Designed by Jens Risom
Jens Risom™ 1943 / 2018
Product description:
Described as good, honest furniture design, the Risom Collection helped establish Knoll as an early source of modern design in America. Three-quarters of a century later, selected products from the original collection have been re-engineered for outdoor use. Oiled teak frames and Sunbrella® webbing ready these classics for a life outside.
Product story
Originally known as the 600 Series, the Risom Collection was the first furniture ever commissioned and manufactured by the Hans Knoll Furniture Company. Prior to meeting Jens Risom, Hans Knoll operated as an importer and distributor of European Designs. Knowing that the war would disrupt his supply lines, Hans sought a designer to develop original Knoll Furniture that could be produced locally in New York. Serendipitously, Jens Risom was looking for a salesman to promote his work. They found each other in 1941, and the two young men-just 23 and 24-embarked on a four-month research tour of the United States. Risom later recalled: "There was no furniture, nothing to be had...everybody was anxious to buy everything they could get their hands on.
With this in mind, Risom designed a complete line of simple modern chairs, tables and storage that could be made locally, with materials not limited by wartime supply restrictions. Risom's approach was perfectly suited for the challenge: "Design is a creative effort to successfully solve problems; 'good design,' therefore, is a 'good solution' which must satisfy the many requirements. The resulting furniture, which Risom described as "very basic, very simple, inexpensive, easy to make was made from offcast wood and discarded nylon webbing from parachute factories.
Jens Risom
The first true Knoll designer, Jens Risom joined the young Hans Knoll Furniture Company in the early 1940s as the sole designer of interiors and furniture. After collaborating on an exhibition for the New York World's Fair, Hans Knoll asked Risom to help him design interiors for clients around New York.
In 1942 they printed the first Knoll Catalog, which included 15 pieces designed by Risom - the very first furniture to be commissioned specifically by Knoll. Working ingeniously within the constraints of wartime material shortages, Risom developed several chairs and tables using essentially scraps of wood and rejected nylon straps from parachute production. Despite these constraints, Risom was able to design innovative and truly modern pieces of furniture.
Specifications:
- Sunbrella® Webbing uses reinforced yarns that are UV/fade resistant, water repellent, bleach-cleanable, stain resistant and are designed to flex
- 87% Sunbrella Acrylic
- 13% Sunbrella Polyester
- Frame is solid teak with an oiled finish
- Teak will weather with exposure to the elements, turning silver over time
Last Updated 7 months
