The other week I was invited to Copenhagen’s annual design event 3 Days of Design by three greats of the Danish design world – furniture companies Montana, Erik Jørgensen and Louis Poulsen – to hear their news and get to know each of them better. These are my favourite kind of press trips, where you get to go into the showrooms, meet the designers and really get a feel for what drives the brand.
Today I wanted to focus on Danish furniture company Erik Jørgensen, going into a little of their history and their collection today. A family-owned company, Erik Jørgensen strives to create furniture that lasts –
‘Not just in terms of holding up to everyday use but also in its continued ability to enhance our surroundings and open our eyes to new ways of seeing and producing furniture,’ they say.
Their furniture collection combines classic Danish design icons with new pieces by international designers, including GamFratesi, Andersson & Voll and Damian Williamson.
History of the Erik Jørgensen
A trained upholsterer, Erik Jørgensen founded the company in 1954 from a small workshop in the Danish town of Svendborg. Things began to pick up in the Sixties and Seventies with the design of a small sofa collection that grew out of a passion for quality and craftsmanship. The EJ 220/270 sofa, for instance, forms the backbone of the company’s DNA – a clean, simple, much-copied design with a low boxy frame and narrow armrests.
Jørgensen began to collaborate with design giants such as Poul M. Volther and Hans J. Wegner, setting the foundations for the collection. Inspired by the shape of the human spine, Volther’s Corona chair (1964) has a light expression, with a wooden or metal frame and four curved shells that form the seat and back. Wegner’s Oxchair, on the other hand, although designed in 1960, was a challenge to upholster but with Jørgensen’s expertise, it was finally launched at Milan furniture fair in 1989. Raised on thin metal legs, the masculine design features bulbous armrests and a sweeping headrest reminiscent of an ox’s horns. Later in 2010, a more feminine version of the chair, the Queen chair, was put into production with a long, elegant back.
Since the 1980s the company has straddled the domestic and contract market. When Jørgensen passed away in 1998, his sons Niels and Ole Jørgensen took over the company.
The collection today – New designs for 2018
Erik Jørgensen continues to expand their collection, building on their ethos for good design and quality craftsmanship with a line-up of young designers. New this year is a cosy, contemporary take on Jørgensen’s classic sofa – a modular corner design called Pure which has a more casual look (scroll down a few images to see). Stylish and comfortable, it’s designed to be combined in different variations, for both small spaces and large family homes.
Launched at this year’s Salone del Mobile in Milan, the Insula range by design duo Ernst & Jensen has also been expanded with three charming new shelves that appear to float on the wall (above), as well as an organic-shaped mirror debuted at Stockholm Furniture Fair.
The Ovo chair by Damian Williamson
For 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen, Erik Jørgensen launched the Ovo chair by British designer Damian Williamson. Perhaps surprisingly for a Danish design, the starting point for Williamson was a vision of a huge sheet of fresh egg pasta draped over a large wooden rolling pin. Ovo – the name coming from the Italian word ‘Uovo’, meaning egg – has some of the familiar hallmarks of Erik Jørgensen’s designs, touching lightly on the ground for instance, but the refined curves and rigid, delicate, squared steel frame give it a contemporary, almost Italian or international look.
‘I began to examine how this nonchalant expression could translate into an easy chair. The upholstery of the backrest and armrest has been folded in the same way as the pasta. Even the soft curvature of the lower corners resembles the fluid perimeter of the pasta. The generous soft curved forms appeal to our senses and invite us to engage with the chair. The result is a very tactile object,’ explains Williamson, who is based in Stockholm.
The design has been carefully reduced to only what is necessary, hardly a stitched seam is visible thanks to the edge detail that uses the same metal bars as the base. It has a bold shape, the curved armrests and almost floating back giving it the appearance that it might take flight any moment.
Earth Layers – Erik Jørgensen’s new Home Collection showroom
During the 3 Days of Design tour, we got a peek into Erik Jørgensen’s showrooms – they have two – one in the heart of the city for their home collection and another for their contract collection in Pakhus 48, an old warehouse building looking over the water in Nordhavn.
The 1,000 sq m Home Collection showroom on Bredgage has been given a new look for 2018, curated by interior stylist Pernille Vest. Titled ‘Earth Layers’, the series of spaces have been designed as ‘a landscape of complementing colours’, one room seamlessly leading to the next.
The walls have been painted in soft, neutral colours with a chalky texture, inspired nature and the tones of clay. The space is instantly calming. Curtains have been removed from windows to let light bounce around, while different mirrors create reflections.
The furniture has been pulled away from the walls to create cosy clusters of designs. Mirrored plinths and simple sculptures give an art gallery feel to the homely space.
‘Through the colour tones of the furniture, we have tried to embrace and substantiate their mood with naive objects formed in clay and stone. It’s the details and nuances that make the difference, and the overall experience is calm, sensual and down to earth,’ explains stylist Pernille Vest.
Scroll down to have a look at some of the photos I took during the visit, I think you’ll agree it’s a beautiful, serene space.
I hope that’s given you an insight into the world of Erik Jørgensen. I wonder were you familiar with the company before? What do you think of the new designs?
First four images and last image courtesy Erik Jørgensen, everything else: Cate St Hill
Pingback: Spotlight on: minimal flexible furniture system Montana - catesthill.com