It takes 100 separate steps to make a CH24. Its seat is woven by hand from 120 metres of paper cord, sourced from sustainably managed Swedish forests. The CH24 Wishbone Chair is a masterpiece of craftsmanship and a prime example of Danish design. Behind it is a brand that has made traditional, sustainable production and uncompromising quality its guiding design principles: Carl Hansen & Søn.
Today, the Wishbone Chair is celebrated internationally, its designer Hans J. Wegner is an icon, and Danish design is known around the world. But behind this lies a story with strong roots, courageous protagonists and a successful collaboration between a handful of visionaries. A story that began in 1908 in a small furniture workshop in Odense, Denmark …
How it all began
Master cabinetmaker Carl Hansen made a name for himself with his workshop in Odense, on the Danish island of Funen, where he made bespoke furniture. He believed that running his own business was the best way to give his family a good future. He also wanted to make first-class furniture at a reasonable price. It was this exceptional quality that made the small company known beyond Odense – a principle Carl Hansen & Søn remains true to today.
Demand for his furniture grew, and just a few years after founding the company, Carl Hansen began producing particularly popular pieces in series. A factory was built, and the combination of craftsmanship and efficient series production became the company's hallmark: a long tradition of craftsmanship combined with the latest technology.
In 1934, at just 23 years old, Carl's son Holger Hansen took over the company. He realised that if the business was to move forward, he needed a good designer.
A new protagonist and risky decisions
Meeting furniture designer Hans J. Wegner later proved to be a decisive milestone – not only for Carl Hansen & Søn, but also for Wegner himself. Celebrated in specialist circles but unknown beyond them, he was at the start of his career. Even so, Holger Hansen and his sales manager Ejvind Kold Kristensen believed in the cabinetmaker and architect. (Photo: Hans J. Wegner)
In 1949, Hans J. Wegner cycled all the way from Copenhagen in Denmark to Odense and presented four designs to Carl Hansen & Søn: the CH22, which did not go back into production until 2016; the CH23, which reflects Wegner's passion for traditional craftsmanship; the CH24, the Wishbone Chair; and the CH25, with a woven backrest and seat. All four were extremely complex to make. These were the designs of an artist, not a businessman. The businessman was Holger Hansen. He believed in Hans J. Wegner's designs and in Danish craftsmanship. Together, they formed a successful partnership – one that arguably made Carl Hansen & Søn what it is today.
All four chairs were launched in 1950. Holger Hansen also put the designs into series production, adapting much of his production to these extremely different – and still completely unknown – designs. It was a big risk at the time. The breakthrough did not come.
An initiative for Danish design
At least, not for long. In 1951, Holger Hansen, Ejvind Kold Kristensen and Hans J. Wegner formed an alliance with other Danish manufacturers of Wegner furniture and founded SALESCO. The company's sole purpose was to market and sell furniture designed by Hans J. Wegner in Denmark and abroad. This clever idea made the furniture designer and architect known beyond Denmark – and helped make Danish design known around the world.
And Carl Hansen & Søn? Exports, especially to the American market, offered the company almost unlimited potential. Business boomed. To this day, Carl Hansen & Søn is regarded as a driving force in the Danish mid-century modern movement. But the next blow was waiting.
A woman takes fate into her own hands
Holger Hansen died of heart failure at a young age, leaving behind two sons and his wife, Ella. It was 1962. His son Knud Erik Hansen was only ten years old, and his older brother Jørgen Gerner was 15. Less than 24 hours after her husband's death, Ella Hansen made a brave and unexpected decision: she would run the family business until her sons were old enough to take over.
Until then, Ella Hansen had hardly been involved in the business. She used the entire sum from her husband's life insurance to pay the suppliers. This secured the company's liquidity, but left nothing for herself. Ella restructured the company and brought in long-standing controller Jul Nygaard.
Ella Hansen was a charming young woman. She was very petite and spoke no foreign languages, but people loved her. Whether they were French, German or American, Ella spoke to them in Danish – and she sold the furniture. She did so for another 20 years.
After completing an apprenticeship at another furniture company, her eldest son, Jørgen Gerner, joined Carl Hansen & Søn under Jul Nygaard. Together, they ran the company with care and foresight. By then, demand for the Wishbone Chair was so high that waiting lists at times stretched to two and a half years – yet people never tired of waiting for one of these iconic chairs.
A new generation with strong roots
In 2002, Jørgen Gerner chose a different career path. His younger brother, Knud Erik Hansen, took over the company and ushered in a new era. He inherited a company with 20 employees, producing a chair with a two-year waiting time and plenty of frustrated customers. Within a few years, he had turned it into a growing, internationally successful business, with exports accounting for 50% of sales in 2018. He built a new, modern factory in Aarup in Denmark, outside Odense, and used state-of-the-art machinery to reduce the waiting time for the Wishbone Chair to six weeks. By 2008, the company already had 165 employees. Alongside classic chairs, he expanded production to include more dining tables, armchairs, stools, sofas, side tables and office furniture.
Knud Erik Hansen drew on all his experience and, with hard work and a passion for his profession and the company, changed almost everything. Only one thing still runs uncompromisingly through the company and every single piece of furniture: first-class quality, traditional craftsmanship and sustainable materials – the roots laid by his grandfather and father almost 100 years earlier. That's why it still takes 100 careful steps to make a CH24. That's why the 120 metres of paper cord in its seat are still woven by hand. And that's why its frame is still made from 150-year-old beech and oak from Danish forests.
As the largest manufacturer of Wegner furniture, Carl Hansen is inseparably linked with the iconic chairs of design legend Hans J. Wegner. Yet the company also produces several other important furniture classics – designs by some of Denmark's most influential architects, including Mogens Koch, Kaare Klint and Ole Wanscher. With these masterpieces, Carl Hansen & Søn carries Denmark's design heritage out into the world. Take a look!
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