E018 Embrace Outdoor Lounge Chair with Cushion

For Knud Erik Hansen, grandson of founder Carl Hansen and now the third-generation leader of the family-owned business, the way to the future also means honoring what has come before. Beginning in 1908 when a young cabinetmaker opened a small furniture workshop on the Danish island of Funen to today with Carl Hansen & Søn numbering some 400 employees worldwide, the company’s core mission in producing exceptional Danish Modern furniture has never wavered — an uncompromising commitment to the finest craftsmanship as reflected in the work of the best designers of the past and present.

The turning point came in 1949, when Carl’s son Holger Hansen took a chance on the then-unknown Hans J. Wegner, since revered for his now-classic Wishbone Chair, and the union continues to this day with the company as the world’s largest producer of Wegner’s furniture manufactured in Denmark. Alongside other Midcentury benchmarks from the likes of Ole Wanscher, Frits Henningsen, Arne Jacobsen and pioneering female architect Bodil Kjær, the company continues to introduce work from new Danish visionaries such as design duo Strand + Hvass, Thomas Bo Kastholm, Anker Bak and multidisciplinary artist Naja Utzon Popov. “If we play it cleverly and maintain our high quality and sustainability we have a great future,” says Knud Hansen. “Our furniture lasts for generations, so our quality is the key to our continuity. We have been producing wood furniture in Denmark for thousands of years.”