Carl Hansen shelving systems

Carl Hansen & Søn was established in 1908 by Carl Hansen of Odense, Denmark. The company is based on a 100-year tradition of exclusive furniture manufacturing, where the utmost care and passion for craftsmanship are the hallmark. Carl’s son Holger took over the carpentry business in 1934 and began collaborating with some of Denmark’s most promising and talented designers.

One of these was Hans J. Wegner, who would go on to create the modern classic Y Chair, for example.

More than 100 years of passion and careful craftsmanship

The collaboration between Carl Hansen and Hans J. Wagner would prove to be a turning point for both parties. In 1949, Wagner designed four chairs for the brand. Among them we find the iconic CH24 (also called the Y Chair or the wishbone chair) and the CH25 chair made of solid oak and waxed paper cord. In the early 1950s, Wagner was an unknown name on the Danish market and it took time for interest in his modernist designs to take off. The CH24 and CH25 are now international classics, although the majority of Y Chairs are still sold in Denmark. As in the rest of Scandinavia, the light wood version is most popular with Danes, while in Japan, Carl Hansen’s biggest market, darker types of woods such as cherry and walnut are favored.

The tradition of working with talented designers and architects lives on today. Today’s collaborations include the innovative Danish design duo Strand & Hvass, Thomas Bo Kastholm, son of the famous Danish architect Jørgen Kastholm, and the world-famous Japanese architect Tadao Ando. The company is also the world’s largest producer of furniture designed by Hans J. Wegner and still manufactures all the furniture in Denmark, selling it all over the world. Since 2001, the company has been run by Carl Hansen’s grandson, Knud Erik Hansen. Since its inception, the company has stood for the combination of traditional craftsmanship and new technology, producing high-quality furniture at reasonable prices.