Borge Mogensen - Furniture Designers
Born in Denmark in 1914, Borge Mogensen became qualified as a cabinetmaker at the age of 20. He, like many of the other furniture designers from Denmark, studied at the Copenhagen School of Arts and Crafts and then at the Furniture School of the Academy of Fine Arts from 1938 to 1942. At the time Kaare Klint was the professor of the Furniture School whose own influence on Danish furniture is still felt today. Borge Mogensen was viewed by Kaare Klint as an extraordinary talent with valued skills. His closeness with Kaare Klint led to a cooperation between the two men that allowed Borge Mogensen to open up his own design studio in 1950.
Within five years of establishing and working his own design studio, Borge Mogensen was able to design furniture for well known producers. Karl Andersson & Soner, P. Lauritzen & Son, and Fredericia Furniture all manufactured designs that came from the mind of Borge Mogensen. The Fredericia contract turned out to be the most fruitful partnership of his career and he was allowed to explore every aspect of his own comprehensive design skills. Andreas Graversen was the owner of Fredericia at the time and he was able to keep up with Borge Mogensen's thoroughness and quality in his designs.
Borge Mogensen passed away in 1972 and he is still considered Denmark's 'Grand Old Man'. His experience as a cabinetmaker helped him in his designs and for over twenty years he was able to take the ideas previous generations had about furniture and turn them into reality. He respected the materials he worked with, and functional tradition in creating the furniture made him very aware of how the items were put together. He used old designs and built his furniture based on those designs and the training and subsequent experience he gained over the years to improve them and make it brand new once again.
Some of those old designs that Borge Mogensen improved upon came from his instructor's love of Shaker furniture that was designed and developed in the United States. There is speculation among the design community today that the many of Borge Mogensen's chairs were based on the Shaker design prototypes. For example, Borge Mogensen's 'J39' chair had a wooden, four-legged, single slat back design similar to the 'low ladder back' chairs of the Shakers. His 'trestle table' that matched the chairs is considered a 'redefined Shaker classic'. Borge Mogensen worked with the Danish Cooperative Wholesale Society at the time, helping them develop attractive yet simple design furniture that was good for everyday use. What made Borge Mogensen's designs so well accepted was his ability to incorporate a variety of different design styles into his furniture, keeping them free for the modernist influence and attractive to customers from all walks of life.
Borge Mogensen didn't only design chairs and tables. He was also fascinated with storage problems in the houses and dwellings of the time. He took this fascination and worked on a storage system that would hold a variety of household items of different sizes and shapes in a functional furniture unit. The shelving system 'Oresund' was one of Borge Mogensen's related storage products, and it was designed specifically to help families facing storage issues.
Within five years of establishing and working his own design studio, Borge Mogensen was able to design furniture for well known producers. Karl Andersson & Soner, P. Lauritzen & Son, and Fredericia Furniture all manufactured designs that came from the mind of Borge Mogensen. The Fredericia contract turned out to be the most fruitful partnership of his career and he was allowed to explore every aspect of his own comprehensive design skills. Andreas Graversen was the owner of Fredericia at the time and he was able to keep up with Borge Mogensen's thoroughness and quality in his designs.
Borge Mogensen passed away in 1972 and he is still considered Denmark's 'Grand Old Man'. His experience as a cabinetmaker helped him in his designs and for over twenty years he was able to take the ideas previous generations had about furniture and turn them into reality. He respected the materials he worked with, and functional tradition in creating the furniture made him very aware of how the items were put together. He used old designs and built his furniture based on those designs and the training and subsequent experience he gained over the years to improve them and make it brand new once again.
Some of those old designs that Borge Mogensen improved upon came from his instructor's love of Shaker furniture that was designed and developed in the United States. There is speculation among the design community today that the many of Borge Mogensen's chairs were based on the Shaker design prototypes. For example, Borge Mogensen's 'J39' chair had a wooden, four-legged, single slat back design similar to the 'low ladder back' chairs of the Shakers. His 'trestle table' that matched the chairs is considered a 'redefined Shaker classic'. Borge Mogensen worked with the Danish Cooperative Wholesale Society at the time, helping them develop attractive yet simple design furniture that was good for everyday use. What made Borge Mogensen's designs so well accepted was his ability to incorporate a variety of different design styles into his furniture, keeping them free for the modernist influence and attractive to customers from all walks of life.
Borge Mogensen didn't only design chairs and tables. He was also fascinated with storage problems in the houses and dwellings of the time. He took this fascination and worked on a storage system that would hold a variety of household items of different sizes and shapes in a functional furniture unit. The shelving system 'Oresund' was one of Borge Mogensen's related storage products, and it was designed specifically to help families facing storage issues.
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