Page 34 - VE Magazine - Issue 26

The 1940s Thumb chair
YOU’LL PROBABLY RECOGNISE these pieces – or at least one of them – but you may well know very little about the Swedish designer who created them all. Their classic look, and the fact that they are still so plentiful
on the market, is proof of their high quality in design, comfort and function. The fabulous chairs and sofas of Arne Norell (1917-1971) are like the finest cashmere of the furniture world, made to live with for generations.
Norell began designing chairs in Sweden in the late 1940s – ‘The Thumb’ chair was designed for Gösta Westerberg – and started his own workshop in Stockholm in 1954 before moving to
Småland in southern Sweden in 1958 to develop the company Möbel AB Arne Norell.
When the first Norell Furniture appeared on the Swedish interior design stage, it had immedi- ate impact. The founder of the company as well as its designer, Norell’s exciting new products had a very personal style. He quickly became a well-known name to consumers, interior decor- ators and architects alike.
Arne Norell was versatile. Beyond leather and rosewood, he experimented with bentwood, turned wood, leather, fabric, steel and metal of varying compositions. A multifaceted designer who tried out many different combinations to build up a piece, his ambition was to create functional pieces of furniture where the shape
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PRISONER OF LOVE
STRAPS, BUCKLES, LEATHER, WOODEN PLUGS, SLINGS AND HARNESSES... NO NOT MEDIEVAL TORTURE OR DOMINATRIX INVENTORY, IT’S SEATING BY ARNE NORELL – AND WHO WOULDN’T WANT IT IN THEIR LIFE?