The visit to Wegner's home

Start of my long awaited blog from trip.........

This trip was probably the most exciting this year, there was just so much to look forward to, I cant imagine where to begin.  Lunch with Kai Kristiansen, seeing the 1st example of the V11 from Stouby, visiting Hans Wegner’s house?


Yes I think it was that.


I was determined this trip, to slow down a bit and really soak up the experience, I think too often I am so eager to move forward I forget how to stand still and look around me, I know its a cliché, but it is one that is very relevant to me.

The visit to Wegner’s house was organize by Pylle our resident Danish consultant, we really just wanted to gain an understanding of how one goes about working with the Wegner name and what this means. Pylle and I both thought we were meeting Anders at an office in CPH. Anders kindly offered to pick us up on the way and of course in classic Danish fashion, was smoking in the car, so Pylle had a smile on her face from the first instance.   We were leaving the centre of CPh and heading towards a residential area, it didn't really make sense but who were we to question his sense of direction.

We pulled up outside a house and all headed to the side of a very mid century house, flat roof, tan bricks, very simple and clean design, should have twigged at that point really. We walked around the back and I looked up at the back of the house and it looked strangely familiar,  then it struck me, this was Wegner’s HOME! 

Anders walked us inside and both Pylle and I realized we had been invited to a very special place. This was Wegner’s studio! We both looked around quite dumbstruck, must have looked like a couple of  kids in Willy Wonkers chocolate factory!!! Huge grins and nothing to say, hard to believe I know. 

The study seemed so real, so normal, it took me a couple of days to realize what it was that I felt, it was if we were waiting fro Wegner to come and join us for a cup of coffee and have a chat, it was as if he had simply stepped out for a walk or a ciagrette or perhaps to enjoy the beautiful apple trees in the backyard. This was unreal, almost surreal, we both felt a great privilege in being invited to this place, a bit like the Holy Grail.

Pylle and I sat and talked with Anders, about the production of Wegner product today, who the Wegners work with and why, business is still done on hand shakes as it was in the old days.

Anders asked us our opinion on a Wegner chair that he had first production sample of,  the chair was originally produced by Getama, who is making the model again. Interestingly the chair has a very similar leg style to the Wikkelsoe V11,  I think both Pylle and I were humbled that Anders would even ask us our opinion. It was great to have Pylle with me as both her and Anders are trained cabinet makers and had a great deal to talk about, I felt like a bit of a fly on the wall, which was fun.

I have attached an image of the  model # GE-501, from 1967.

ENJOY I know I did.