In 1999, the company Onecollection took over the rights to produce the works of Danish architect and designer Finn Juhl (1912-1989). Under the brand name House of Finn Juhl, the company regularly relaunches old classics by the acclaimed furniture designer. Learn more about the old classic furniture by the world-famous Danish designer.
In 1998 Finn Juhl’s widow, Hanne Wilhelm Hansen, called Onecollection and asked if the company could help her make one of Finn Juhl’s sofas – model 57. Initially the manager was very surprised as he did not know Hanne Wilhelm Hansen. “However, we did know architect Bård Henriksen who was helping Hanne manage the rights to Finn Juhl’s furniture and he was the one who had suggested that she got in touch with us – “the guys from Ringkøbing”, says one of the owners Ivan Hansen.
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Exclusive righte to manufacture Finn Juhl’s furniture
In 2001 Onecollection was trusted the exclusive rights to manufacture and relaunch Finn Juhl’s sculptural and iconic furniture. Today, the unique Finn Juhl collection consists of more than 50 classic masterpieces, all of which are manufactured with the utmost respect for the original heritage and strict demands for quality.
Initially, Finn Juhl wanted to become an art historian. Since his early years, he had been interested in fine arts. However, his father wouldn’t allow him a career in the arts. Instead, Finn Juhl enrolled at the Department of architecture at the Royal Academy of Arts in Copenhagen. Finn Juhl began his studies in the 1930s, which was an important period in furniture design, when modern design started to emerge. While he was still a student, Finn Juhl started working with the prominent Danish architect Vilhelm Lauritzen in 1934.
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Organic, natural forms
Finn Juhl had a strong fascination for colors. He was a big supporter of Cubism and Goethe’s famous color circles, and used colors actively in his designs in the 50’s and 60’s. The 57 sofa was a wonderful piece of furniture with design and craftsmanship qualities that Onercollection had not worked with before.
The company produced the sofa and began to study Finn Juhl’s materials and archives in detail and requested permission to re-launch the Poet sofa and the Pelican chair. Hanne gave the permission and Onecollection was even given full access to Finn Juhl’s house where Hanne lived.
Contrary to Juhl’s modernist contemporaries, with their streamlined, scaffolding-like structures, Juhl aimed at a more organic, natural form. The potential strength of the material was utilized to the maximum just like in nature’s own constructions. As Juhl translated his ideas into daring, supple joinery where each element of the design flowed seamlessly into each other, he also put enormous demands on the joiners who were to produce the design.
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One of the international highlights of Juhl’s career was designing the complete interior of the Trusteeship Council Chamber at the UN headquarters in New York between 1951 and 1952.
A trip around the world
“We have always held the firm belief, that the world would open its eyes to Finn Juhl’s universe of artistic furniture. Therefore it is with great joy and satisfaction that we now find that Finn Juhl has taken us on a fantastic trip around the world where we meet furniture enthusiasts interested in Finn Juhl everywher,” say the owners Henrik Sørensen & Ivan Hansen who have chosen to brand the Finn Juhl collection separately under House of Finn Juhl.
Today, House of Finn Juhl furniture is mainly manufactured in Denmark. The upholstered furniture such as the Poet Sofa and the Pelican Chair are entirely hand-sewn in the same Danish tradition as the old ones. However, when it comes to wooden furniture, the company has chosen to utilize modern technology, which goes hand-in-hand with excellent craftsmanship in order to make Juhl’s visions come true. The intricately shaped wooden frames in the Chieftain Chair for instance, are masterly crafted by skilled Japanese furniture makers in Yamagata.
Now, the collection consists of more than 50 classic masterpieces, all of which are manufactured with the utmost respect for the original heritage and strict demands for quality.
Finn Juhl and his house
In the book Finn Juhl and his house Per H. Hansen, a renowned expert in Scandinavian furniture design, provides a humorous, extremely informative description of Juhl’s unconventional character and classic furniture — the Chieftain Chair, the Pelican Chair, or the Poet Sofa. Drawings, original photographs, images of the curated house (2008), and an amusing final chapter about his patrons round off this unusual book.
Old Classic Furniture By World-Famous Danish Designer, compiled by Tor Kjolberg. Sources: Company’s websites, the book Finn Juhl and his House (see above) and the book Finn Juhl – Life Work World.
All images © Onecollection