Grete Jalk Teak Sofa, Denmark, 1960s

What would the reputation of mid-century Danish furniture be without legendary female designer Grete Jalk? A pioneer of Scandinavian modernism, Jalk sought to craft furniture that was both cost-efficient and high in quality, each piece made for the evolving interiors and design sensibilities of the day. She continues to be celebrated for her sleek and minimal armchairs, lounge chairs, coffee tables and more.

Jalk was born in 1920 in Copenhagen. She studied at the Drawing and Applied Art School for Women before enrolling at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, where famed designer Kaare Klint was among her instructors. Jalk completed her studies in 1946 and began a cabinetmaker apprenticeship. That same year, she won an award at the Copenhagen Cabinetmakers’ Guild competition. Jalk also participated in the 1951 Milan Triennial exhibition, where her designs earned more acclaim and attention.

In 1954, Jalk opened her own design studio and began working with major Danish furniture manufacturers like Fritz Hansen and Glostrup Møbelfabrik. She found inspiration in plywood experiments carried out by Alvar Aalto and Ray and Charles Eames, and she quickly became known for her pared-back, expressive designs, which touted fluid forms and were made of alluring woods such as teak and rosewood.

Jalk’s best-known work is the 1963 GJ chair, a collaboration with cabinetmaker Poul Jeppesen that won first place in the Daily Mail International Furniture Competition. Made of two pieces of molded teak plywood, the sculptural GJ lounge chair is part of the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and Metropolitan Museum of Art.

While creating her iconic furniture designs, Jalk wore many other hats. She taught at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and served as an editor of the Danish design magazine Mobilia from 1956–62 and 1968–74. In 1974, Jalk curated a traveling design exhibition for the Danish Foreign Ministry and was named a member of the Danish Design Council in 1981. She was also the editor of 40 Years of Danish Furniture Design: The Copenhagen Cabinet-makers' Guild Exhibitions 1927–1966, published in 1987.

Jalk passed away in 2006 at the age of 86. In 2008, Danish furniture manufacturer Lange Production was granted exclusive rights to reproduce the GJ chair, a design as fresh and original today as ever.

On 1stDibs, find vintage Grete Jalk seating, tables and storage pieces.

The giant of mid-century furniture design France & Søn began its remarkable journey as a Danish firm specializing in the production and exporting of Scandinavian design called France & Daverkosen.

British businessman Charles William Fearnley France and Danish cabinetmaker Eric Daverkosen entered into a joint venture in 1936 — France being the investor and Daverkosen the head designer for their small mattress factory. Soon after production started at the France & Daverkosen company, Daverkosen became quite ill.

Concerned for his friend and their fledgling business, France traveled to Denmark, and Daverkosen died soon after his partner arrived. While France was attempting to make arrangements to transfer the company into his hands, World War II erupted, and Germany invaded Denmark. As a British citizen, France was captured and sent to a prison camp in Germany.

While in captivity, France developed several manufacturing ideas to pass the time and to keep his mind focused. He imagined a way to create lightweight wooden chairs that could be manufactured on an industrial scale and transported using an economic flat-pack format. He also thought of a way to retool his mattress factory to create chair backs, seats and sofa cushions. 

Once freed, France returned to his business in Denmark and began to manufacture beech and teak goods that were gaining widespread acclaim around the world. He began to surround himself with some of the best Scandinavian designers of the time: Finn Juhl, Grete Jalk and Ole Wanscher, to name a few.

By 1954, France & Daverkosen accounted for 60 percent of all Danish furniture exports and their factory employed 350 people. Charles’s son James joined the company in 1957, which resulted in the name change to France & Søn.

Later, France & Søn was acquired by Danish designer Poul Cadovius, who folded it into the operations at CADO, a company he founded during the 1950s. 

On 1stDibs, find France & Daverkosen seating, tables and more.