Erik Magnussen was born in Copenhagen in Denmark in 1940, where he also trained as a ceramicist. In 1960, he graduated from the School of Arts and Crafts and received a silver medal for his final project.
He worked for Bing & Grøndahl for many years. His later work includes furniture for Fritz Hansen A/S, door handles for Franz Schneider Brakel GmbH, pewter tableware for Royal Selangor, stainless steel and plastic tableware for A/S Stelton, porcelain lamps for Licht & Form and furniture for Paustian A/S. The designer achieved worldwide fame with the vacuum jug he designed for Stelton in 1977.
Erik Magnussen focused on the things in life that people really need. For him, these were above all a beautiful place to sit and home accessories that turn eating and drinking into a pleasure.
Many of his products are held in international museums. He received the Lunning Prize in 1967 and the Annual Furniture Prize in 1977; in 1983, the Danish Design Council named him Designer of the Year, and his designs received several ID Prizes. In 1996, Erik Magnussen received the Bindesbøll Medal as well as grants from the Ole Haslund Foundation, the anniversary fund of court jeweller A. Michelsen and the Knud V. Engelhardt Foundation.
In 1997, he received the Red Dot in the "Design Innovations '97" competition from Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen and won the "Good Design Gold Prize" from the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization.
