Sam Maloof was described as the most celebrated contemporary furniture craftsman in America. He combined the art of design with the necessity of comfort. He developed style hallmarks such as organic forms, articulated joinery, and a commitment to clean and swooping lines. The rocking chair first made in 1958 was Maloof’s most famous piece of work. Maloof recreated a traditional American design by discovering the intrinsic setback of the rocking chair form and modified it. Quite a lot of Presidents and Vice Presidents of the United States are the enthusiasts of Maloof rockers. Maloof’s work can be found in various museums, institutes and the White House.
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Dr Wall was a physician, entrepreneur, interested in a wide variety of subjects, active and energetic, as well as philanthropic. Throughout his busy life, he turned to art for relaxation. He was self-taught and his work achieved a sufficiently high standard. His quest for the perfect porcelain came at the right time when tea consumption had risen four-fold in the society of that time. With Lund’s secret ingredient, they gained a huge commercial advantage over their competitors. Dr Wall continued his interest and involvement in the porcelain works from the inception of the factory until his death. He was a man of his century.
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was a renowned designer and architect whose works included glassware, textiles, furniture, paintings, sculptures, and architecture. The furniture designs of Hugo were well thought-out Scandinavian Modern. His first design of architecture was built while he was still a student. Aalto relocated to a few places, at the same time, built a number of houses. While Aalto was prominent for his architecture, his furniture designs were exceptional and are still the rage these days. He also won many awards and honours in recognition of his contribution to the development of Finland. His wife carries on with the activities of the business till date.
For over 250 years, the Royal Worcester Porcelain Company has been producing interesting and sometimes very ornate and quite lovely porcelain pieces. It all started when Dr John Wall and William Davis had been experimenting with new ways to make porcelain. Tea was just becoming a popular social drink from 1730 onwards. The pottery of 1730 would crack or shatter if subjected to boiling water. They were the first to use soap-ware in their offerings so that the English enjoy a proper cup of tea made with boiling water. Royal Worcester porcelain is collected by people over the world, and the porcelain includes some very valuable and desirable pieces.
We all grew up with at least one bike in the household. Bicycles are still the purest form of mechanical transportation for whatever reason we use them. The huge popularity of cycling spurred multiple designers and hundreds of manufacturers to give birth to the “Safety Bicycle” that still is the foundation of bike design today. By the late 1870s, bicycles were being imported to Australia. Bikes remained expensive though and a handful of brave entrepreneurs had started manufacturing in Australia. As with anything you collect, the interest comes from association with it. Some collect just to show off the bikes, some collect to ride them and many do both.
Hans J. Wegner was one of the most ingenious and prolific furniture designers of his time. He was the brain behind the Danish Modern and second to none in chair-making. His maiden designs got the attention of his people around the time he finished his cabinet-making apprenticeship. Wegner relocated to Copenhagen, where he enrolled in the School of Arts and Crafts before embarking on his architect career. A few years later, the maiden edition of China Chair was designed, one of which was adjudged the most successful design of all time. Today, all the major design museums in the world have Hans J. Wegner’s furniture in their collections.
John Stuart Dowie is best known for his sculptures but is also widely known as an artist. At an early age, his aptitude for drawing became apparent when he attended the Rose Park Primary School. John began holding exhibitions in 1933 until 1969. He continued to attend night classes until he enlisted in the Australian Infantry Forces. When the war ended, Dowie returned to Adelaide, completing his studies. His war experiences persuaded him to travel to London and Italy where he studied art. It was at this point that he swapped sculpting for painting. Despite the honours, Dowie was always apprehensive about a new commission. Today, his work can be found throughout Australia, mostly in Adelaide.
Poul Kjaerholm started his career as an apprentice cabinet maker before going to the Copenhagen School for the Applied Arts, where he studied furniture design. He was a very eloquent man. As a result of his natural authority, he began an exceptional career as an instructor without stopping his education with his lecturers. Kjaerholm eventually became head of the Institute for Design and later a professor in 1976. The furniture pieces Kjaerholm designed represented a mix of new technologies, techniques and craftsmanship. He used ordinary materials and steel frames in his work. The products Kjaerholm created would then remain the symbol of classics minimalist design.
Translated to “golden joinery,” Kintsugi (or Kintsukuroi, which means “golden repair”) is the centuries-old Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with a special […]
It was in 1751 that Dr. John Wall founded a porcelain factory that would become known as the Royal Worcester Porcelain factory. Early Worcester marks are very rare, with typically a crescent mark. These marks were irregular and a bit haphazard. It wasn’t until 1862 that the Royal Worcester marks were first introduced. At first, the company used the letters of the alphabet to designate the year of manufacture. After they had used up the letters, the Royal Worcester introduced a fairly simple code using dots for the years. By the 1980s, some of the pieces made had elaborate marks. They include not only the issue numbers but also the designers’ names.
In his lifetime, Kaare Klint was referred to as the creator of Danish furniture design. Having a successful architect for a father exposed him to architecture from a young age. This also influenced him to settle for a career in architecture, besides the fact that he was also struggling as a painter. Klint started his career as an apprentice to his father and attended classes at a few schools. His analytical approach to his projects, the use of high-quality materials, and superb craftsmanship influenced quite a lot of furniture designers of his generation. Klint’s combination of his creative nature and carefully researched furniture designs made him the father of modern Danish furniture.
Paul McCobb was an American furniture and industrial designer best known for his contributions to modern furniture design. Paul studied both drawing and painting but was cut short when World War II began. After the war, he developed his interest in modern furniture design and met Mesberg at work. Together, they would create and sell furniture throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Paul wanted to design furniture that was accessible to a lot of people. Because of his designs, he received several awards and became a consultant for a number of leading companies. Nowadays, McCobb’s creations are highly sought after by collectors, and reproductions are still available for sale.
There were many furniture designers who helped to make Danish furniture achieve international acclaim; One of such persons was Borge Mogensen. He was one of the most recognised furniture designers who redefined the future of furniture designs. Mogensen’s education in the art of furniture design was quite rich. After working as a cabinet maker, he studied furniture design for 2 years before he underwent training at the Royal Danish Academy of fine arts for another 4 years. Immediately after graduating, he became a studio manager, received various recognitions, and finally set up his own design studio. His collaboration with Professor Klint led to his famous work in the designs of home storage.
Sir Wilhelm Ernst Hans Franz Heysen was born in Germany before his family emigrated to Australia. Hans showed early promise as an artist at school. Hans began painting and attended night art classes while he was with his father’s hardware merchant business. In 1894, he had already sold his first painting. A few years after, he joined the Easel Club and exhibited with them every year between 1895-1899. He would later receive several art prizes and sell a number of his works. Hans was an early pioneer of nature conservation, which was reflected in his works. Hans is regarded as the first non-Australian artist to paint the gum trees and other characteristics of rural life.
Danish furniture designers are known for a lot of breathtaking works of fine art and Ole Wanscher no doubt made a name for himself. Wanscher studied under the legendary Professor Kaare Klint and worked for him for 3 years. He also set up his furniture design office around this time. He had a simple goal of producing furniture designs using all that he learned from a wide variety of sources. He later worked with a few notable designers and produced several masterpieces. To this day, Wanscher’s furniture is regarded as modern classics as they combined a perfect blend of sophisticated design and functionality with an overall keen interest in detail.
Jean Prouve was a French designer, architect, builder, and engineer best known for his use of industrial manufacturing technology and blending it into his works. Jean was heavily influenced by a group called “I’Ecole de Nancy”, in which his artistic parents were a part of. The group believed that art should be available to everybody. In 1923, he already opened his own workshop. He would then open several workshops and studios in his career. In the years leading up to World War II until the war ended, Jean’s architectural business benefited from the demands of the time. Jean always incorporated industrial and engineering elements into his designs, and the industrial production methods in his projects were groundbreaking.
Nanna Ditzel, a name that’s well known in the Danish furniture industry, was already showcasing her work while she was still a student at the Danish Royal Academy. It was also at the academy where she met her husband, Jorgen. They both desired to create a living environment that was simple and comfortable to live in. Although they excelled in this idea, it was not the launching part of their career. Their design gradually evolved to fit into almost every aspect of the modern home. Nanna would become notable for both her furniture and jewellery designs, which won her a lot of national and international awards.
Australian Naïve and Performance artist Kevin ‘Pro’ Hart’s work was not always taken seriously. He received no formal art training, besides lessons by a local artist. At 19, he was employed at a mine, and his relief from the stress of long stretches underground was expressed in his painting. By 1958, Pro was earning enough from his art to concentrate on it full-time. Art collector and then director of the Adelaide Art Gallery, Hugh ‘Kym’ Bonython, discovered Pro and produced his first solo exhibition at the Bonython Gallery. From there, Pro would then go on and win several awards. He would become one of Australia’s most celebrated artists, thanks to his experimental and expressive works.