At Wallpaper*, we’re constantly searching for the objects, homeware, accessories, fashion and tech that push boundaries. The Design Drop is where we gather the month's best finds – a running wish list for the design-obsessed.

This month's selection runs from craft with provenance – a hand-weathered bronze light from Original BTC and geometric jewellery from Shihara – to joyful accessibility in the form of Ikea's ‘PS 2026’ furniture collection and new Ilse Crawford lamps. Elsewhere: a Bottega Veneta fragrance, Polaroid's third-generation camera, and the chicest childrenswear of the season.

Read on to discover everything you didn't know you needed this month.

During 3 Days of Design 2026, Georg Jensen took over a space in the city's Højbro Plads (opposite its showroom) and transformed it into a ‘Secret Garden’ to debut its new ‘Georg Jensen at Play’ collection. Featuring silver and stone dice, a woodland-inspired Mikado set, a spinning top, a snail whistle, a yo-yo and a new take on the traditional Scandinavian 'Kubb' Game (here renamed 'Toad'), the series taps into a playful side of the Danish design house and silversmithy, and offers an insight into creative director's Paula Gerbase's approach to the illustrious heritage of the brand.

Since her appointment in 2024, Gerbase has been studying Georg Jensen's history and the opportunities to quietly shake up its heritage in a way that is both exciting and respectful. Recent launches include a home fragrance debut, and a collection of archival jewellery expressing modernist Danish design principles. With ‘Georg Jensen at Play’, Gerbase uncovers another chapter of the company's legacy, inspired by its founder's own life and the approach to silver that has defined its history.

We met Gerbase at Georg Jensen's ‘Secret Garden’ to find out more about how play fits into the company's history, and how it's helping shape her future vision.

Georg Jensen at 3 Days of Design: interview with Paula Gerbase

Wallpaper*: Why did you choose games?

Paula Gerbase: My perception of Georg Jensen before I started was quite different to what I found when I joined. [I saw the company as] something that was quite rigorous; it was about quality and silversmithing, but in my view it had a seriousness to it, and an overarching diligence. But actually, as I started to uncover the history of the man himself, the way that he set up his original atelier, where his roots were from, my perception changed.

W*: Can you tell me more about Georg Jensen’s life before he founded his workshop?

PG: [He came] from this woodland area outside of Copenhagen, quite humble beginnings. As a child, he was a wanderer, and this curiosity was really integral to how he lived and worked. I was told stories of him as young boy, being sent out to fetch milk, and then being surprised at finding a little field mouse, forgetting about the task, and scooping up the field mouse and taking it home.

Then it was fast-forward to his sculpture education at the Royal Academy here in Copenhagen, and then his being awarded a travel studies scholarship, whereby he went to France and Italy, and really absorbed a lot of [local] nature. He then came back home, and when he started working as a goldsmith, most of his pieces were belt buckles, brooches, pendants, all very animalistic: insects, critters, fireflies. So all of those elements led me to realise that what I was actually undertaking was something so much more playful, it had so much more freedom, and was also more fluid in nature.

And I also saw an openness to chance: when [Georg] started setting up his own atelier, collaboration was there from the very beginning, with other artists, sculptors, silversmiths invited come in and reinterpret his own work. This became integral to how he founded the company, but also how he continued his legacy.

W*: How has this shaped your approach to silver?

PG: That openness is something that I would love to recreate here: an opportunity for chance encounters, a space which has some generosity, a playfulness, and curiosity for allowing people to interact with silver in a way that isn't so rarefied. [It’s a chance for] speaking of material, a material that is living and breathing, has patina, and dents, and evolves with time; and of course, it’s absolute quality, but we're showing the material for what it is, which is a very beautiful material that can weather and absorb these simple moments. Because if you inherit something, you're inheriting it with the traces of those moments well lived.

W*: How did that lead to ‘Georg Jensen at Play’?

PG: It felt completely natural to create a space to allow for those dialogues, and for people to be able to touch and feel the material, and maybe also [to give them] permission to look at design as imperfection.

Design should be reflective of the way that we live and [our work] should support and honour that. I think silver as a material can really do that because it does absorb [lived] moments, and it has markings of those moments.

W*: This is an interesting approach for Georg Jensen: we are very used to experiencing the company's objects behind glass. Here in the garden, though, a child was just playing with a silver object and throwing it around. That wasn't on my bingo card for today. I imagine it is important for you to open up the house in this way.

PG: There's, I hope, a humility [that reflects] the spirit of our founder as someone who invited so many different kinds of people into the atelier. And this is also my experience of working in this house, alongside artisans; this is a community, and these relationships, these conversations are actually imperfect, just like a family is. There are moments when you love each other. There are moments when you're arguing about something. But ultimately, it's a space for dialogue.

That is also something that is important for me, to be a catalyst for dialogue; I think that is very much in the spirit of Georg Jensen and maybe it starts to tell different stories about what the house is.

W*: Can you tell me more about the games you are launching? Did they exist in the archive?

PG: They are all new. We've conceived several woodland creatures that are very much inspired by Georg Jensen's own childhood in the woods. And so, for example, in the King's game and the Ring Toss, the King is an arrogant toad, proudly cross-armed.

But we have a history of many playful, small objects in the archive. There are lipstick cases, there's a flashlight, a silver wheelbarrow. There's lots of humour and unexpected moments in silver that you can find in the archive, [and that] inspired these objects.

W*: What are the key themes that you're looking to explore through your role as creative director?

PG: Movement, lightness of spirit, curiosity. I also think about eccentricity a lot, which is perhaps not something that one might currently relate to Georg Jensen, but when I look at the history, there's a huge amount of eccentricity. Of course, this house is also proudly Danish, and so, for me, it's been an education in heritage and folklore.

And actually, we are here [in our ‘Secret Garden’], near the statue of Absalon, the founder of Copenhagen: I saw something interesting and light about putting something so silly in a space that is so filled with history.

W*: How do you think the panorama of Danish design is changing, and how might the future look like?

PG: Each house is quite unique, so I think it's important for the authenticity to start to come through quite strongly. That's a focus for a lot of us – what our own values are. Danishness is, of course, a common factor. But it is not (for us, at least) the only one. So finding those pillars that make each house unique, and leaning into those will allow for a future that is interesting and modern, while also challenging the perception of what design can be – it doesn't always have to be midcentury.

In the canon of design, one region stands apart – defined by a visual identity as distinctive as it is sought after: Scandinavia. Following the early 20th century, the Nordic countries became known for marrying modern industrial design with social-democratic ideals, producing objects that were simple, functional and affordable – and which continue to command an outsized place in the design conversation today.

Denmark remains a particular bastion of this tradition. The country industrialised later than many European counterparts, and traditional craftsmanship retained its influence even as modernism took hold, yielding a design sensibility that achieves something rare: minimalism with warmth. That influence has since permeated broader visual culture, felt in everything from Apple's product philosophy to the aesthetic of contemporary apartments, cafés and interiors worldwide.

The Danish design boom of the 1930s to 1960s gave rise to a remarkable generation of studios and manufacturers – many still deeply relevant today – responsible for some of the most classic objects of the last century. Ahead of 3 Days of Design 2026, running in Copenhagen from 10-12 June, we turn to the stalwarts of Danish design.

Carl Hansen & Søn 

Founded in 1908 in Odense, Denmark, Carl Hansen & Søn is perhaps best known for producing Hans Wegner's evergreen ‘Wishbone’ chair, which has remained in continuous production since 1950; other celebrated Wegner pieces include the ‘Shell’ chair and ‘CH25’ lounge chair. A champion of sustainably sourced wood and traditional craftsmanship, the brand's catalogue reads like a greatest hits of Danish modernism.

Fritz Hansen 

Established in Copenhagen in 1872, Fritz Hansen has achieved the feat of turning furniture into cultural artefacts – foremost among them, perhaps, are Arne Jacobsen's ‘Egg’ and ‘Series 7’ chairs. The brand collaborates with architects and designers to create icons found across the world – in airports, offices and living rooms – among the most recognisable objects of the 20th century. Piet Hein, Bruno Mathsson and Arne Jacobsen's ‘Superellipse’ table remains a masterclass in collaborative design, while Jaime Hayon's ‘Ro’ chair is a welcome addition to the roster.

Gubi

Gubi occupies a glamorous, slightly more maximalist corner of Danish design, making it a top choice for interiors that call for personality alongside elegance. Founded in 1967 by Gubi Olsen and Lisbeth Olsen, the Copenhagen-based brand helped revive the furniture of Mathieu Matégot, as well as produced the ‘Masculo’ chair by GamFratesi and the ‘Multi-Lite’ pendant by Louis Weisdorf. The catalogue has since grown to include the ‘Bestlite’ lighting collection by Robert Dudley Best and Matégot's ‘Tropique’ chair.

&Tradition 

Founded in Copenhagen in 2010, &Tradition stewards classics by the likes of Verner Panton, Viggo Boesen and Flemming Lassen while simultaneously championing emerging talent, harbouring a curatorial approach that respects heritage without being beholden to it. Panton’s ‘Flowerpot’ lamp is possibly among the most recognisable pieces in the collection, accompanied by classics like Arne Jacobsen’s ‘Bellevue’ lamp, Boesen’s ‘Little Petra’ chair and Anderssen & Voll’s ‘Inland’ sofa.

Louis Poulsen 

When it comes to Danish lighting, one name stands above the rest. Louis Poulsen has been shaping the meaning of light since 1874, but it was the brand's partnership with architect Poul Henningsen that sent it stratospheric – the resulting ‘PH’ series, engineered to minimise glare, remains one of the most sophisticated lighting systems ever devised. Verner Panton's ‘Panthella’ lamp and Arne Jacobsen's ‘AJ’ floor lamp round out an extraordinary archive. Based in Copenhagen, the brand continues to work with leading designers to produce luminaires that treat light as an architectural material.

Fredericia

Founded in 1911 in the Danish town of the same name, Fredericia is a furniture house with a roster that’s grounded, tactile and human – favouring longevity over trend-chasing. It includes Børge Mogensen's ‘Spanish’ chair, a rugged piece that has lost none of its authority since 1958, as well as key pieces from Hans Wegner and Nanna Ditzel. More recently, Space Copenhagen's ‘Palette’ and ‘Spine’ collections have added a compelling contemporary layer.

House of Finn Juhl 

The designer Finn Juhl arguably introduced Danish modernism to America, and this Copenhagen house exists to honour and preserve his body of work. Every piece – from the ‘Pelican’ chair to the ‘Chieftain’ – is produced with total adherence to Juhl's original vision, using the materials and techniques he specified. These are poetic objects, each as much sculpture as furniture, with upholstery floating free of the frame, as was Juhl's style.

Georg Jensen 

Since silversmith Georg Jensen opened his Copenhagen workshop in 1904, the brand has been synonymous with jewellery and homeware inspired by natural forms, which feel alive rather than geometric. The ‘Blossom’ pitcher, ‘Acorn’ cutlery, ‘Bernadotte’ serving collection and Henning Koppel pitcher are among its most beloved works, each underpinned by handcraft and material excellence.

'We’ve laid our foundations and there’s the idea that we’re here to stay,' Matter and Shape artistic director Dan Thawley said about the fair’s just-concluded third edition (6-9 March), whose theme was 'scale'. 'In design today,' Thawley said, 'we are always discussing collectible design and it all becomes a bit nebulous, so I wanted to think about it in a humorous way.'

But 'scale' isn’t just about the size of works, it’s also about size of production: industrial companies were showing at the fair, as well as independent designers who have a hand in every one of their pieces’ production. Storied design house Georg Jensen showed 11 reissued jewellery works by midcentury Danish and Swedish female artist-makers; Herzog and de Meuron showed their ‘Hong Kong’ stool (inspired by the benches made for Hong Kong’s M+ museum: pieces are slotted together and held in place by one wooden spike) in a special walnut and ash wood mix just for the fair; and up-and-coming French designer Sophie Taillet had her spinning-top mirrors on display at the entrance to one of the two pavilions in the Tuileries Gardens.

Verre d’Onge, a Montreal-based glassblowing business, has shown at Matter and Shape since the first edition (there are very few exhibitors who return year after year). 'The fair suits our personal tastes,' co-founder Jérémie St-Onge said. 'The clientele is the difference,' co-founder Flor Taillefer-Pérez added, citing that the fair attracts a lot of professionals (Thawley confirmed that it is mainly B2B-focused) and those who work in the creative industries. The fair’s owner, WSN, also owns fashion fair Premiere Classe, which runs during Paris Fashion Week, with tents abutting those of Matter and Shape. This year, Verre d’Onge showed glass bottles in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes. 'They’re very spontaneous forms,' St-Onge said; he let the pieces dictate their own endpoint.

There were some major changes to the fair for 2026, such as a dedicated scent section, which included Ecdysis Studio’s first artist edition of its Cave 0 perfume, created with the use of cave waters, cicada nymph skins and microbial moonmilk deposits.

Matter and Shape architecture by JA Projects

Another change for Matter and Shape was in its architecture, which this year was entrusted to JA Projects. Thawley had met the practice’s founding director Jayden Ali at Frieze Masters, and had also admired his work at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2023, as well as at the Royal Academy of Arts’ exhibition ‘Entangled Pasts’ the year after.

'I wanted to root [the fair’s revamped design] in the context of these gardens,' Ali said, referring to the Tuileries backdrop. He was drawn to the gardens' mix of botany, commerce and civicness, and especially intrigued by the addition of mulberry trees for silk production under King Henri IV – who revised the gardens in the late 16th century. This led JA Projects to the idea of using moiré – a finish often associated with silk – and, along with Studio Hugo Blanzat, the team referenced it throughout (see top), including in a public bench between the fair’s pavilions that was regularly occupied on opening day.

'It’s about new forms of gathering,' said Ali, who also arranged the auditorium’s seating in a way to represent an arena – a nod to the riding school that used to be in that part of the gardens. Following the fair, a lot of the materials used in the pavilions’ construction will be given to an architecture school to, said Ali, 'nudge the dial towards sustainability'.

‘Tis the season for hosting – and, in our view, the secret to a design-forward table lies in the details. Yes, invest in the right cutlery and crockery, but the true joy comes from the unsung heroes of tableware: the butter dishes, the salt shakers, the napkin rings. These characterful add-ons are where you can introduce real nuance.

Read on for our selection of sleek, quirky and design-led napkin holders – small but mighty pieces to elevate your seasonal table.

Chrome is having a moment, and with good reason. There’s something irresistibly sleek about its high-polish finish – delightfully minimalist, yet boldly statement-making. Echoing the aesthetics of early industrial design (chromium plating first gained popularity in the early 20th century) and later midcentury modernism, chrome feels both timeless and cutting-edge.

The appeal that made chrome and other metals such as stainless steel so coveted decades ago remains relevant today. They are ‘modern’-looking, but also durable, corrosion-resistant and easy to clean – qualities that make them perfectly suited to a dining environment. The pieces below bring a chic, industrial edge to crockery, drinkware and serveware – gleaming accents that contrast beautifully with matte ceramics and warm wood.

Georg Jensen launches Home Scent, its fragrance debut inspired by the Danish company's history and silversmith traditions. Based on a series of sculptural scented candles, the collection celebrates the company's key materials of silver, steel and quartz.

Home Scent: Georg Jensen's fragrance debut

'When we were thinking about developing scented objects, of course we could have gone down the route of a vessel, and that would have been natural,’ explains creative director Paula Gerbase to Wallpaper* contributing editor Nick Vinson, who attended the Copenhagen launch. 'But the more time I spent in the smithy, it became so clear that actually the tools and moulds that are anonymous in the background were so integral to the process and so beautiful in themselves, almost as sculptures.'

The candles are cast from original tools from the Georg Jensen atelier, with shapes including a cube in two sizes (originating from a pressing tool), and a cone with a flat top (a spinning tool).

'We are honouring the process: I always feel like Georg Jensen is material first, so anything that we do is really about bringing the material that we work with to light. And we also deliberately left the wax of the candle very natural, almost unfinished.'

The trio of scents represents different facets of the company's work, taking us behind the scenes of its history and craft. While Georg Jensen is known for its silver work, materials like steel and quartz are less easily identified as key to the company's oeuvre. Steel, Gerbase notes, has been used by Georg Jensen since the 1940s, often to reproduce some of its iconic silver designs to make them more accessible. Quartz meanwhile has been integral to the company's work from the beginning, and also a key element in jewellery by Vivianna Torun in the 1950s. 'Georg Jensen also was always using stones with a minerality and a sense of depth and texture,' she says.

The candles' aesthetic also nods to the rough, work-in-progress feel of the atelier. 'Normally people always want pristine, but actually, the thing that I find incredibly beautiful with Georg Jensen is that they all have always celebrated imperfection and the natural expressions of materials,' Gerbase adds. 'If we're going to use wax, rather than artificially polishing it to perfection, we said, let's allow the material to breathe and to own itself in all of its marvels.'

The scents

'When I first arrived at Georg Jensen, I immediately had a multi-sensorial impression of the house,' says Gerbase. 'First, it was sound, the hammering sound that is so rhythmic. But then I had an olfactory experience of silver, of fire, of water, of steam, of something that clings to the air, and that really marked my visceral connection to the product.'

For Gerbase, the scents were about capturing the essence of the silversmithy and encapsulating all the different notes in a product and experience for the home.

Natural, locally sourced notes were used to create evocative scents that reflect each material. The silver, Gerbase explains, is represented by Danish botanicals like oak moss, ivy leaf, expressing 'a certain earthy expression that also has a moisture that hangs in the air, which is how you feel in the smithy.'

Steel, she notes, 'is very grounded', based on the sweetness of raw beetroot. For the quartz, the scent replicates 'the saltiness that hangs in the air in the coast. It's really about capturing the essence of each environment and each material.'

Georg Jensen's Home Scent is available from 15 October 2025, from EUR35

As seen in the March Style Issue of Wallpaper*, photographer Luca Strano and stylist Nicola Neri capture the mood of undone elegance that ran through the S/S 2025 menswear collections with a series of collaged and layered-up looks – a proposition for translating the runway into the everyday.

Titled ‘Cut and Paste’, the photo series offers lessons in embracing fashion’s new mood of eclecticism – a throughline of the S/S 2025 season – whether doubling up on jersey vests or shirts for a subversive twist on basics, leaving buttons undone to expose slices of skin, or tying-up the arms of a sweater for playful new proportions.

Cut and paste: how to wear the S/S 2025 menswear collections

Other garments come with layering built in, whether the trim of lace that emerges from beneath an otherwise quotidien grey sweater from JW Anderson, or a trompe l’oeil belt on a pair of Prada trousers (co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons describe their S/S 2025 collection as one where nothing is quite what it seems).

Elsewhere, a diaphonous sheer top by Dries Van Noten is worn over an Hermès blazer – a satisfyingly strange take on eveningwear – while T-shirts and jackets hang from the waistband of trousers to surreal effect. Meanwhile accessories – from colourful lace masks to colourful nylon sneakers and metal brooches – contribute to the season’s uninhibited mood.

Explore the looks below.

Model: Owen Ruppersburg at Milk Management. Casting: Svea Casting. Set design: Harry Stayt. Grooming: Lachlan Mackie. Photography assistants: Elliott Gunn, Luca Viopelle. Fashion assistant: Sophie Bell. Set design assistant: Marko Ilic. Production assistant: Archie Thomson.

A version of this article appears in the March 2025 issue of Wallpaper*, available in print on international newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.

An ‘intimacy of materiality’ is how Paula Gerbase describes her approach to design, which has encompassed her own labels – the London-based 1205 and the more recent eponymous label Gerbase – as well as a six-year-long stint at British shoemaker John Lobb. In each of these roles, Gerbase has focussed on the way that materials feel on the body: whether her featherweight plissé skins for Gerbase, or the perfect leather hiking boot, designed to stretch to its wearer’s proportions as they walk.

Now, she embraces a largely new medium, that of metalwork, recently instated as the creative director of historic Danish silversmith Georg Jensen which was founded over a century ago in in 1904. The wide-ranging role will see Gerbase – who was born in Brazil but grew up in Switzerland – shape the overall vision for the house, not only overseeing design across various categories (from desk accessories and home scents to jewellery), but also leading collaborations and ‘digital and physical brand experiences.’

Paula Gerbase’s new vision for Georg Jensen

‘I was approached earlier this year with the project [but] was not very familiar with the brand,’ Gerbase tells Wallpaper*. ‘When I began to look deeper into its history it became clear that there was something really very special to dig deeper into; I was intrigued at discovering a house founded by a sculptor, with art as a central force, and a house which has been built with a collaborative spirit at heart. [There’s also] real authentic synergy between art and craft, and a roster of design talents that reads like a who’s who of some of the most prolific talents of Scandinavia and the Nordics.’

The goal, ultimately, is to ‘reinstate Georg Jensen to its rightful place as a truly distinctive Danish luxury house,’ says Gerbase. ‘It is a very unique proposition – artistry is at the very core of its values, as is quality, a closeness to nature, [but there’s also] humour and a certain eccentricity which I have been surprised by and found so intriguing.’

The opportunity has afforded her several trips to the house’s silversmith studios and archives in Copenhagen, the city in which Georg Jensen was founded as a jewellery maker in the Frederiksberg district. ‘[There is such] an extensive archive housed within the headquarters, with not only physical objects, drawings, sketches, photographs but also working models, old store blueprints and so much more,’ she says, noting the ‘invaluable knowledge’ of the in-house archivist and artisans, some of which are third or fourth-generation Georg Jensen family members. ‘It is really a wealth of combined knowledge, passion and shared experience which is a privilege I do not take for granted.’

Of jewellery – a medium she has previously worked on in a personal capacity at Gerbase – she says that she is intrigued by ‘the intimate space within design... in particular in an age of over-communication and over-stimulation. To have the luxury to focus on the detail, on a gesture of a hand adorned with a slither of gold, the sharp satisfying snap of a box clasp on a bangle, the unexpected textural quality of a beautiful piece of rutilated quartz, the possibilities to punctuate, to adorn the body, and to frame small moments of the everyday.’

Her first launch, though, is a series of silver accessories which are a teaser of sorts for her tenure. Each coming with a C-shaped lock, they can be used as keychains, bag charms, or as adornment on a belt, they recreate a series of ‘treasures’ from the Georg Jensen archive. ‘The collection is a representation of the rich history Georg Jensen has and how the house has been central to artistic and creative movements in Denmark through the ages, from Art Nouveau, through to Art Deco, Functionalism and many more,’ says Gerbase, whose next step is to open a London store this month and host an archive exhibition in January. ‘120 years of quality, of artistry, of character.’

georgjensen.com

Add effervescence to any event with our showstopping cocktails and canapés. Take inspiration from our exquisite tablescapes and elegant glassware, and simple but sophisticated recipes, courtesy of Wallpaper* Entertaining Director Melina Keays and Interiors Editor Olly Mason. The art of entertaining starts here.

Cocktails and canapés: hosting in style

The gallery reception, with a Gibson cocktail

Gibson cocktail recipe

Serves 1

70 ml gin
15ml dry Vermouth
ice cubes
2 cocktail onions

Measure the gin and vermouth into a mixing glass. Add ice cubes and stir for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Serve with 2 cocktail onions threaded onto a cocktail stick.

Interval pick-me-ups, with an Amaretto Sour

Amaretto Sour recipe

Serves 1

60ml amaretto liqueur
30ml fresh lemon juice
dash of Angostura bitters
15ml egg white
ice cubes
maraschino cherries

Put all the ingredients apart from the ice and cherries into a cocktail shaker and shake sharply for 30 seconds. Open the shaker and add ice cubes. Replace the lid and shake again for a further 30 seconds. Strain into a cocktail glass and serve garnished with a maraschino cherry.

Candlelit concert

Tea and symphony, with coconut macaroons and madeleines

Coconut macaroons recipe

Makes 12

2 egg whites
100g caster sugar
200g desiccated coconut
1/4 tsp salt
1tsp vanilla paste
6 glacé cherries, halved
90g dark chocolate

Whisk together the egg whites and caster sugar in a large bowl for 2-3 mins until light and frothy, and the sugar has dissolved. Add the coconut, a pinch of salt and the vanilla, and stir until combined. Leave to stand for 10 mins. Preheat the oven to 170°C/fan 160°C/gas 4 and line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Scoop up generous teaspoonfuls of the mixture and roll into balls with your hands. Shape them into 12 mounds and arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Top each with half a glacé cherry. Bake for 10-12 mins until golden, then leave to cool completely on the baking sheet.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water. Dip the bottom of each cooled macaroon into the chocolate and place on a sheet of baking parchment, chocolate-side up. Place in the fridge for 20 mins, or until set.

Madeleines recipe

Makes 12-16

2 eggs
100g caster sugar
100g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 lemon, juice and zest
3/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
100g butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus extra for greasing

Brush the madeleine tray with melted butter then shake in a little flour to coat, tapping out the excess. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a bowl until pale and frothy. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk them in lightly, then place the batter in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Spoon the batter into the prepared madeleine tray, place in the hot oven and bake for 10-12 minutes until they are golden and well risen in the centre. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Front row show

Cassata ice cream bombe recipe

Serves 6- 8

500ml chocolate ice cream
300ml pistachio ice cream
250ml vanilla ice cream
30g chopped dried apricots
35g chopped glace cherries
30g chopped candied orange peel
25g chopped pistachio nuts
cocoa powder to dust
1 litre pudding bowl

Take the chocolate ice cream out of the freezer to soften. Line the pudding bowl with a double layer of cling film. Spoon the chocolate ice cream into the lined bowl and spread it up the sides in a thick and even layer. Place it back in the freezer to firm for 15 minutes, then repeat the process with the pistachio ice cream. Take the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer to soften, then spoon it into a bowl and fold in the chopped fruit and nuts. Spoon this mixture into the centre of the ice cream bombe , smooth the top and replace in the freezer to firm for several hours. Dust the bombe with cocoa powder before serving. 

Private view

Box office hits, with lobster rolls

Lobster rolls recipe

Serves 6

500g cooked lobster meat
5 tbs mayonnaise
1 tbs lemon juice
1 stick of celery, diced into small pieces
1 tbs chopped fresh chives
salt and black pepper
6 brioche rolls
3 tbs butter

Chop the lobster meat into large chunks and set aside. Put the mayonnaise, lemon juice, celery and chives Ito a bowl. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper and mix well. Add the lobster and fold all together until well combined. Check the seasoning. Slice the rolls lengthways halfway without cutting them completely in two. Open them up to reveal the cut sides. Melt the butter in a large frying pan and place the opened rolls cut side down to warm and toast slightly in the hot butter. Remove from the pan, spoon in the lobster mixture and serve immediately.

Grand finale

Gildas recipe

Makes 12

I jar of pitted olives
12 salted anchovies
12 pickled Guindilla chillies
cocktail sticks

Drain the olives and chillies. Take a cocktail skewer and thread a chilli first, followed by one end of an anchovy. Add an olive and then thread the other end of the anchovy onto the skewer. Serve with drinks and other appetisers.

Set build: London Art Makers. Photography assistant: Louise Oates. Interiors assistant: Archie Thomson. Fashion assistant: Kris Bergfeldt

The December 2023 Entertaining Issue of Wallpaper* is available in print from 9 November, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today!

‘The Arc collection is inspired by the modernist design period, which inspired many of our iconic designs,’ says Georg Jensen creative director Ragnar Hjartarson of the newly unveiled jewellery collection. ‘The design language of the period was sculptural and geometrical. This period in design history challenged perspectives, while exploring the boundaries between jewellery and art, which is the very essence of Arc. We wanted the collection to build on this heritage and reinterpret the designs in a contemporary and edgy way. To me, it was important to create a collection of jewellery that is defiantly abstract, universal, and transcends trends.’

Curves and contours of Georg Jensen Arc silver jewellery

Solid sterling silver is teased into sculptural forms in the pieces, which include a necklace, hair jewellery, rings and earrings. ‘The design process for the Arc collection has been all about rethinking silhouettes and how to shape silver in new bolder ways,’ Hjartarson adds. ‘The result is a collection that contrasts smooth shapes with sharper edges, which adds a new daring feel to the organic forms we are renowned for. The Arc pieces follow the body’s curves and contours creating a deep and intimate bond between the jewellery and the body.’

Sharp edges meet curved forms in the swirls of sterling silver, which stay faithful to Georg Jensen’s distinctive sculptural shapes. ‘The main challenge in the design process is to constantly be able to reinvent ourselves while simultaneously staying true to our DNA and our unique design language. With the Arc collection, we have achieved that by matching organic lines with bold and unexpected sharp forms, giving the collection a unique sculptural expression. We are also proud to announce that the Arc collection is the first collection we have launched in 100 per cent recycled silver.’

georgjensen.com

Georg Jensen has unveiled a standalone silver gallery on London’s Grafton Street, representing the Danish brand’s first European outpost dedicated entirely to silverware and hollowware.

Though modest in scale, the site – around the corner from New Bond Street and a stone’s throw from Mayfair’s leading art galleries – immediately conveys prestige, as befitting a heritage label that built its reputation on high-end silversmithing and boasts an illustrious list of creative collaborators, from Johan Rohde to Kengo Kuma. 

Inside Georg Jensen silver gallery

The entrance to the silver gallery is deliberately understated. A low flight of steps leads to a single, vault-like door, flanked by four diamond-shaped windows that are unusually small in a neighbourhood known for opulent window displays. ‘We did not want to reveal much from the outside, as we want the customer to have a unique experience when entering the space,’ says Ragnar Hjartarson, creative director at Georg Jensen.

The store interiors, created by an in-house design team, are minimalist and linear, in a calm palette of white, soft grey and midnight blue. The latter ‘emphasises the silver’s natural elements’, continues Hjartarson. ‘The light in the gallery causes the beautiful silver pieces to cast reflections on the deep blue wall emulating the starry night sky.’

Against this poetic backdrop is a wide range of iconic silver pieces, from striking contemporary designs such as Nendo’s ‘Mizuki’ vases (unveiled in 2021) to cherished classics including the ‘Grape Wine Cooler no. 357’, designed by the brand’s eponymous founder a century earlier. ‘It displays all the trademark characteristics of the master silversmith’s sophisticated take on Art Nouveau,’ describes Hjartarson. To mark the wine cooler’s centennial, Georg Jensen has introduced a matching champagne goblet and caviar bowl.

In between these styles is the work of Henning Koppel, a leader of the Scandinavian modern design movement. With precise organic curves and hand-wired handles, Koppel’s silver pitchers remain cutting-edge seven decades on, and stand as testaments to Georg Jensen’s pivotal role in championing a modernist aesthetic. Also not to be missed is Koppel’s ‘1041’ centrepiece, hand-hammered from a 12kg sheet of fine silver.

Beyond the brand’s own treasures, the silver gallery is a haven for admirers of Danish design, being furnished with archetypically Danish seating – such as a trio of ‘Loafer’ chairs by Space Copenhagen for &Tradition, and the aptly monikered ‘Georg’ stool by Christina Liljenberg Halstrøm for Skagerak. Hjartarson explains, ‘The name of the “Georg” stool inspired us, but it is the simple and elegant design of both the stools and the “Loafer” chairs which led us to use them in the gallery.’

Open by appointment only, the gallery offers an exclusive environment for customers to view and order their desired Georg Jensen pieces, and make requests for customisation. And while the silver gallery concept is new, Hjartarson says it is already shaping the way the brand thinks about retail: ‘We are planning to try different showroom concepts for our silver hollowware, including [at] Harrods Shanghai and Harrods Beijing.’

Georg Jensen silver gallery
14A Grafton Street
London W1

georgjensen.com

For appointments, contact silverware@georgjensen.com

Jacqueline Rabun has drawn on the idiosyncrasies of Nineties London subculture in a new jewellery collection for Georg Jensen, ‘Reflect.’ Sterling silver is teased into sculptural links in the rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets of the collection, in a contemporary rethink of the classic chain.

‘The collection was inspired by my early work, from a series titled ‘Raw Elegance’,’ the designer tells us. ‘It was designed in the early Nineties when I established my studio in London. I was looking back and reflecting on my journey and how the experience of living in a multicultural society and the subcultures that existed during that time inspired my work, including punk.’

Jewellery’s ability to act as a means of expression is referenced in the collection’s name, encapsulating the nuances of an era which encouraged self-promotion. It is a tribute which is reflected in the curved and chunky links which loop together to form thickly drawn silhouettes. Undulating waves form fluid bracelets, or encompass a single yoke in a swirl of silver in minimalist rings.

‘My dream was to create a modern chain design incorporating all that has played a role in forming my design language and, most importantly, the organic and sculptural world of Georg Jensen,’ adds Rabun. ‘The beauty of self expression and individuality are important in my work. Here, my main objective was to create a unique gender fluid jewellery collection for Georg Jensen.’

For Georg Jensen creative director Ragnar Hjartarson, the collection intertwines this edgy aesthetic with the traditional artistry at the heart of the brand, an ethos which comes to life in the campaign shot in a historical Copenhagen location and featuring Prince Felix of Denmark and model Fiona Reventlow-Grinling. ‘This beautiful collection gives the classic chain a brand- new and contemporary look, all while retaining the superior and expert craftsmanship Georg Jensen is known for,’ he says.

INFORMATION

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Drawing inspiration from shapes found in the natural world, Japanese design studio Nendo and Georg Jensen have collaborated on a set of three sterling silver vases with organic, tree-like forms. 

For Oki Sato, founder of Nendo and one of five visionaries featured in Wallpaper’s 25th anniversary project ‘5x5’, looking to nature not only felt like a logical continuation of the Nendo oeuvre (which ranges from the ‘Cabbage’ chair, made from the leftover paper that is a by-product of Issey Miyake’s pleated fabric production, to his sun-inspired spherical cauldron for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but also a logical way to combine the language of Japanese minimalism with the aesthetic of the historic Danish brand.

‘There are many Georg Jensen designs that rely on nature as their primary motif; like a flower or a plant, or just abstract and organic forms you see in the natural world,’ says Sato.

‘And I feel that this is something Georg Jensen shares with Japanese culture, which is closely related to nature, and I think that was the starting point of this project. In particular, the concept of “water” is special for Japanese people who live in an island nation surrounded by oceans and where many make a living through agriculture.’

It takes around 400 hours for the set of three vases, entitled ‘Mizuki’, to be created by Georg Jensen silversmiths in Copenhagen. It is a process that entails hammering the precious silver into its intended shape and then repeatedly melting it at high temperatures to achieve its final form, before finishing them off with multiple rounds of expert polishing.

And with characteristic inventiveness, Sato has also designed the vases to be multifunctional. They can be filled with water so that flowers appear to float on top of them, or used as jugs.‘But I don’t want to limit their function to just a vase or a jug,’ says Sato. ‘It’s up to the user how they interpret the design.’

INFORMATION

georgjensen.com

nendo.jp

The Georg Jensen Gallery, the first pop-up from the Copenhagen-based brand, has opened its doors on London’s Bond Street. The space offers a chance to discover iconic silverware and jewellery collections, as well as playing host to exhibitions.

Currently on show is immersive paper installation Åen (Danish for ‘the stream’), which will run throughout October 2021. Artist Coco Sato, who designed the installation’s curving forms in oval quilled paper, was inspired by jewellery designer Jacqueline Rabun’s fluid silhouettes. Sato brings to life Rabun’s philosophy – ‘fluid shapes symbolise the way life transforms and evolves through our experience’ – for her paper pieces, which coil round Rabun’s classic and contemporary designs, the malleable loops and whorls of the paper reflecting the familiar forms of the jewellery.

The installation pays tribute to the sculptural swirl of silver that defines Rabun’s designs for Georg Jensen, on display in the space and epitomised in the ‘Mercy’ and ‘Offspring’ collections. ‘My design process is inspired by the human experience, and the journey of life,’ says Rabun. ‘The symbolic egg shape form of the “Offspring” collection I designed for Georg Jensen pays homage to the unique relationship between mother and child. It is close to my heart, as the collection was created in 2000 during a special moment when my son was a child. The fluid shapes in my work mirror the human form, so that when the pieces are worn they become a part of the wearer and move with your body.’

The Georg Jensen Gallery space itself, the result of a collaboration between the brand and Universal Design Studio, references both these flowing forms and Danish modernist Henning Koppel’s sculptural 1954 designs for Georg Jensen in its undulating design ticks. Cast in powder pink hues shot with playful bolts of Pantone blue, the interior’s organic design and soft tactile finishes invite visitors to immerse themselves in the jewellery’s sensual nature.

INFORMATION

georgjensen.com

WINNER

Carácter antibacterial tiles, by Marazzi

A particularly timely product, Marazzi’s new Puro antibacterial technology for ceramic surfaces eliminates up to 99.9 per cent of bacteria and other harmful microorganisms. ‘Carácter’ is the first of three collections by the Italian tile manufacturer created using the innovative technology, a permanent treatment that provides continuous antibacterial protection throughout the life of the product surface, without the need for external activation agents such as UV radiation. Ideal for use in residential as well as commercial and public spaces, the stone-effect ‘Carácter’ tiles are suitable for indoor and outdoor floors and walls. In appealing natural tones, with a minimal or more pebbled appearance, the tiles are made from 40 per cent recycled materials, and come in a range of sizes. They also feature anti-slip technology called StepWise. Sophisticated design meets truly useful innovation in a product that will enhance any home.

marazzitile.co.uk; @marazziceramiche

SHORTLIST

As we are spending more time than ever at home, we seek comfort in the shape of pure sound (that also looks good to the eye), technological innovation to keep us safe and a bit of beauty to accompany our everyday habits – be them hand-washing or pouring the perfect cocktail

Beogram 4000c turntable, by Bang & Olufsen

Pioneering Danish electronics brand Bang & Olufsen has revived its iconic 1970s Beogram 4000c turntable. The first of a new initiative to reimagine classic products, the turntable is a testament to Bang & Olufsen’s capabilities in sound, design and craftsmanship as well as its commitment to product longevity. Having sourced 95 original turntables, the Bang & Olufsen engineers worked their magic in the same facility where the models were first created nearly five decades ago. They disassembled and cleaned the vintage designs, then upgraded some of the components, adding a touch-sensitive control panel and RIAA phono pre-amplifiers so that the turntables could be connected to modern speakers. The appearance too has been refreshed while maintaining the essence of the original model: the aluminium element has been polished in a warmer champagne tone, and the turntable now sports a hand-crafted wooden frame and a new cover.

bang-olufsen.com; @bangolufsen

JS50 and JS30 speakers, by Georg Jensen and Philips

For their second creative collaboration, classic Danish brand Georg Jensen and Dutch electronics powerhouse Philips have released a new collection of beautifully crafted audio products. The range includes a pair of pebble-shaped portable Bluetooth speakers, featuring Georg Jensen’s signature highly polished ‘slate blue’ steel and a luxurious, acoustically transparent blue-grey Kvadrat fabric, as well as wireless Bluetooth headphones and a wireless power bank in dark leather. ‘Collaborating with Philips on this new collection has been an exciting challenge for us - it has guided us to design for technology in new ways, but it also has taught us how many of our iconic expressions can rise to the occasion of new frontiers,’ says Georg Jensen chief creative officer Nicholas Manville. 

georgjensen.com; @georgjensen

‘Midnight' cocktail cabinet, by Armani/Dada 

Produced in collaboration by fashion supremo Giorgio Armani and leading Italian furniture brand Molteni&C, the ‘Midnight’ cocktail cabinet goes well beyond the simple drinks trolley: the good-sized bar comes with a sink, practical sliding trays and plenty of storage – including space for an integrated wine cellar. The perfectly functional offering is partially hidden behind a pair of fully retractable Japanese-inspired gilded doors, with vertical walnut rod inserts and champagne satin aluminium details. The unit also features a Rosa Portogallo marble countertop that includes accessories for cocktail making, such as ice-holder and cutting board. An optional LED lighting structure creates a frame for the marble back, which features a wooden shelf with built-in LED lights and golden metal wine glass holders.

armanidada.com

‘Aura’ and ‘Astro’ bathroom sinks, by Marco Piva, for Antonio Lupi 

Resembling slowly melting ice-cubes, Marco Piva’s free-standing bathroom sinks are made of a smooth eco-sustainable resin, Cristalmood, that is manually poured into moulds. Once the resin has solidified, they are sanded and polished to remove imperfections and add brightness. The Milanese designer has equipped both sinks with LED lighting, available in 13 Cristalmood colours, making them rich in light and reflections. The drain and siphon are hidden from view, giving the designs a sculptural presence. ‘Resistant like stone, transparent like crystal, this resin has allowed Antonio Lupi to develop shapes that would have been unthinkable with any other material,’ explains the company’s art director, Andrea Lupi.

antoniolupi.it; @antoniolupidesign

Long associated with handcrafted silverware, as well as table settings and decorative objects in stainless steel, Danish design brand Georg Jensen has ventured in bold new directions of late. Following a new collection of Snøhetta-designed plant accessories, which also represented the label’s first foray into working in terracotta, it has now partnered with Dutch electronics powerhouse Philips to release a trio of audio products.

The collection includes two portable Bluetooth speakers. The larger JS50 is intended for the home, but nonetheless comes with 20 hours of playback time, so it can be easily moved around different rooms for round-the-clock use. The smaller JS30, meanwhile, comes with eight hours of playtime, a microphone for handsfree calls, and USB-C charging that makes it the perfect travel companion. 

Designed with the same Scandinavian flair that has characterised Georg Jensen’s previous output, the speakers have streamlined, pebble-like forms, clad in a mix of mirror-polished stainless steel and Kvadrat’s ‘Audiomix’ textile in slate blue. Compared to Kvadrat’s usual offering, Audiomix has a more open weave, better to preserve the quality of sound. Controls, as well as a LED battery life indicator, are elegantly integrated into a minimal and intuitive control panel at the top of each speaker. Additionally, both models support daisy chaining, meaning they can be used in tandem to create surround sound.

Rounding off the collection is the JP10 power bank, crafted from mirror-polished stainless steel and dark brown leather from Scottish leather supplier Muirhead. Its compact form packs an mAh of 10,000, equivalent to two full iPhone charges, which can be delivered either wirelessly via Qi technology, or through a USB cable. Again, the power button and battery life indicator are cleverly concealed, giving the power bank the appearance of a domestic object rather than a typical piece of technology.

‘Collaborating with Philips on this new collection has been an exciting challenge for us – it has guided us to design for technology in new ways, but it also has taught us how many of our iconic expressions can rise to the occasion of new frontiers,’ reflects Georg Jensen’s chief creative officer, Nicholas Manville.

He continues, ‘Blending our design heritage with Philips’ technical expertise has led to an innovative collection that makes us proud of both our past and our future.’ 

INFORMATION

JS50 Bluetooth speaker, £180 / €299 
JS30 Bluetooth speaker, £110 / €199
JP10 power bank, £90 / €149
georgjensen.com

Nina Koppel’s Fusion ring marked a key moment for Georg Jensen jewellery on its debut in 2000, signalling a departure from the Danish design house’s silver tradition for a first flirtation with gold. Stacking rings are a mainstay of contemporary jewellery design but Koppel was ahead of the game with Fusion – a modular jewellery system comprised of an undulating set of rings, in rose, yellow or white gold. Beautifully engineered to fit seamlessly together, Fusion presents a jigsaw of options for the wearer and in it an element of personalisation. It’s still one of Georg Jensen’s most popular designs.

Now, on the eve of its twentieth anniversary, an updated Fusion collection is launched – and it has grown, with bangles, pendants and earrings. This new incarnation also reminds us Koppel is one of the unseen greats of jewellery design.

After studying textile design at the Kunsthåndværkerskolen, Denmark’s School of Arts and Crafts, Koppel set up a workshop in central Copenhagen, where she collaborated with other designers, focusing on interior furnishings as well as textiles. Her 47-hue ‘Tonus’ design for Kvadrat, which she created for the textile specialist in the Sixties, was one of the first elastic-backed woollen fabrics. It was initially used on the Jørgen Rasmussen office chair.

There’s a strong sense of Koppel’s textile work in Fusion. ‘The core of the Fusion designs is the fluid lines that signify them,’ says Georg Jensen chief creative officer Nicholas Manville. ‘It was important to keep a strong sense of movement as the foundation on which to create the new pieces.’ The original designs were engineered as a locking system, and as such the silhouettes were rigid, with minimal space between the pieces to make a whole.

The new collection stays true to Koppel’s original design – which she devised in 1987 – with lighter, elongated lines. Rather than add something new, Manville and his team have toyed with the organic origins of Fusion. By creating spaces between the wave lines the focus is on the outlines themselves. Or, as Manville puts it: ‘The new pieces are almost an animation of what happens before the elements come together – or fuse.’

INFORMATION

georgjensen.com

From concept to completion, watch Elmgreen & Dragset and Georg Jensen bring ‘The Bed’ to life for Wallpaper* Handmade X. Videography: Mattia Abeni, courtesy of Georg Jensen

Georg Jensen’s HQ occupies a yellow-brick, former porcelain factory building in the leafy neighbourhood of Frederiksberg, Copenhagen. It’s a suitably impressive place, befitting a world-renowned heritage brand, but what sets it apart is what it contains, rather than its architecture. On its first floor is the world’s largest silver smithy, where the time-honoured craft of shaping hollowware by hand, and without the use of moulds, is still practised. There are up to 25 silversmiths working at a time, on an output of varying scale and design, from small spoons to magnificent tureens, and from the art nouveau creations of the brand’s eponymous founder to contemporary tea sets by Marc Newson (see W*200) and Kengo Kuma. Despite the clatter of hammers, the mood is calm and purposeful.

On a cold, blustery day in January, artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset have flown over from Berlin to develop their Handmade project with Georg Jensen. Chief creative officer Nicholas Manville gives them a tour, showing them the 3D printers used for prototyping, introducing them to a craftsman who has been toiling over a Henning Koppel fish dish, then lingering on an egg-shaped bonbonnière from 1908, laden with amber and green agate. This is followed by a visit to the archive, a Wunderkammer crammed with historic pieces and original sketches.

Elmgreen & Dragset come from Denmark and Norway respectively, so they are longtime admirers of Georg Jensen. ‘We’ve seen first-hand how it is an important part of the design landscape,’ they say. They are the first artists to be working with Georg Jensen in recent memory, but artistic collaborations, starting with painter Johan Rohde in 1906, shaped the brand’s early years. An artist collaboration makes perfect sense, says Manville. ‘We have an artistic language that we use in-house when developing designs. So why not work with someone in the art world?’

The artists have brought along a 3D-printed model of their design for Handmade, which will be made in sterling silver and come to be known as ‘The Bed’. It can be thought of as a futuristic interpretation of that ovoid bonbonnière, divided into two halves and containing an upholstered interior in the artists’ signature cyan. Within the base are parallel slots to fit two iPhone X, which, when inserted, would look as though they’re in bed together. Reinforcing both function and metaphor, the interior structure would block both signal reception and sound.

‘The biggest threat to our love lives and relationships might be our use of cell phones,’ says Elmgreen, who recalls that one of his relationships had in fact ended because of his partner’s excessive phone use. ‘The Bed’, therefore, is a relationship therapist in object form, intended ‘to protect real-life intimacy, and protect lovers from the digital interference around them’.

The egg-like form, as the artists point out, comes with the promise of incubation and birth. But ‘The Bed’ also stands for a promise of a different sort – of a mutual commitment to human interaction. The two owners of the piece are meant to put their phones ‘in bed’ as they enter their home, ‘a symbol of each partner agreeing to fully enter the situation of being together’, says Dragset. ‘We live in a world of too many stimuli, so we need to de-invent,’ adds Elmgreen. ‘This is an old-school object, in an old-school material, to contradict the invention of the smartphone.’

Georg Jensen’s product developer Philip Mørch-Lassen, a silversmith with a background in computer animation, was tasked with turning Elmgreen & Dragset’s vision into reality. He runs through the technicalities with the artists – the sharpness of the indentations, the way the lid will close, the choice of fabric for the interior – before mapping out ‘The Bed’ on his computer to calculate the amount of silver required for the piece. Then it’s off to the smithy.

A project like this usually takes half a year to turn around, but with less than three months until the piece had to be exhibited in Milan, the making was entrusted to the finest of experts, Michael Birkefeldt, who has worked at Georg Jensen for two decades, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. His biggest challenge was ensuring a perfect union between base and lid. Once this was done, ‘The Bed’ was fitted with its high-density foam interior, which was lined with felt by a nearby upholsterer.

While Birkefeldt worked to create two ‘Beds’, so one could be shown open and the other closed, Elmgreen & Dragset drew up plans for the display, a half-egg-shaped white plinth with a strip of Black Belgian marble, and a matching reception desk, which would take over the foyer of our venue in Milan, nodding to the suggested positioning of ‘The Bed’ at the entrance to a home.

The finished ‘Beds’ were a hit in Milan, and judging from the fingerprints that kept appearing on the silver in spite of our best efforts to polish it, many visitors couldn’t keep their hands to themselves. ‘It was nice to see how people reacted,’ reflects Manville. ‘A craft that is over a hundred years old came to life in such a contemporary environment. This project has made Georg Jensen bolder about what we can contribute to the conversation between art and craft.’

In fact, both parties were so pleased with their Handmade adventure that they are producing a limited-edition series of five (in addition to the original, bound for Elmgreen & Dragset’s Berlin studio). Manville has plans to send the pieces on a world tour in Georg Jensen stores. So if you missed ‘The Bed’ in Milan, there will be plenty of opportunities to see it. Just resist the impulse to whip out your phone and broadcast that moment on social media – like love, this is an artwork best experienced in real time, in real life.

As originally featured in the August 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*245)

INFORMATION

elmgreen-dragset.com; georgjensen.com

Spurred by an invitation to collaborate with Danish silver and steel makers Georg Jensen, LA-based designer Kelly Wearstler searched the brand’s archives for inspiration. Ironically, Wearstler found a muse for her larger-scale pieces in the small 1968 Möbius brooch – a silver jewellery design without beginning or end. The piece, and its spirit of boundlessness, informs the new ‘Frequency’ collection, a six-piece collaboration between Georg Jensen and Wearstler that uses wave motifs throughout. The line represents the brand’s first significant steel collaboration with an American designer, and a continued shift towards pieces outside of classic dinnerware.

‘We wanted to move into some other rooms of the house, to think of a collection that had more to do with architecture and furniture and to complement those types of worlds as opposed to setting a table,’ Nicholas Manville, senior vice president of design at Georg Jensen, said. ‘We thought of no other person for the job, really.’

Georg Jensen, founded in 1904, in Denmark, first arrived on American shores in 1915, long before it began working with steel in 1941. The Scandinavian designs were welcomed most significantly by the West Coast, Manville said, informing the choice of a distinctly Californian, forward-thinking designer for the collaboration. They immediately looked to Wearstler, whose idiosyncratic hotel projects (Viceroy, Proper, Case) as well as residential designs have helped define contemporary Californian eclecticism, with a maximalist interest in colour, pattern, and texture.

Wearstler, on her part, noted that the title of the collection and its distinctive pattern are meant to evoke ‘California and the movement of the ocean and the landscape, and also repetition which I use often in my designs.’ The collection pieces include ‘Hurricane’ candle holders, bowls, a tray and a vase – versatile pieces ranging from $100-$250 – all using a seamless, rippling effect.

‘They can go together, but each has its own voice,’ Wearstler said, adding that she designed them to be both ‘friendly and sculptural’ to complement any style of home. During a visit to Wearstler’s Los Angeles home, a roughly 100-year-old Georgian-style estate furnished with postmodern, Memphis, and contemporary design pieces, Wearstler displayed pieces from the collaboration; several were also on display in her offices, located in a classic 1960s Harold Levitt office building.

The collaboration will be ongoing. Wearstler mentioned ideas for other sorts of unconfirmed items, such as ice buckets, even at one point floating the thought of a coffee table – which would become the largest item by far in Georg Jensen’s catalogue, in yet another nod to the Californian sense of boundlessness.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Kelly Wearstler website and the Georg Jensen website

A clear instinct for minimalism and pure, organic forms singles out the mid-century designs of Swedish jeweller Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe, better known as ‘Torun’. A prodigious silversmith, Torun secured her first exhibition aged 21. By the late 1940s and early 1950s, she was part of the Paris art studio fraternity, counting Picasso and Billie Holiday as friends.

Torun, who died in 2004 aged 77, is best known for her standout jewellery for Georg Jensen. This year, the Danish design house is celebrating the 50th anniversary of their creative coming together. She began working with Jensen in 1967, creating a jewellery language all her own that was pointedly not in thrall to rare, expensive materials. Her designs include the 1968 ‘Möbius’ collection, made from a continuous, fluid band of twisting silver.

Her approach was consciously ‘anti-status’, and she preferred to work with silver, steel and semi-precious stones, even pebbles. As such, her modernist designs avoided conservative clichés surrounding jewellery, freeing it from its status as a symbol of high net worth and dainty feminine elegance.

Torun also created the Vivianna watch, a spoon-shaped ‘never-ending’ bangle with a mirrored dial and simple hands but devoid of numerals. Originally commissioned for an exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, she said her decision to leave out the hour markers suggested a kind of non-time, so that each time the wearer looked at the dial, the message that ‘life is now’ would be reflected back.

Her work remains an important part of Georg Jensen’s design heritage: ‘The sculptural power and unique lines of the pieces are timeless, and there is a spirit of artistry and craftsmanship, of making jewellery by hand,’ says Nicholas Manville, Georg Jensen’s senior vice president of design. ‘The relationship was mutually supportive and allowed for a level of experimentation that did not always produce commercial designs, but important, innovative ones.’

For the anniversary, Georg Jensen has reworked the Dew Drop neck-ring from a 1955 collection that Torun designed in Paris, after she had graduated from Stockholm’s Academy of Industrial Arts. Reworked in yellow gold, it links with a droplet-like pendant of rock crystal, black onyx and quartz, shot through with needle-like shards of golden rutile.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Georg Jensen website

Zaha Hadid’s experimental volumes and sweeping curves live on in a contemporary jewellery collection that the architect created with Danish jeweller Georg Jensen prior to her untimely passing.

The sculptural collection of rings, inspired by Hadid’s design for the Wangjing Soho Complex in Beijing, was launched by Georg Jensen this Spring at the Baselworld watch and jewellery fair. That first suite was created in Jensen’s trademark silver, with black rhodium accents. Now the collection takes a more precious turn, this time cast in yellow gold with pavé diamond elements.

The linear pieces work with a ‘striped’ relief that is as bold as it is organic, and are each reminiscent of the fluid lines of Hadid’s buildings and Georg Jensen's organic design sensibility. As the architect had remarked at the launch of the first collection: 'Georg Jensen’s classic pieces appear to be of their time, and yet they are essentially timeless; grounded by a deep understanding of materiality, structure, craftsmanship and ergonomic considerations.'

Continuing the Danish house’s tradition of working with external designers to create jewellery ranges, both names were a natural fit. Zaha Hadid is the second architect to collaborate with Georg Jensen: Jean Nouvel designed a collection of flatware in 2004.

It was Georg Jensen creative director David Chu who instigated the collaboration: 'While working in Beijing I witnessed the gradual construction of the Wangjing buildings and started thinking about the idea of Zaha designing a collection.'

Chu admits that the ensuing design process was even more fulfilling than he might have hoped. 'Over the past two years, we were lucky enough to get to know a woman of extraordinary and legendary vision. Zaha inspired all of us – myself included – to think bigger, do better and try harder.'

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Georg Jensen website

At the beginning of her career as one of Europe’s most acclaimed and in-demand architects/designers, Patricia Urquiola embarked on a journey across Scandinavia, attending lectures, visiting ateliers and meeting designers in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Her mission was driven by a desire to discover, to get out of her own comfort zone as a continental Europe designer. 'I wanted to make a connection with the elements, the aesthetics in Scandinavian culture, explore their materials and manufacturing techniques. Look at things with a different eye,' says Urquiola. 'That visit made an impression on me. It was a good connection. I discovered that we had so much in common... that even though I was from a completely different design culture, the architectural rigour to my work meant that we actually understood each other really well.'

Decades after that influential journey, Urquiola is back in the northern hemisphere again, collaborating with Denmark’s premier silverware marque, Georg Jensen. Following previous creative alliances with cutting edge designers such as Marc Newson and Zaha Hadid, the Georg Jensen 'Urkiola' collection features jugs, bowls, vases, trays and an angular candelabra, all made from distinctive, mirror-polish finish stainless steel, with contrasting handles and sections PVD-coated in coppery rose gold.

The 'Urkiola' pieces – bold, architectural, contemporary – are representative of a very modern Georg Jensen; a heritage, luxury marque with a history that spans more than 100 years but is always looking to the future, finding new ways to unite quality craftsmanship and a timeless design aesthetic with a distinctive Nordic vigour, integrity and authenticity.

For inspiration, Urquiola first delved into the Georg Jensen archives, her interest particularly piqued by the ribbed patterns on the classic 'Bernadotte' cutlery range. 'The recent trend for designers working with stainless steel is to make the pieces feminine, fluid and organic,' says Urquiola. 'With the "Urkiola" collection I wasn’t interested in that. I wanted to do something more rigorous. More strict and severe. The ribbed sections give the pieces a strength – both physically and spiritually.' The cylinder is the dominant form in the pieces with sections meticulously engineered to sit inside one another. The collection is resourceful and adaptable too; a vase can be used as a champagne cooler, a pitcher doubles up as an ice scoop, a bowl becomes a desk tidy.

So, why 'Urkiola' and not 'Urquiola'? Patricia was born in Oviedo in northern Spain (her bio playfully describes her as 'Spanish by birth, Italian by choice'), her surname originating from the neighbouring Pays Basque. 'Urkiola', also the name of a Basque country mountain range, is the traditional spelling of the name in the Euskara Basque language (a lexicon that doesn’t include a letter Q) while 'Urquiola' is its Spanish/Castilian rendering. 'Using that version of my name – Urkiola – as the name for the products is a way of coming back to my roots,' she explains. 
Certainly, there is a robust masculinity evident in the tabletop architecture of the 'Urkiola' collection that might well reference the warm, mountainous beauty of northern Spain. 'Those items, they look simple but they are actually quite complicated to make,' she says. 'I had never worked in stainless steel before but the people at Georg Jensen let my imagination run wild. I proposed something rather oblique; the intersection of two solids, one cylinder engaging a second, ribbed cylinder to create an interesting junction. The resulting pieces look simple but were actually quite complicated to accomplish.'

Designing the 'Urkiola' pieces turned out to be something of a learning process for Urquiola. 'Every project I do is an education,' she says. 'For instance, a few years ago I was asked to work with a porcelain factory in Japan. I went into that assignment thinking I had a pretty good working knowledge of porcelain and how to make it perform. It turned out completely differently and I learned so much more! It was a similar experience at Georg Jensen. This is a good thing because I’m curious. And I love to break a prejudice, including my own. Like all artists, I like to move forward.'

Urquiola's velocity as both product designer and architect continues apace with her latest venture – a spectacular new hotel on the shores of Lake Como. Designed, decorated and furnished by Urquiola and her Milan-based team, the recently opened all-suite Il Sereno offers panoramic views of the waterfront and the adjacent mountains. There’s also a private beach and an infinity pool. Guests have the choice of two custom-built Riva speed boats while each of the rooms is accessorised with items from the 'Urkiola' collection. 'We put the "Urkiola" tray and the little jar in each room,' says the designer. 'The hotel bar uses the ice bucket and the champagne cooler. The pieces make a connection with the simple design and materials of the building.' It's an elegant accent of Nordic cool in temperate, northern Italy.

INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Georg Jensen website

ADDRESS

Georg Jensen
89 Mount Street
London W1K 2SR

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Architect-designed jewellery is a hit and miss affair. Often, the misses are more frequent in that designers so used to imagining giant, static structures that people move around in do not always make as easy as a transition to small forms designed to move with people, as they might think. Often, the finished product tends to veer towards the linear and, frankly, masculine, omitting curves and texture – the tactile qualities so central to successful jewellery design. 

Zaha Hadid’s new collection for Danish design house Georg Jensen, launched this week at Baselworld, bucks the trend somewhat. Her architectural forms are, of course, inherently sensuous, and so it is with the sweeps and curves of her jewels. But the real difference here is that she has devised a collection from a jeweller’s standpoint, considering, first and foremost, how the pieces might be worn. 

To that effect, Hadid, a keen jewellery-wearer herself, has focused on the area she prefers to adorn: the hands, creating a capsule collection of hand jewels comprising three cuffs and five rings. There are two material options: sterling silver and black rhodium and diamonds. 

There's a definitive architectural reference too. Having witnessed the gradual construction of Hadid’s Wangjing Soho Complex in Beijing, completed in 2014, Georg Jensen creative director David Chu was increasingly drawn to the notion of Hadid designing a jewellery collection for the house. Of course, he's not the first to approach Hadid to create jewellery but Jensen’s unique history of working with visionary women designers, from the 1960s to today, serves as a natural link. 

'Our starting point was Georg Jensen’s design links to nature,' Hadid confirms. 'We often look at the coherence of natural systems when we work to create environments. Our challenge was to translate that into something that can be worn. This collection gave us the chance to express our ideas on a different scale.'

The Wangjing Soho complex, which Hadid envisioned as 'an interweaving mountain' reflected Georg Jensen’s design preoccupation with organic forms. As Chu says: 'I asked Zaha to design a collection inspired by the Wangjing buildings. This extraordinary suite of jewels is her beautifully powerful response.'

INFORMATION

For more information, visit Georg Jensen’s website and Zaha Hadid’s website

Photography courtesy Georg Jensen

In early October, the House of Jensen opened its doors: located in an ancient courtyard house in the heart of Beijing, it is part of a revolution of the Georg Jensen brand that CEO David Chu has been working on since being appointed in 2013.

Chu’s first priority was to address the brand’s presence in key global markets. ‘When I got involved with this company, it had retreated from Germany and from the States. And it never went into China in a significant way,’ he explains. ‘These are the most important consumer markets in the world today, so I decided to rally our team and focus on them.’

The brand unveiled its Munich store earlier this year, and plans for refurbishment of New York’s Madison Avenue outpost are in place. A new boutique on Mount Street in London is opening before the end of the year, and more locations in the city are slated. But the space in Beijing is the most important step in the journey. ‘We are actually relaunching as a brand in China,’ says Chu, who noted that, while Georg Jensen’s presence in China had never previously gone beyond a few distributors in Shanghai, Chinese visitors are among the biggest buyers of hollowware at the company’s Copenhagen flagship.

The new space will introduce Georg Jensen to the local audience, while presenting Danish culture in a way that is new for the brand. Chu calls the concept ‘a total package of Danish design’: in addition to a boutique, with two showrooms for the hollowware and the jewellery collections, House of Jensen will also include three dining options, bringing contemporary Danish gastro-culture to the city, helping locals and visitors understand what the brand stands for. ‘People will have a full tour of Georg Jensen here,’ Chu explains.

The two-storey, 10,000 sq ft building, restored and updated, is located in a hutong on the banks of the Jade River in Beijing’s Lake District, next to curator Weng Ling’s Beijing Centre for the Arts, and was once part of the arts complex. It features an industrial, glass and steel roof and walkways covered with 300-year-old bricks, exemplifying the mix of tradition and innovation that Georg Jensen does so well.

Visitors enter through a pair of ancient wooden doors into a bright atrium, the core of the dining concept, which includes a library lounge, a bar-cum-café and a fine dining space, called The Georg, all headed by Canadian chef Talib Hudda, chosen by Chu for his experience at contemporary dining spots in Copenhagen. Danish design studio Space Copenhagen, a long-term Georg Jensen collaborator, and behind the interiors of the city’s Noma and Geist restaurants, has designed the ground floor, including the dining areas. Upstairs, jewellery and hollowware are on display in two intimate salons designed by Murray Moss, who acts as a design consultant for the brand.

In a serendipitous move, the opening of House of Jensen coincides with the unveiling of a new product – a silver tea set by Marc Newson. Georg Jensen has a long history of collaborations, designers from Henning Koppel to Arne Jacobsen having contributed, over the decades, to its archive. But the last collaboration for the silversmith department, in particular, was with Verner Panton in 1988, and Chu decided to revive the tradition, enlisting Newson. ‘When Marc told me he trained as a silversmith, I was very surprised,’ Chu says, ‘because of his modern design, which is always about different materials.’

Newson’s diverse creative background allowed him to work with the silversmithy in a way that celebrated its skills but resulted in a contemporary aesthetic. Newson’s design did, Chu admits, pose a couple of subtle challenges to the craftsmen and encouraged innovation. The first is the functional mechanism of the tea pot lid: it opens and closes by sliding underneath the pot’s surface. ‘It’s quite a simple principle, but to actually make it work in a practical, usable way is really difficult to do,’ says Newson. The other element, he explains, is the introduction of fine cane woven into the silver, something that hadn’t been done before. More traditionally, each piece in the tea set – which features mammoth tusk to create the handles – is entirely handmade in Copenhagen.

Chu defines the design as domestic, modest and functional. Newson agrees. ‘The purpose of the exercise is not to reinvent the wheel, but to celebrate a very well-established skill set that exists within Georg Jensen. Given the opportunity to work with such a company as this, I would always go the crafts way,’ the designer explains.

The project originated out of Newson’s passion for tea served the Chinese, ceremonial way, so it is fitting that the set (a limited edition of ten pieces, made to order) is ready in time to be served up as part of Georg Jensen’s Chinese renaissance. Chu sees the House of Jensen as an opportunity to create an artistic and creative hub in Beijing, contributing, along with the neighbouring gallery, to the cultural conversation in the city. ‘People interested in art, design and culinary innovation can come to experience the new Danish culture and design,’ Chu says. As an added bonus, he notes, having a lake in front of the building is considered good luck in China. ‘I am very excited about this opportunity: when things come together in the right time and the right place it is the right thing to do.’

As originally featured in the November 2015 issue of Wallpaper* (W*200)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Georg Jensen website

ADDRESS

House of Jensen
No 1 Yard Jade River
No 45 Dong Bu Ya
Qiao Hutong
Dongcheng District
Beijing

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In 1977, Georg Jensen launched The Koppel, its first wristwatch for men (although it also looks good on women). Designed by Henning Koppel, it was – like everything the Danish maestro did – an exercise in reducing components to their essence. It featured a clear white enamel dial, delicate dots instead of numerals and fine, delicate hands.  

What it lacked was modern mechanical movements. These have been imported into three new Koppel watches launched by Georg Jensen earlier this year. The Mechanical Hand Wound Small Seconds, the GMT Power Reserve, and the Grande Date Annual Calendar are the first in a series of Koppel collections, and more will follow. 

The Koppel GMT Power Reserve takes its inspiration from Koppel’s first horological endeavour: a clock for Danish design house Louis Poulsen & Com­pany in the early 1970s. The new version features an automatic world time indicator in a separate dial. The Grande Date Annual Calendar model has date and month additions, and the Mechanical Hand Wound Small Seconds comes with a sub-dial featuring a seconds hand. Curved crystal windows, alligator skin straps and improved water resistance bring all three bang up to date.

Born in Denmark in 1918, Koppel trained as a painter and sculptor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. Throughout his career, he collaborated with Scandinavia’s leading manufacturers, designing glassware for Kastrup and Orrefors and porcelain pieces for Bing and Grondahl and Royal Copenhagen, but it was with Georg Jensen that he had the strongest ties. Between 1946 and his death in 1981 he reshaped entirely the aesthetics of the silverware brand, creating cutlery, tableware, silver hollowware, (which today fetches six figures at auction) – and watches.

Georg Jensen CEO David Chu says: ‘I knew that to evolve these Koppel designs would take discipline; to add complications was always going to be a challenge. But I believe we have succeeded in creating a new generation of Georg Jensen watches while keeping the spirit of these designs alive.’

‘I knew that to evolve these Koppel designs would take discipline,’ says Georg Jensen CEO David Chu. ’To add complications was always going to be a challenge. But I believe we have succeeded in creating a new generation of Georg Jensen watches while keeping the spirit of these designs alive’

INFORMATION

Find out more about The Koppel watch on Georg Jensen’s website

The super-slim hands and clean dials that define utilitarian post-war kitchen and factory clocks are natural inspiration for classic watch design. Legibility is key when quickly glancing at your wrist, and the graphic characteristics of Max Bill's 1956 wall clock for German brand Junghans, Dieter Rams' clocks for Braun, and Henning Koppel's 1978 wall clock for Georg Jensen are a pretty perfect starting point for any modern watch designer.

London-based Uniform Wares cite original Smiths Sectric kitchen clocks as a primary inspiration when they started designing watches, and now the Nomos Glashütte brand has followed suit with its homage to 1960s domestic design.

It has recently launched the Lux collection that's crafted in gold, and has both the tech and aesthetic credentials of Bill's early design. In fact, Junghans' clock was originally so successful that it was quickly followed by a line of wristwatches. During the mid-century consumer boom, German watch design tended towards a scientific aesthetic - a necessary marketing tactic in a packed arena.

Bill, during his directorship of the Ulm School of Design, designed the clock in conjunction with his students, following the rationale that form must follow function. The dial design of the hand-winding model, with an interior ring of hours surrounded by an outer ring of minute markers, was taken from the school's original drawings.

Last year Junghans integrated it into a sizeable 38mm automatic wristwatch to allow for more clean space on the dial, whether in graphite or black. Georg Jensen is also rumoured to be launching a new line of Koppel watch designs at Baselworld watch fair this Spring.

The Nomos Lux gently mirrors Bill's 1960s wall clock-with-timer. Sword hands sweep around a white dial surrounded by a choice of 1960s Formica colours - pale blue, canary yellow, claret or lilac-grey. The tonneau-shaped case meanwhile is reminiscent of Bill's organic, inverted-teardrop timer design.

Cult minimalists Uniform Wares reworked the simplicity and functionality of British factory wall clocks from the same era for their M-line range. 'As a progressive British brand, a lineage of great British design and style influences our thinking,' says co-founder Patrick Bek. 'We use subtle identifiers throughout the collections to highlight the quirks.' English manufacturers Smiths Sectric and Gents' of Leicester are two such inspirations - an ultra-clean dial bears nothing but hour and minute hands and slightly chunky indices. And, following Rams into permanent-collection territory, Uniform Wares M37, the line's cornerstone piece, is a steady fixture in San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's Architecture and Design collection.