When Andreas Petersen was 16 years old he found a chair in a waste-container. It was a high-quality chair made by a cabinetmaker and designed by an architect, and since then for him Danish Design has been a passion and a business too. He loves furniture that has been made to perfection, so you never get tired of touching it, and when you start using it, it may even grow more beautiful. When you are not around anymore your children and grandchildren can inherit it knowing that grandfather bought it and really cared for it.
November 2014 Andreas Petersen opened a shop to sell old Danish mid-century design furniture. However, the concept has changed and nowadays A. Petersen is a venue for both very qualified design exhibitions and for its own furniture production, with workshops for cabinetmakers and upholsterers. In the shop they also sell curated Danish arts and crafts.
The focus of A. Petersen is aimed at supporting the profile of Danish Cabinetmaking and crafts in general. A. Petersen’s goal is to be a platform for the interest in Danish design and the history behind it.
Several Danish furniture producers have out-flagged the whole or part of their production to countries with lower labor costs to milk maximum profit from their back catalog of design classics. Consequently, their interest in supporting young designers, or designers with new ideas irrespective of their age, are marginal. A. Petersen always produce their own models, or if they can’t manage the whole production themselves, they outsource production to other traditional Danish cabinetmakers or furniture factories. However, they always produce a model of the design they plan to put into production.
We were really enthusiastic about the exhibition of the designs put into production by A. Petersen, and below I will share with you, which designs we liked best.
Dan Svarth started as a joiner in the Bornholms Møbelfabrik (Bornholm’s Furniture factory) in 1962 and he is educated both from The Furniture Department of the School of Arts and Crafts and The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts’s School of Architecture. At the latter, he worked from 1972 as a teacher and conducted research. In 1972 Dan Svarth also started as an employee with Poul Kjærholm’s design studio and he worked here up until Kjærholms death in 1980.
Dan Svarth has designed furniture, as well as researched and written about historical furniture. He is also a skilled model builder and he participates in a wide range of exhibitions.
Knud Holscher is a Danish architect and industrial designer of international renown. For many years he was a partner in KHR Architects with Svend Axelsson and designed many of their works together. Although Knud Holscher has been active as an architect, it is as an industrial designer he has had greatest impact designing everything from writing utensils to architectural hardware and toilet and bathrooms.
Knud Holscher met Danish architect Arne Jacobsen when studying at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, and in 1958, Knud Holscher was employed at Jacobsen’s studio. 28 years old Holscher was put in charge of the studio’s second largest commission almost right away – a new campus building at Oxford University: St. Catherine’s College.
Ejnar finished his training as joiner in 1943, and founded PP Møbler with his brother in 1953, working as the practical wizard with designers such as as H. Wegner and Poul Kjærholm. Ejnar’s son Søren is now in charge of PP Møbler, but Ejnar is still active, giving professional advice and developing new products.
Line Depping graduated from the program in furniture design at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 2007. Since then, she has worked for Cecilie Manz and as a designer for Hay. Additionally, she has developed projects for different exhibitions such as the Cabinetmakers Fall Exhibition, Galerie Maria Wettergren, and Mindcraft exhibition. She has also created projects for companies such as Skagerak Denmark and Hay. Line has received a number of awards from the Danish Arts Foundation for the chair Splejs (2010) and the Wood Box Experience (2013), among others.
Ole Schjøll was originally trained as a carpenter and a constructing architect before finishing his degree at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts’s School of Architecture, studying with Ole Wanscher and Poul Kjærholm in 1964. After that, Ole worked for Halldor Gunnløgsson and Mogens Koch. In 1974 Ole started his own design studio and he also went on to teach at the School of Architecture. Over the years, Ole Schjøll has worked in both interior design and remodeling, as well as furniture design – tables, benches, stools and chairs.
Akiko Kuwahata and Ken Winther are a team. and are both skilled cabinetmakers, working together or on their own craft projects.
The table exhibited in the boutique was stunning, supreme workmanship combined with practical usefulness.
Akiko is of Japanese origin and has gained degrees in Living Space Design at Nihon University, then worked for years as a cabinetmaker in Japan, and later adding studies at the Aarhus School of Architecture in Denmark. Ken’s interest in woodwork has come naturally as his parents were in furniture manufacturing business. He has furthered his craftsmanship at PP Møbler, and on lengthy training periods at Japanese carpenter masters.
In my next blog I will tell you about the current exhibition at A. Petersen, Japan Retur. Its theme is 43 projects within arts and crafts and design, focusing on collaboration and inspiration between Denmark and Japan.
Globus Antik 