This video is extremely old but I was blown away when watching it this morning and it sort of led me onto researching a bit more into Arne Jacobsen and his works, particularly the Syveren (Seven) series chair. This pressure moulded veneer chair seen here is apparently one of the most sold chairs in furniture history and is a further development of the famous Ant chair which was designed by Arne in 1952. It all began before World War II when Jacobsen worked with woodworkers and upholsters to produce a variety of seating. After 1950 a lot of new technologies came into place thanks to pioneers at the time, this meant new industrial processes such as bending and laminating which meant designers could come up with radical “flowing” forms. The Seven chair itself was useful in a variety of ways since it could have arm rests, a swivel base with wheels and a fixed pedestal for lecture halls, it was the “one stop shop” and catered for a variety of needs in an array of scenarios.
Over the years it was stripped back so that the wood elements were simplified into one single form and the metal elements were reduced down to their minimum dimensions, this was and still is a no fuss chair at it’s optimum height, weight, and size. This film that I have placed below showcases the production and making of the chair by Fritz Hansen. Hopefully you will also enjoy the imagery that coincides with it that features some of the pieces in their natural environment and also behind the scenes at the workshop where the original Seven and Ant chairs were in production at the Fritz Hansen furniture factory. The black and white ones date all the way back to 1957.JoinLog InSign Up Fritz Hansen on Knockoffs and Authentic DesignBy / Published by – June 13, 2012Flip through a Restoration Hardware catalog, for example, and you’ll discover the $1,395 Copenhagen chair, a replica of Arne Jacobsen’s 1958 Egg chair, described as "a fresh and exquisite reproduction of modern Danish design of the 1950s."
Of course Fritz Hansen, who holds the exclusive official license to manufacture the "authentic" $4,500 chair, sees it differently. "It’s not a tribute to the original design; it’s spitting on it," says David Obel Rosenkvist, Fritz Hansen’s vice president of sales. "For sure it would make Jacobsen roll in his grave." Though it’s technically legal for Restoration Hardware to make a close copy of this chair, Fritz Hansen nevertheless issued a cease-and-desist letter to the company, demanding they stop using Arne Jacobsen’s design story to promote what Rosenkvist calls its "rough and clumsy knockoff."To gain more perspective on Fritz Hansen’s take on knockoffs and authentic design, we asked Rosenkvist a few questions—such as: Are knockoffs really so bad? Judging by this interview and previous ones I’ve conducted (see what Herman Miller’s Marg Mojzak has to say on the subject here; read quotes about the concept of "authentic design" from 10 design insiders here; and check out the essay that kicked off the discussion here) it’s clear that most manufacturers see this as a very black and white issue.
As well they might, considering everything they’ve invested in the pieces they produce and promote. No one likes a cheat, especially the companies that suffer losses both concrete (financial) and abstract (damage to their reputation for quality) when consumers opt for a knockoff. The Series 7 chair, designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1955 and today one of Fritz Hansen's most frequently knocked-off products.The Egg Chair, another Arne Jacobsen design—this one from 1958—was originally created for the Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. Would today's numerous "inspired-by" copies really make Jacobsen roll in his grave, as Rosenkvist puts it?Another Fritz Hansen-Arne Jacobsen greatest hit: the Swan chair from 1958. Those produced by the manufacturer today come with a unique serial number and a tag with an invisible thread in it to validate its authenticity.The sleek Favn sofa is a new design by the Spanish designer Jaime Hayon; it's inspired by and constructed similarly to the Egg and Swan chairs.@jaimegillinWhen not writing, editing, or combing design magazines and blogs for inspiration, Jaime Gillin is experimenting with new recipes, traveling as much as possible, and tackling minor home-improvement projects that inevitably turn out to be more complex than anticipated.
Download our iOS AppAdvertise on Dwell The eye-catching work of the Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen often introduces new collectors to mid-20th century furniture. With their fluid lines and sculptural presence, Jacobsen’s signature pieces — the elegant “Swan chair” and the cozy-yet-cutting edge “Egg chair,” both first presented in 1958 — are iconic representations of both the striking aesthetic of the designers of the era and their concomitant attention to practicality and comfort. Jacobsen designed furniture that had both gravitas and groove. Though Jacobsen is a paragon of Danish modernism, his approach to design was the least “Danish” of those who are counted as his peers. The designs of Hans Wegner, Finn Juhl, Børge Mogensen and others grew out of their studies as cabinetmakers. They prized skilled craftsmanship and their primary material was carved, turned and joined wood. Jacobsen was first and foremost an architect, and while he shared his colleagues’ devotion to quality of construction, he was far more open to other materials such as metal and fiberglass.
Many of Jacobsen’s best-known pieces had their origin in architectural commissions. His molded-plywood, three-legged “Ant chair” (1952) was first designed for the cafeteria of a pharmaceutical company headquarters. The tall-backed “Oxford chair” was made for the use of dons at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, whose Jacobsen-designed campus opened in 1963. The “Swan,” “Egg” and “Drop” chairs and the “AJ” desk lamp were all created as part of Jacobsen’s plan for the SAS Royal Copenhagen Hotel, which opened in 1960. (The hotel has since been redecorated, but one guest room has been preserved with all-Jacobsen accoutrements.) To Jacobsen’s mind, the chief merit of any design was practicality. He designed the first stainless-steel cutlery set made by the Danish silver company Georg Jensen; Jacobsen’s best-selling chair — the plywood “Series 7” — was created to provide lightweight, stackable seating for modern eat-in kitchens. But as you will see from the objects on these pages, style never took a backseat to function in Arne Jacobsen’s work.