Paving the Way | Design-led Furniture Brands

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As early as the late 19^th century, furniture designers, artists and architects have been working in conjunction with brands to produce unique and high-quality objects. Liberty would employ cabinetmakers and skilled craftspeople such as Archibald Knox to create pieces in silver and pewter, and Heal’s even introduced Scandinavian and Northern European designers to a UK audience by stocking chairs by the forward-thinking Alvar Aalto and Mies van der Rohe in their store. However, it wasn’t until after the Second World War when the relationship between designers and brands would reach its zenith. Here are five design-led furniture brands that paved the way for this unique and collaborative way of working, and that continue to do so.

Heal’s

Originally founded in 1810 by John Harris Heal as a feather-dressing business for mattresses in Rathbone Place, the company quickly progressed to selling carpets by 1815, and in 1818 moved into their Tottenham Court Road premises where they are still located to this very day. Fast forward to the 1890s, Ambrose Heal Junior, the great-grandson of John, entered the family firm and introduced furniture into the fold. As early as the 1920s, Ambrose had become enamoured with the work coming out of Scandinavia and Northern Europe and began to introduce it to an English audience. Alvar Aalto and Mies van der Rohe were two big names that Ambrose helped to promote: particularly their use of new industrialised materials such as plywood and tubular steel. Heal’s have since worked with many notable figures such as Tom Dixon, Jasper Morrison and Eero Saarinen.

^{Heal's, an Art Deco Dining suite (£600-800)}

Artek

Artek was founded by none other than Finland’s very own Alvar Aalto, his wife Aino, art collector Maire Gullichsen and art historian Nils-Gustav Hahl in 1935. The quartet purposely chose a name that wasn’t Finnish but rather a portmanteau inspired by the words art and technology. The founders were particularly inspired by the Bauhaus movement and prized technical expertise in production as well as the use of quality materials over frivolous decoration. The company’s main purpose was to promote Alvar’s furniture designs and Aino’s glasswork. Since Aalto’s death in 1976, Artek has worked with other Finnish designers such as Ilmari Tapiovaara and Eero Aarnio. In recent years the brand has collaborated with the likes of cult streetwear brands such as Supreme collaborating with Artek in 2017 and offering contemporary takes on the ‘Model 60’ stool, and the ‘400 Tank chair’ upholstered in a red Robert Indiana inspired fabric.

^{A Finnish masur birch and bentwood side table, late 1930s, designed by Alvar Aalto (Sold for £1,950)}

Fritz Hansen

Fritz Hansen is arguably one of Denmark’s most iconic furniture brands. Founded in 1872 by the eponymous carpenter Fritz Hansen, it was his son, Christian, who wrote the company’s name into the history books. At the turn of the century, he began experimenting with steam bent wood and turned Fritz Hansen into one of the world leaders of moulded and laminate wood furniture. Christian started to look towards German Functionalism and Scandinavian design which offered a much more practical, clean approach. By the mid-1940s, the brand had started to work with two titans of Danish design: Hans Wegner who created the ‘China Chair’ in 1944 (in addtion to many other icons), and Børge Mogensen who designed the ‘Spoke-back’ sofa in 1945. The post-war period of the 50s and 60s were where Fritz Hansen really started to hit their stride, employing the likes of Arne Jacobsen, Verner Panton and Poul Kjaerholm to create iconic pieces such as the ‘Egg’, ‘Ant’ and ‘Swan’ chairs. A stalwart of mid-century design, Fritz Hansen remains at the forefront of classic and minimal design for all.

^{H Willumsen & S A Engholm (Danish) for Fritz Hansen, an occasional table (£300-500)}

Herman Miller

Originally founded as the Star Furniture Co. in 1905, it was then renamed the Michigan Star Furniture Co. in 1919 by then president Dirk Jan De Pree. Dirk, along with his father-in-law Herman Miller acquired a majority of the company shares and it was then renamed for a third time to the Herman Miller Furniture Company we know today. The Great Depression pushed the company to the edge of bankruptcy, however a turning point came in 1945 when George Nelson joined the firm and started to introduce a slew of new post-war designers into the company’s roster such as Isamu Noguchi, Charles and Ray Eames, and Alexander Girard. From this, classic designs started to spring up such as the ‘Noguchi Table’, the ‘Eames Lounge Chair’ and the ‘Marshmallow Sofa’ by Irving Harper. The 1940s and 50s saw some of Herman Miller’s most iconic designs come to fruition and most are still in production to this day, decorating offices and homes alike.

^{A 670 lounger and 671 ottoman, designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller (Sold for £4,420)}

B&B Italia

Since the Renaissance, Italy has had a long-standing tradition when it comes to the visual arts and craftsmanship and no truer has this been reflected than in the designs of B&B Italia. First founded as C&B by Piero Ambrogio Busnelli and Cesare Cassina in 1966, their aim was to bring a modern industrial and technological approach to the world of furniture. This became evident in 1969 when Gaetano Pesce created the ‘UP Series’ whereby he designed the first armchair that could travel in vacuum box. The Up5_6 armchair was designed after the female form with a child as the ottoman, simultaneously comforted and yet imprisoned. Mario Bellini also became a key figure in the history of the brand, designing renowned sofa models such as ‘Le Bambole’ and ‘Camaleonda’ in the early 1970s. The former was at the centre of a contentious marketing campaign shot by Oliviero Toscani and the product eventually was awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 1979. Always looking to the future and for fresh new designs, B&B continued to pave the way with designers such as Antonio Citterio, Richard Sapper and Afra and Tobia Scarpa as well as including existing brands such as Maxalto and the lighting company Flos within their family.

^{Antonio Citterio (Italian, b.1950) for B&B Italia, a 'Charles' sofa (£600-800)}

^{All sold prices shown include fees}

Tuesday 27 January | 10am

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