Cover A PK-inspired showroom featuring Kjærholm’s PK22 chairs, PK61A coffee table, PK80 daybed and PK91 folding chairs
A PK-inspired showroom featuring Kjærholm’s PK22 chairs, PK61A coffee table, PK80 daybed and PK91 folding chairs
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Get a peek into furniture design company Fritz Hansen and its renowned Poul Kjærholm collection
Founded in 1872 in Denmark, international design house, Fritz Hansen, has been known to collaborate with several designers from around the world bringing a unique flavour to every piece. Specialising in furniture, accessories and lighting, the brand is popular for its vast selection of timeless pieces and their signature clean, sleek Scandinavian aesthetic.
Tatler sat down with Dario Reicherl, Fritz Hansen’s CEO for Asia, during an exhibit celebrating one of Denmark’s great designers who also collaborated with the furniture design company, Poul Kjærholm. Reicherl takes us through Kjærholm’s ideas, aspirations and remarkable designs that solidified his name in the design and furniture industry.
Above The steel-based PK11 chair with a Rustik leather seat cushion
The steel-based PK11 chair with a Rustik leather seat cushion
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What would you say are your top three most iconic pieces from the Poul Kjærholm collection?
It’s difficult to choose. But I can tell you that number one is the PK22. There is no doubt. Right after that will be the PK22, the lounge chair. Then we have the PK80. It’s in many famous museums; MoMA New York has a special one. We did it a few centimetres taller and with a few centimetres more cushion, and it’s the only custom-made (version) in the world. The third one is the PK61 coffee table. Those three products are big icons.
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Above PK15 chairs with clear lacquered solid wood frames surrounding the PK54 dining table
PK15 chairs with clear lacquered solid wood frames surrounding the PK54 dining table
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Poul Kjærholm is known for creating timeless, natural and simple pieces that are functional all at the same time. What would you say is the most important factor in creating and designing furniture?
That is the very essence of Poul Kjærholm. Without Poul Kjærholm and Arne Jacobsen, it would not be a Scandinavian design. Scandinavia will be a different kind of country and have a different economy without them since Scandinavia is famous for design. And the secret is this, well it’s not a secret, but the essence is material first.
I would rather express the beauty of the material, meaning the natural part of the material. I would rather express the beauty of the material than my personality. I care about people appreciating the material in my product. If you start thinking like this, then you understand why it’s the most famous product yet the simplest design. It should be something that will not get old and damage the material. It’s quality, quality, quality.
The only way is material and craftsmanship. If you change your employees every year, you have no craftsmanship. So you have to treat your employees better than other companies. Keep them happy, so they last longer with you, instead of jumping here and there. That’s quality.
Above Fritz Hansen CEO for Asia, Dario Reicherl
Fritz Hansen CEO for Asia, Dario Reicherl
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What do you think is the importance of going beyond the norm when it comes to furniture design?
Wooden furniture has existed since the Egyptians, so roughly 4000 years in design. Then there’s the Ming Dynasty, the famous Ming and China Chair. Everything has been made of wood for thousands of years. Nobody has ever made furniture in steel. Because steel, as you say, is seen as a new material. Steel has always been used for construction. Poul Kjærholm was the first person in the world who treated steel as a precious wood like mahogany. He did joinery. Joinery is like when you weld wood, you create a spine so you open the wood a certain way. That’s called a joinery, no glue. You rely on the pressure that is made when put together.
Nobody ever thought of doing joinery made of steel but Kjærholm. The only one doing it is Fritz Hansen because it’s very difficult. This is made in Denmark, by people I’ve been working with in Fritz Hansen for 25 to 30 years. And we have the next generation coming. So once you start trading another very resistant material much more than wood, in a beautiful way like wood, you have even higher quality. Because trust me, this is not going to get old. It’s not going to get damaged.
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