Femten

ExPPermenter, Handvaerk og Experimenter fra PP by Hanne Kjaerholm Danish Design Center

This article mainly focused on the major craftsman in Danish Design and elaborate on each of their specialties and roles as designers. The article highlights the importance of traditional craftsmanship and it's influential  place in Danish society today. Hans Sten Moller is quoted best in the article "The magic of the workshop- Where hand and mind unite." It seems the general appreciation for hand craft is the intimacy between craftsman and material that is lost with mass production and industrialization and that given craftsman and designers embody best. Some of these characteristics include focus on quality, identity, creating community and working cohesively with each other and those they are creating for. Often times with craftsman there is a very cohesive work environment between the designer, the craftsman and the producers. If there is not the designers original intent and design initiatives are lost in translation and the intimacy that should be transferred from designer to consumer is entirely lost. The article speaks of several important designers...

Hans J. Wegner speaks animatedly about the importance of the workshop and enjoys paying visit to PP Mobler in Allerod...a workshop he has followed for nearly 50 years. Wegner grew up in a workshop watching his father make shoes in Tonder. Here Wegner learned how to handle tools and understand the nature of wood. Surrounded by other workshops Wegner learned much through a close knit group of craftsman.

PP Mobler, established in 1953 by brothers Lards Poder and Ejnar Pode, is one of the few joinery firms left anywhere in Denmark. Both were trained as cabinet makers. Their workshop was based on the principles of hand craftsmanship with extreme attention to material, function and form. While remaining true to their intent the brothers were open to experimentation and enjoyed working closely with other designers and craftsman to come up with new designs and ideas.

Nanna Ditzel is considered the grandmother of Danish craftsmanship and furniture design. She collaborated closely with Ejnar Pederson of PP Mobler. Nanna focused on creating sensible functional designs while also contributing a renewed sense of space and form. Her pieces were quite sculptural and could stand alone in a room, able to make a beautiful statement.

Kaare Klint was one of the first designers to change the focus from production for the individual  to production for the masses. He studied the way people live and what is truly necessary within  the home. Some could say that with this transition from individual designs to designs for the masses  there is a loss of culture expressed in design. However it was his ideals to design for the masses that made it affordable and practical for all to have accessibility to good design.

Today's modern design industry focuses mostly on money and efficient production. With this focus much of the intimacy of latter years is lost. In today's design society there is less knowledge of construction, materials and production. Whereas in the past students like Wegner learned by watching and handling materials, today students are not challenged with practical learning. While we may read from textbooks and create models of our studio projects we are not truly familiar with the materials by the time we're finished with our education. We are placed in the market place without much of an idea as to how we should really be designing. While modern industry allows for the masses to have accessibility to design it may not be quality. Where a design society once set precedence on quality not quantity we are beginning to see a transition to a society that is focused and dependent on quantity not quality. The entire idea that all could have accessibility to good design is lost if the quality of design is faltering.