Success through tradition

The Danish furniture manufacturer Carl Hansen & Søn looks back on over 100 years of company history. The carpenter Carl Hansen founded the company in 1908 in Odense with the intention to take on orders for custom furniture for private customers - from living room furnishing up to the bedroom. In the course of industrialization Carl Hansen & Søn gradually started serial production of the most popular furniture. The big success story of the Danish manufacturer began in 1949. Back then Holger Hansen, Carl Hansen's son, who took over the company in 1934, became aware of the work of Hans J. Wegner. The still unknown designer impressed Holger Hansen with his thoughtful and unique designs. So it came about that Hans J. Wegner designed four chair models within a few weeks, including the legendary Wishbone Chair CH24 and the elegant Shell Chair CH07 for Carl Hansen & Søn. In 1950 the new creations by Hans J. Wegner went into production already. In spite of everything, it was a bold step at that time to orientate a large part of the production on the draft of a little-known designer. But this is what Carl Hansen & Søn stands for then as now - take risks to seek new ways and move the company forward.

Hans J. Wegner and the Danish Modern era

Since the groundbreaking success of Wegner's furniture did not come at first, Holger Hansen acted quickly and teamed up with designer Hans J. Wegner, Ejvind Kold Kristensen and other Danish manufacturers of Wegner furniture SALESCO. The young sales and marketing company was there to boost sales of Wegner's creations in Denmark and abroad. With success - soon Wegner's furniture was well known nationally and internationally and gained reputation in the industry. That's not all - with the success of his designs Hans J. Wegner contributed besides Alvar Aalto and Arne Jacobsen significantly to the spread of modern Danish furniture all over the world - the cornerstone of the "Danish Modern era" was laid. This new style was dominated by functionalism and changed the understanding of living culture in the 50s and 60s in the long run.

An icon among chairs: fascination Y-Chair

It should be functional, stable and meet the highest standards of craftsmanship: The legendary Wishbone Chair by Hans J. Wegner. His inspiration the designer drew from the craftsmanship of Chinese chairs in the Ming Dynasty. This optical alignment coupled with the highest quality standards has led to the creation of the CH25 Y-Chairs. The shapely chair is extremely sturdy as the characteristic Y in the backrest is not only for looks but also stabilizes the steam-bend backrest. 100 individual steps are needed to produce a single Wishbone Chair. The covering of the seat performed manually with 120 meter tear-resistant paper cord alone takes an hour to complete. Best quality and unmistakable design make the Y-Chair popular to this day - and the fact that it looks great easily in any environment - whether in your living room, in the lobby or conference hall.

Principles, ideals and international orientation

Carl Hansen & Søn has always stood for sustainability in every aspect in addition to the passion for timeless design and the claim for outstanding craftsmanship. This has not changed even in the third generation under Carl Hansen´s grandson Knud Erik Hansen, who runs the company since 2002. Environmental protection is a top priority for Carl Hansen & Søn - and not just in terms of raw materials that originate from sustainably managed forests, but to the entire value chain from production processes through sales to logistics.

Under Knud Erik Hansen, the company underwent a comprehensive process of internationalization, which is responsible for the ongoing major global success. In addition to classic furniture by designers such as Mogens Koch, Kaare Klint and Ole Wanscher Carl Hansen & Søn is always looking for new designers. So the Danish manufacturer produces for example designs of the contemporary designers Thomas Bo Kastholm, Christina Strand and Niels Hvass. Internationally, Carl Hansen & Søn could even win the famous designer Tadao Ando for cooperation - he created the iconic Dream Chair.

For further information about Carl Hansen please visit: www.carlhansen.com