Papa Bear Chair by Hans Wegner for PP Mobler

One of the most important and influential designers in history, Hans J. Wegner (1914-2007) is commonly credited as a driving force in the midcentury Danish modern movement—an era that forever changed the way the world looks at furniture.

Born in 1914 in Tønder, in Southern Denmark, Wegner was the son of a shoemaker. From 1928 to 1932, he was apprenticed to the cabinetmaker H.F. Stahlberg; at the age of fifteen, Wegner made his very first chair. He studied at The Danish School of Arts and Crafts (1936-1938) under Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen before going on to work as a designer in Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller’s noted architectural office. During this period, Wegner also designed furniture for the Åarhus City Hall in Denmark and began working with master cabinetmaker Johannes Hansen, as well as Michael Laursen. In 1940, he designed a rocking chair for Laursen, which became Wegner’s first mass-produced chair. Wegner opened his own studio in 1943 in Gentofte.

Championing modernism, craftsmanship, and Nordic functionality in combination with the unexpected influence of Chinese furniture, Wegner designed over 500 chairs in his lifetime. Over 100 of these were produced, and several became icons in the international furniture design arena, including: the Peacock Chair (1947); the Wishbone Chair (1949); the Round Chair (1949)—which the American magazine Interiors called “the world’s most beautiful chair” (and was featured in the first ever televised presidential debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1961); the three-legged Shell Chair (1949)—which was designed for MoMA’s historical competition on low-cost furniture; Papa Bear Chair (1950); Flag Halyard Chair (1950); Dolphin Chair (1951), the Valet Chair (1953); Ox Chair (1960); and Wing Chair (1960). His designs were at once functional and graceful; his solid wooden chairs, for example, featured limbs that elegantly tapered and curved, and which were often paired with woven rattans or leathers. Wegner utilized traditional construction techniques, mixing materials such as plywood, metal, upholstery, caning, and paper cord.

While he is best known for his chairs, Wegner also created memorable cabinetry, desks, tables, beds, and lighting fixtures. Over the course of his career, the designer collaborated with several renowned manufacturers, including AP Stolen, Carl Hansen & Søns, Fredericia Stolefabrik, Getama, Fritz Hansen, Erik Jorgensen, Louis Poulsen, Ry Møbler, PP Møbler, and Andreas Tuck.

Wegner’s furniture is included in the permanent collections of the world’s most respected museums. He is also the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the Grand Prix at Milan’s Triennale in 1950, the Lunning Prize in 1951, the Eckersberg Medal in 1955, and the 8th International Design Award in 1997, among others.

Wegner passed away in Copenhagen in 2007 at age 92, leaving a remarkable legacy of design and craftsmanship for future generations to enjoy. His designs, vintage Wegner chairs in particular, fetch high prices at auction houses and are in constant demand by vintage lovers and art collectors alike. 

The roots of Danish furniture manufacturer PP Møbler can be traced to the 1940s, when brothers Ejnar and Lars Peder Pedersen set up a woodworking shop in the small town of Vejen in Jutland, Denmark. In those early years, they apprenticed with master cabinetmaker Søren Villadsen. While learning his craft, Ejnar worked with Søren’s son Knud, who introduced him to many prominent artists and architects in Denmark, like Nanna Ditzel and Gunnar Aagaard Andersen. By the time the Pedersen brothers earned their license to practice cabinetmaking in 1953, they were committed to working at the forefront of modern design in pursuit of new heights of innovation and quality. That same year, they acquired a small plot of land in Allerød, north of Copenhagen, and named their atelier PP Møbler. Among their first customers were Danish furniture brands Bovirke, which sold furniture by Finn Juhl, and A.P. Stolen, for whom PP Møbler produced the lower frame for Hans Wegner’s Papa Bear Chair (1950).

The history of Danish modernism cannot be told without mentioning the unique relationship between the Pedersen brothers and architect Hans Wegner (1914- 2007). Through the 1960s, Wegner worked with PP Møbler to prototype his designs—the Ox Chair (1960), for instance—which would then go into production with other companies, such as Fritz Hansen, Johannes Hansen, Møbelfabrik A/S, Getama, and AP Stolen. After years of fruitful collaboration, Wegner designed his first chair exclusively for PP Møbler, the PP203 Chair, and urged the Pedersens to start selling under the PP Møbler brand. As PP Møbler expanded its facilities in the 1970s, the company began to take over production of many classic Wegner designs. The relationship between PP Møbler and Wegner culminated with the Circle Chair, which proved to be the workshop’s greatest technical challenge and one of its most triumphant successes. It was launched in 1986 and was Wegner’s final furniture design.

Wegner is not the only legendary designer to work with PP Møbler. The furniture maker also collaborated with Danish designer Poul Kjærholm on his Concert Hall Chairs (1976), produced for the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark. These chairs are still used at the museum today.

In 1977, Lars Peder retired from management to focus solely on his craft, and Ejnar’s son and mastercraftsman, Søren Holst Pederson, joined the PP Møbler team. Ejnar remained at the helm until he retired in 1998, and Søren took over. Søren Holst’s son, Kasper Holst Pedersen became the third generation to join the company in 2001. Today, PP Møbler is one of the few remaining cabinetmaking workshops in Denmark, still producing furniture designed by Hans J. Wegner—including his famed Chinese Chair (1945), Peacock Chair (1947), Round Chair (1949), Flag Halyard Chair (1950), Cow Horn Chair (1952), and Valet Chair (1953)—among others.

* All images courtesy of PP Møbler