H.J.Wegner Award 2020

In 2020 I was honoured to receive the H.J.Wegner Award.

Hans Wegner has always been one of my great role models.

The ability to make clear designs without any compromises. Finding inspiration in nature and old furniture archetypes and revitalizing old crafts techniques. These are just a few of the many qualities I am fascinated by, in Wegner’s work.

One of the places where I can really feel Wegner's spirit is at the company PP møbler in Allerød. While I was an apprentice, I often talked to Ejner or Søren at PP Møbler to hear if there could be a small gap in the schedule where I could get a chance to work there. Eventually, Ejner gave me the opportunity to work at PP for some time and help him build a project for the furniture fair. It was a great experience for me to meet the old Cabinetmakers like Fisker, Berner and Lars Peder who had so many years of experience in woodworking. My time at PP gave me a deeper insight into how elaborate Wegner's furniture is. I also gained an understanding of one important part of Wegner's design. Namely, that to make a good product, the processes of making the product should also be rewarding and satisfying for the craftsman.

In Wegner's days, it was normal to have a crafts background before educating as an architect. When you design with a crafts background, I think you are more aware that you are standing on the shoulders of generations of skilled craftsmen who have set the bar high and explored every possible way to use the materials.

Like Wegner I have followed this tradition and the knowledge I have from the many generations of craftsmen that came before me, is an inexhaustible source of inspiration. I am proud to be able to build on such a fine and famous furniture making tradition as the Danish. On top of this knowledge I have been studying the Japanese crafts tradition for the last 20 years. In several trips I have worked in Japan in places like Nakamura Komuten teahouse builders in Kyoto, with master box maker, Mr. Norio Fukushima in Kanazawa and with the furniture company Hinoki Kougei in Saitama.

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