Nanna Ditzel, 1950s Egg-Shaped Hanging Cane Chair by Bonacina Pierantonio, 1959

Nanna Ditzel was the most versatile and creative female designer that Denmark produced in the 20th century. Ditzel brought her talents to bear on a staggering array of forms — she designed furniture, jewelry, tableware and textiles; and she shaped her pieces using an equally astonishing variety of materials, from wood and wicker to silver, ceramics and fiberglass.

Born in Copenhagen, she trained as a cabinetmaker at the Royal Academy's furniture school — overseen by the great craftsman of the day, Kaare Klint — and graduated in 1943. Ditzel’s early work adhered to the classic Danish modernist tenets of simplicity, comfort and quality, and her armchairs, with their softly curved backrests are much in the spirit of Hans Wegner. Ditzel’s signature piece of that time is her Ring chair. Designed along with her husband, Jørgen Ditzel, a fabric maker, the chair has a semicircular padded armrest that seems to embrace the sitter. Ditzel began designing in wicker and in 1959 produced the Hanging chair. The piece, suspended from the ceiling by a chain, became a favorite for fashion shoots and may be as iconic of the 1960s as Eero Aarnio’s plastic Ball chair of 1963.

In 1956, Ditzel began designing for the Danish silverware firm Georg Jensen. In an association that lasted some 40 years, Ditzel would create organically shaped jewelry, barware, ceramic tableware and even tablecloths. Like her fellow Dane Verner Panton, Ditzel was not afraid to embrace industrial materials, and she began designing fiberglass chairs in the mid-1960s. Some of her most flamboyant work came toward the end of her career, in pieces such as 1989’s Bench for Two, with its shocking Op-art finish, or the Trinidad chair of 1992, with it’s sunburst-like, cut-though backs. Such feats of creativity were a fitting coda to one of the most imaginative, prolific and remarkable women of modern design.

For more than 130 years, Italian furniture producer Bonacina has fostered the fine art of rattan weaving. The company’s vast collection of alluring furniture pieces was developed under four generations of the Bonacina family. Bonacina is now leading a rattan resurgence with its line of beautiful and stylish chairs, including lounge chairs and armchairs.

Bonacina was founded in 1889 by Giovanni Bonacina in the renowned Italian furniture-making region of Brianza. He drew on the area’s history of basketry, using local cane and reed, in addition to Southeast Asian rattan, to weave furniture. Every piece of Bonacina furniture was and continues to be handmade.

In the 1950s, the company passed to Giovanni’s son, Vittorio Bonacina. Vittorio had a finger on the pulse of modern furniture design and moved Bonacina forward through collaborations with acclaimed mid-century creators like Gio Ponti, Renzo Mongiardino, Gae Aulenti, Joe Colombo and Franco Albini. Albini’s Margherita chair endures as one of Bonacina’s most iconic designs.

Vittorio’s son, Mario Bonacina, helmed the company in the 1980s. Mario embarked on a project to release updated versions of some of Bonacina’s historical pieces. He continued working with modern designers and encouraged a company ethos of environmental sustainability.

Mario’s son, Elia Bonacina, joined the company in 2012. In 2013, Elia designed the Eris rattan lighting fixture, bringing a fresh perspective to the company's catalogue. In 2015, he acquired the Italian furniture brand Pierantonio Bonacina, which was started by another Bonacina family branch, and established a joint venture named Bonacina1889 s.r.l.

Bonacina’s exceptional designs have earned the company accolades at international exhibitions, including top prizes at the Triennale Milano and multiple Compasso d’Oro awards. Today, Bonacina retains the use of traditional materials and techniques while looking to the future. Most recently, it expanded into the outdoor furniture market.

On 1stDibs, find Bonacina seating, garden furniture, wall mirrors and more.