October 18, 2008

Nanna Ditzel - First Lady of Danish Furniture Design

"The First Lady of Danish Furniture Design" is one of many awards as Nanna Ditzel has received and described as the Stockholm Furniture Fair awarded her, are a very appropriate introduction to an amazing designer.

Ditzel working as a designer began in very much the same way as Mr Kjærholm P. Ditzel began as an apprentice to a hanterkare that manufactured cabinets and then continued as a student at Kunsthåndværkerskolen in Copenhagen. Continuing, Ditzel his studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, where she met her future husband. The pair's career takes off after Ditzel graduated at the age of 23 when they married and opened a design studio together.

Ditzel worked with several different materials during his career and you can find her designs in several different areas. Ditzel has designed and has designed everything from jewelry for Georg Jensen textiles for Kvadrat and furniture for Frederica. Ditzel, like Kjærholm, had a fascination for blending traditional craftsmanship with modern shapes and materials. A famous example of this is Ditzel Äggstol or hanging the egg as it is known. Steel and wicker blended here to create a dream-like shape that is not only innovative but also practical. As long as you have somewhere to hang it up ...

There is a tendency to point out that Ditzel Hanging äggstol is Arne Jacobsen's Äggstol on a string. The two äggstolarna was designed and produced in parallel, however, in 1957 and it is therefore difficult to argue that one would be influenced by the other.

Previous years had Ditzel received the prestigious Lunning prize for her work (Kjærholm received the same honor two years later). The similarities between the two designers do not end there. Both were very successful in Milan Triennali during the sixties, Kjærholm was awarded two gold and three silver Ditzel, followed by a gold 1960th

Ditzel husband Jorgen Ditzel died suddenly the following year, which was hard on Ditzel, which went entirely to their designs and had an experimental approach to their work. 1968 hits Ditzel Kurt Heide and moves to London, where together they founded Interspace furniture house.

1986 return Ditzel to Copenhagen to begin what would become the most successful period of her career. Bench for two was the beginning of success.

Nanna Ditzel Bench

At first glance of the bench are the two main features that attracts attention. First off, the screen printed concentric circles which reinforce the arch-shaped design that encourages the banks to move from simply being furniture that also serve as a work of art. The other notable feature is a 1.5 mm thin Aeroplane plywood forming the backrest of the bench. At first I thought that the material must be too weak and thin to form the backrest of a chair, but it is surprisingly strong with an easy flex. Despite this sittsen itself is not too comfortable. My first encounter with the bank for two was as decorative sculpture at Volvo headquarters in Gothenburg. This says a lot about the chair's shape priority over its function. It is impractical, incredibly beautiful and I want one.

Similar to bench for two, Ditzel Chair Butterfly. Stolen lives remarkably well up to its name and I get the feeling that at any time can jump up and fly away. The angled legs give the structure a delicate fragility that once again shows that this is a more sculptural than a practical design.

Butterfly

1993, Ditzel one of his greatest successes with the chair of Trinidad. I must admit I can not understand the attraction of the furniture but find it downright rejection. Even if the chair is available in several colors are oak, the most common and in my opinion, disgusting. The chair's wooden seat against steel legs reminds me of one of the worst chairs from IKEA's offerings with terrible black powdercoat. However, I can not bring myself to completely ignore Trinidad's popularity, which may depend on the elegantly curved back of the chair with its grooves which allows light in an atmospheric manner. Another explanation could be the chair's design makes it easy to stack. Anyway falls Trinidad not me in the taste.

Nanna Ditzel Trinidad

Ditzel was highly acclaimed for the last three furniture pieces and received a gold medal in 1990 for Asahikawa bench for two, ID Award in 1995, a lifelong artist grants from the Danish Ministry of Culture 1998 and the Danish Design Award 2,001th

It is a resume that is almost invincible in the design world. Nanna Ditzel was definitely "The First Lady of Danish Furniture Design" and a strong nominant for titles such as The First Lady of Design.