Great Dane Design
By: Beverly Allen - June 15th, 2007
Great design wears well. That may explain why works by 
Danish designers of the last century are still winning prestigious awards and why design junkies are seeking out Danish home décor and design products with an enthusiasm not seen since the 1950s, when Danish modern (remember teak?) was all the rage.
Just how timeless Danish modernism is became apparent when an upholstered wing chair made in 1960 by the legendary Hans Wegner was relaunched by Carl Hansen, a Danish furniture maker who collaborated with Wegner as far back as 1949.
Called the Ch445, the re-issued chair design was shown at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York last year and was given the ICFF Editors Award for Furniture. For a list of dealers, go to www.carlhansen.com.
Probably the most recognizable modern chair designs come from Arne Jacobsen, the grand-daddy of modern Danish design. Variations on his “Egg’ chair, designed in 1958, has been a staple of homes and offices for more than half a century. Designers such as Tord Boontje from Holland, are now giving the Egg a new look with specially-designed fabrics.
Jacobsen, by the way, was one of the first designers 
to create a full line of household or industrial products. Jacobsen oversaw every detail, including the look of door handles and furniture, of the design of The Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, (now the Radission SAS Royal Hotel), which opened in 1960. The famous Room 606, which has retained much of the original furniture and cool grey-blue scheme, is still rented out—most frequently to fans of Jacobsen’s work.
Verner Panton, who worked with Jacobsen, injected the clean lines of Danish modernism with a Mod aesthetic. His whimsical Spiral Lamp garnered huge attention when it came out in 1969. It, too, is also enjoying new-found attention. Sold under the brand name Verpan, the design has become a hot seller.
The current generation of Danish designers is equally intent on creating beautiful, useful objects for the home and houseware market. Take, for example, Lene Frantzen and Eva Helene Rasmussen, partners in Danish design company Zigzign. Their latest consumer offering, the Slice, marries great design with practicality.
The Slice is 100 per cent felt wood that has been dyed and then rolled up and cut, or “sliced”. The result is a dense, colour-soaked swirl of fabric that evokes natural images; annual rings of tree growth, a beautifully marbled slab or rock, or the intricate design on a cross-section of a fat red cabbage.
The richly-coloured material, in lush shades of eye-popping red, electric blue and tropical yellow and green, is fashioned into seat pads, cushions, pillows and hot pads.
The Slice is also environmentally-friendly. Its thick surface rejects dirt, insulates, is heart-resistant, muffles sound, and can be easily wiped clean with a damp cloth.
All items can be ordered online through www.zigzign.com. The price for the 15-inch table mat is $52, not including shipping.
The Danes have always been interested in alternative forms of energy, including wind power, which accounts for about 10 per cent of the country’s energy supply. Consumer interest in high-efficiency, wood-burning stoves is also strong, fuelling the growth of Danish companies such as Rais, which has been manufacturing high-efficiency, clean-burning wood stoves since the early seventies.
One of the most popular models sold locally is the Rais Pina, which can be accessorized so that it turns 360 degrees, offering a view of the flames from any vantage point. It sells for about $5,000.
Rais wood stoves are available through www.rais.com.
Great contemporary Danish design can even be found in kitchen cookware. Popular in Denmark and 
other Nordic countries for the past 50 years, Scanpan is a Danish manufacturer of cookware that’s recently come to Canada. The line includes pots, pans, Dutch ovens and woks coated with a non-stick ceramic titanium, applied through a casting method that using pressure of over 250 tonnes and temperatures of up to 20,000º C. New this fall will be an excellent line of knives.
According to its makers, that means the aluminum bottoms of the pans stay flat, and conduct heat better heat conduction. The Danish design touch is reflected in the clean lines, and high-end materials. Scanpan products are available in professional and consumer-grade options at most Sears locations, and specialty kitchen shops. For more information, visit www.scanpan.ca.
For a broader perspective on the wide-ranging influence of modern Danish design, The Design Exchange (234 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario M5K 1B2) will host Contemporary Danish Design, an exhibit that pays homage to post-war Danish Design from May 15 to June 25th. For more information, check their website at www.dx.org or call 416-363-6121.