![]() So, what will be the next Danish coffee or tea icon? They stand alongside products by the likes of Georg Jensen and Stelton as highly desirable items. More than two centuries after Royal Copenhagen produced its first Blue Fluted plain tea pot and half a century after Erik Magnussen’s EM77 thermos jug took the market by storm, both remain icons of Danish design. “But the most defining denominator with other classic Scandinavian design brands is a strong focus on solid craftmanship, on form and function and elegant simplicity in the design.” “Because Royal Copenhagen traces its roots back 245 years, the brand has been a part of a defining aesthetic for what is considered ‘Danish design and lifestyle,’” Wilder explained. Photo: Blue Fluted Teapot, Royal Copenhagen It’s also where that tradition probably began. Royal Copenhagen today upholds the Danish tradition for stylish and functional design of coffee and tea ware. Yet, while they may have been relatively new to the world stage in the mid-20th century, Danish designers already had a long tradition of producing quality objects, including jewelry and the porcelain from Royal Copenhagen that has been around for nearly 250 years. Danish designers and products surged in popularity both in Denmark and internationally. These economic and social conditions set the scene for a ‘Danish invasion’ of the world design market. “A wish to embrace ‘new times’ created a desire for more modern and contemporary designed objects,” Wolsgaard Iversen said. The end of World War II had also made it easier to produce and export products and, in an atmosphere of new optimism and a stronger economy, there was a greater focus on, and demand for, quality products. #A STORM IN A TEACUP THERMOS SERIES#In addition to Arne Jacobsen’s classic Cylinda-line series and Erik Magnussen’s EM77 thermos - both made for Stelton - other famous examples of Danish-designed coffee and tea ware include the Bistro coffee press from Bodum (originally a Danish company, today Swiss-owned) and the Bernadotte thermos from Georg Jensen.Īccording to Wolsgaard Iversen, Danish designers - particularly furniture designers - began to really capture the world’s attention from around the 1950s when they participated in international design competitions and featured prominently in design-themed magazines. “Simplicity and elegance in the design - for instance the thermos by Erik Magnussen or Arne Jacobsen’s Cylinda-line coffeepot are beautiful and practical - pleasant to hold and easy to pour from,” Wolsgaard Iversen explained. These fundamentals of design have flowed into coffee and tea ware. And perhaps most importantly, “the product is designed to be used - whether a teapot, a chair, or cutlery - the focus is on giving the user a good experience with a product that is pleasant and comfortable to use yet also beautiful to look at.” These signature design elements of simplicity, function, comfort, and beauty have become synonymous with Danish design, keeping Danish-designed and made products in high demand the world over. She added that while stylistically Danish-designed products are obviously very different, some degree of simplicity and letting the material ‘speak for itself’ rather than over decorating are typical hallmarks of Danish design. ![]() “It is a big question that depends on whether we are discussing furniture, ceramics, clothes or jewelry,” said Art Historian and Curator at the renowned Designmuseum Danmark (Design Museum of Denmark) Anne Cathrine Wolsgaard Iversen, “but some common features include a focus on the process from idea to finished product in order to ensure quality stressing comfort and/ or utility of the item - it is not design for design’s sake, but design to be used the use of first-class, often natural, materials and a focus on highly skilled workmanship.” Photo: Cylinda-line by Arne Jacobsen Series for Steltonīut first, what exactly do we mean by Danish design? ![]() So what happens when timeless Danish design meets the famous Danish love of coffee? We get some of the most beautiful, functional, and iconic examples of coffee and tea ware ever produced. ![]() ![]() In his best-selling the Little Book of Hygge, the CEO of Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen Meik Wiking noted, “Danes are the world’s fourth biggest coffee drinkers, consuming around 33 per cent more coffee per capita than Americans.” Wiking also points out that fans of Danish television dramas would notice: “Hardly a scene goes by without someone ordering a coffee, brewing coffee or one person looking at another while asking ‘Coffee?’” The Scandinavian nation is famous around the globe for producing some of the most celebrated examples of stylish and functionally designed furniture, lighting, and home wares, including coffee and tea ware.ĭanes are great coffee lovers too. Denmark may be a small country but it is very big in the world of design. ![]()
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