for the new Åarhus city hall.
In 1940, Wegner met with someone who was to have a major effect on his work – Johannes Hansen, a well-respected cabinet-maker and a founding member of the Danish Cabinetmakers’ Guild. Out of mutual professional respect, the two creators founded a designer/manufacturer’s association which still continues today under the protection and influence of Hansen’s son, Poul Hansen.

German troops invaded Denmark on April 9, 1940 and during a five-year occupation, the momentum of the design community faltered because of the shortage of materials and unstable economic conditions. Wegner finally completed the Åarhus project in 1942 but, due to travel restrictions at the time, was unable to return to Copenhagen. This, however, didn’t stop him from taking advantage of this ‘idleness’; between 1943-1944 he spent much time in the local library analyzing beauty and function in earlier design eras and movements.

Following the war and Germany's withdrawal from Denmark, Wegner accepted a teaching position at the Copenhagen School of Arts and Crafts, where he remained until 1953. He continued to design his own furniture while teaching; in 1947 he exhibited the now world-renowned Peacock Chair. In the same year, he also entered the Museum of Modern Art’s International Low-Cost Furniture Competition, where his molded plywood arm chair won an honourable mention.

The ‘Peacock Chair’

Wegner’s Guild Exhibits of 1949 and 1953 further confirmed Wegner’s place in the history of furniture and interior design. The Classic Chair – often referred to as The Chair – received much critical acclaim throughout out the years; but his reputation and star-status was cemented with the arrival of the Valet Chair in 1953. These post-war master-works were lightweight, visually-stimulating and unobtrusive. Their sculptural lines were handcarved from solid wood, usually domestic oak or teak. The wood was then sanded and finished with oil or wax. Wegner’s furniture reflected the quality of workmanship which he took pride in. Today, he is often referred to as the ‘Master of the Chair’ – having designed more than 500 of them. Many of these are considered masterpieces of chair design and continue to be collector’s items around the world.
Hans J. Wegner died in Denmark in January, 2007.

~ Words by Victoria. victoria@swiveluk.com

Sources: ‘Modern Chairs’; Fiell, Charlotte; Fiell, Peter; Taschen, 2002.
‘Contemporary Classics’; Gandy, Charles.D, Zimmermann-Stidham, Susan; Whitney, 1990.
Images: http://www.scandinaviandesign.com/hans_wegner/; http://www.swiveluk.com/peacock-chair.html.

Tuesday 19 June 2012

Cracking the Eames' Acronym Code

DSW? DKR? DAW?

Unravelling the Eames' set of furniture acronyms can often feel like cracking some high-secret code. Fear not! We unravel the veil of secrecy in our straight-forward guide to those important three-letters.

Dining Chairs
DARDining Armchair R-wire base
DAWDining Armchair Wood base
DCWDining Chair Wood legs
DCMDining Chair Metal legs
DKRDining K-wire shell R-wire base
(Three variants: DKR, DKR-1, DKR-2)
DSWDining Side chair Wood base
DSRDining Side chair R-wire base
DSGDining Side chair wall Guard base
DSSDining Side chair Stacking base
DSS-TADining Side chair Stacking TAble base

Lounge Chairs
LAR Lounge Armchair R-wire base
LAX Lounge height Armchair X-base
LSR Lounge height Side chair R-wire base

Plastic and Pivot
PAC Plastic Armchair Cast base
PAW Pivot Armchair Wood base
PKW-1 Pivot K-wire shell Wood base

Rocking
RARRocking Armchair R-wire base

Friday 15 June 2012

Hello! Welcome to Swivel UK's Blog!

Oh my! This is exciting!

We are so passionate about design and modern-living, we just had to start a blog to keep you updated with new products and fresh ideas for comfortable living. Over the coming months, we’ll update our page with event info, product details, customer offers, cultural features. There will even be the odd interview and pictures of people/things in our North London HQ.

Don’t let us do all the work though! If you have any comments, please send them to us! Hit: info@swiveluk.com.

We’re also on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pintrest, Google+ and Wordpress (PHEW!)  So, you’ll never be left without an opportunity to keep updated and, more importantly, keep in touch.

Lots of love,
The Team @ Swivel UK.