Arne Jacobsen | Danish Design Blog

Danish Ethos: Jacobsen Egg Chair

By Justin, on September 19th, 2012

As mentioned yesterday, we’ve been pondering this great question from Paper Planes Design:

“What piece of Danish designed furniture do you think really epitomizes the Danish design ethos?”

Today: the Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair and why it’s quintessential Danish design.

Innovation

When Jacobsen unveiled the Egg Chair as part of the grand design for the Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, nothing like it had ever been seen before. The Egg was an opportunity for Jacobsen to integrate architectural functionalism into the total design of the hotel: the elegant curves of the chair contrasted the almost exclusively vertical and horizontal surfaces of the building.

Also, to create the chair’s unique shape, Jacobsen was the first use a strong foam inner shell underneath the upholstery to maintain structural integrity without sacrificing comfort. He toiled in his garage, molding prototypes with clay until he had just the right design.

Form and Function

The Egg Chair’s unmistakable silhouette isn’t just a design whim. The deep sides and 360-degree swivel afford privacy in otherwise public areas, making the Egg ideal for public spaces. Not to mention incredibly comfortable.

Unrivaled Quality

The craftsmanship of an Egg Chair is impeccable. There are no folds, no creases, no wrinkles. There are no joins or stitching on the front of the chair, except for on the seat pad. The leather or fabric is so exact, you most definitely can’t pinch an inch with this chair.

There are a lot of counterfeits out there (RELATED: Authentic Egg Chair – How to tell it’s not a fake), so if you’re in the market for one, be sure it’s a Republic of Fritz Hansen original.

Purchase

In stock and ready to ship: Jacobsen Egg Chair

The Birth of an Egg

All images: Republic of Fritz Hansen

Oxford Chair: 50th Anniversary Edition

By Justin, on September 10th, 2012

The Republic of Fritz Hansen just released a special edition of the Arne Jacobsen Oxford Chair that is now available at Danish Design Store!

Original professor chairs at Oxford

Fifty years ago Jacobsen designed the original Oxford Chair for the professors at St. Catherine’s College in Oxford, UK. The high back version was the original “professor’s chair,” which quickly evolved into Fritz Hansen’s iconic Oxford Series.

The 50th Anniversary Oxford Chair brings back the original wood veneer with upholstered panels on the front sections and brushed aluminum arms. However, Fritz Hansen has unveiled three updated colors from Kvadrat: Orange, Light Blue, and Petrol.

The chair is available in two models:

FH 3273 Model – fixed seat height and flat toes: $3,374
FH 3293 Model – adjustable seat height, tilt and castors: $3,894

A simple ergonomic design makes the Oxford Chair ideal for use as an everyday office chair or anywhere in the house you want a bit of class.

View Jacobsen Oxford Chair »

Belated Birthday to Arne Jacobsen

By Justin, on February 13th, 2012

Thanks to By Way of the Green Line Bus for pointing out that February 11th would have been Arne Jacobsen’s 110th birthday.

So happy belated birthday, Arne!

Browse through our posts about Arne Jacobsen to check out many great images of his work including the Jacobsen Egg Chair and Series 7 Chair.

From the blog post http://carolynelw.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/happy-birthday-arne-jacobsen/

For those who aren’t familiar with Arne Jacobsen, he was a prolific figure in the Danish modernist movement. Jacobsen’s minimalist, cubic architecture is as well known as his Danish furniture design.

In 1955, building on the success of the Ant chair, Jacobsen launched the 3107 chair, better known as the Series 7 Chair, which has become one of the most recognizable silhouettes of mid-century modernism and is quite rightly considered to be a design classic, if not an icon of design. “It is simple, elegant and inoffensive, yet also daring in its shape which has allowed it to transition from being very much a 50s chair, to being completely timeless,” explains Jana Scholze, Curator of Modern Furniture and Product Design at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, “it’s something the eye never gets tired of.”

Monday Morsel: AJ Table Lamp

By Justin, on November 21st, 2011

Arne Jacobsen designed the AJ Table Lamp in the ’50s for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen as part of his extensive collection, including the Jacobsen Egg Chair and Jacobsen Swan Chair. A sign of the times: the base of the table lamp was originally intended to accommodate an ashtray. Now it’s just a cool design feature.

Blue AJ Table Lamp

Slim and sleek

Great for office or kitchen

Monday Morsel: Jacobsen Ant Chair – 4 Leg

By Justin, on November 14th, 2011

We’re not sure how we’ve gone months of Monday Morsels without calling out the Jacobsen Ant Chair. These simple and stylish chairs first appeared in the canteen of Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk in 1952. The Jacobsen Ant Chair (“Myren” in Danish) has a fitting name: the Ant Chair’s silhouette resembles an ant with its head raised.

Here we feature the four-leg version of the Jacobsen Ant Chair. All images courtesy: Republic of Fritz Hansen.

Jacobsen Series 7 Videos

By Justin, on September 28th, 2011

Since the Jacobsen Series 7 Chair is the Republic of Fritz Hansen’s most popular chair, it comes as no surprise that more than a few videos that have popped up on the internets.

Our favorite is the uber-cheesy love song devoted to the Series 7.

Series 7 Love Song

Fritz Hansen Series 7 – 3D

Fritz Hansen – Making of Series 7

Monday Morsel: Jacobsen Oxford Chair – Low Back

By Justin, on September 19th, 2011

The Arne Jacobsen Oxford Chair has been an office and workspace classic since the early ’60s. Clean styling, timeless lines, premium craftsmanship … We can see why this elegant desk chair by the Republic of Fritz Hansen has been consistently popular for nearly 50 years.

Arne Jacobsen: More Than Just Chairs

By Justin, on August 31st, 2011

While Arne Jacobsen is perhaps best known for masterpieces such as the Jacobsen Egg Chair, the Swan Chair, and the Series 7 Chair, he also designed smaller pieces that match his clean and simple aesthetic. Here are a few examples of Jacobsen’s lesser-known products:

Vola HV1 Faucet

Vola KV1 Kitchen Faucet

Arne Jacobsen Wall Clock by Rosendahl

Cylinda Line Tea Pot

View Complete Jacobsen Cylinda Line »

Jacobsen Egg Chair: Art in Art

By Justin, on July 27th, 2011

We stumbled across this original painting of a blue Jacobsen Egg Chair on Art and Home by Jon Peters. Cool to see art depicting art:

I just wished we carried Jacobsen Egg Chairs in this color!

Authentic Egg Chair: How To Tell It’s Not a Fake

By Justin, on July 19th, 2011

So you think you found a great deal on a Jacobsen Egg Chair? Think again. If the price is too good to be true, chances are the chair is not good enough to be true.

There are a lot of counterfeit Jacobsen Egg Chairs out there. Luckily, the Republic of Fritz Hansen has made it relatively easy to tell fake Egg Chairs from authentic Jacobsen Egg Chairs. If you ever find a fake one, be sure to email Fritz Hansen at: counterfeit@fritzhansen.com

Here are a few things to look out for:

The Obvious

Sometimes you’ll know immediately it’s a fake. The authentic Egg Chair is sleek, contoured and flawless. The base should have four prongs. No more. No less. Unfortunately the vast majority of knock-offs are only available online, and disreputable shops use legitimate images to advertise their counterfeit Egg Chairs.

So if you buy online and you’re suspicious of a fake, insist that they send images of all the below features, or just avoid the trouble altogether, and buy an authentic Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair.

Label

Republic of Fritz Hansen products (including the Egg Chair) manufactured after 2006 features a label as a sign of authenticity. Egg Chairs produced before 2010 have a red tag, while those produced after 2010 feature a brown tag. Look for the Republic of Fritz Hansen logo, as well as the year of manufacture.

Brown Fritz Hansen Label

If you don’t see a label, remember that it could be an older model. So look under the base; if it’s a real Egg Chair, you should find a serial number and name there.

Stitching

The craftsmanship of an Egg Chair is impeccable. There should be no folds, no creases, no wrinkles. There should be no joins or stitching on the front of the chair, except for on the seat pad. Try pinching the chair. If you can pinch any fabric, it’s not a real Egg Chair.

Also examine the nature of the stitching along the sides of the Egg Chair. Look for a “wave effect.”

Wave stitching on the Egg Chair

If it’s a Leather Egg Chair, there should only be two pieces of leather joined at the sides. If you see any other stitches = fake.

Leather Egg Chairs

Recliner / Rotation

Cheap knock-offs don’t have the recliner lever on the underside of the Egg Chair. Even if it has one, check to make sure you can control exactly how much you want to recline. Real Egg Chairs give you precise control over how much you want to recline (you can see the recliner lever in the image above, lower left).

Also make sure you can rotate 360-degrees smoothly and completely.

Dimensions

Take out the tape measure and make sure they match these specifications:

Total height: 107 cm (42.1 in)
Seat height: 37cm (14.6 in)
Width: 86 cm (33.9 in)
Depth – Upright: 79 cm (31.1 in)
Depth – Reclined: 95 cm (37.4 in)

Again the best way to avoid getting burned, is to buy a certified authentic Jacobsen Egg Chair.

Thank you Findmetheoriginal.com for their insightful video: