Quality linen gets trendy

LIFESTYLE: Georg Jensen Damask has become a hit among young people when laying the table, making the bed or when the bathroom and kitchen need new textiles.

A venerable and illustrious industrial era in Denmark’s history will end this year when Georg Jensen Damask starts to outsource its weaving work. The damask textile factory in Kolding is the last of its kind in Denmark. The weaving work will take place in the Czech Republic in the future.

“Outsourcing does not mean an end to Georg Jensen Damask, far from it” says director Peter Hulweg Christiansen. “We are in a renewal process where we are opening new shops, taking in new designers and extending the product range. Even though the weaving itself will happen in another place, it will still be our quality, our design and the unique products which always have characterised Georg Jensen Damask. And with a completely new and modern image. Sleeping Beauty’s slumbers have ended.”

For more than 250 years, Georg Jensen Damask has supplied fine tablecloths to Denmark’s wealthier citizens. When guests were invited and the table had to look its best, the damask table cloth was laid. But the weaving actually started in the countryside where farmers supplied the raw materials, wool and flax, for home use. It was used for clothes, bed linen and all other fabrics sold by the meter. It was not until the beginning of the 1800s that the damask technique, which allows freely drawn patterns, was introduced and the foundation laid for what characterises Georg Jensen Damask today: timeless, elegant and artistic design.

“It was probably the slightly upper class tag – and a not quite up-to-date machine park –which was killing off the company until a couple of years ago,” says Hulweg Christiansen. “For one thing our products are supremely wear resistant, which naturally is a quality mark. For another our image was quite dowdy. Today we are going full speed ahead with everything we are good at, and producing inspirational textiles for the dining room, the bathroom, the kitchen and the bedroom.” By attracting new and enthusiastic young designers, Georg Jensen’s products have become a hit for everyday use as well as among young quality conscious consumers. It is Peter Hulweg Christiansen who has initiated a new ’drive’ in the company.

“We were at a crossroad a few years ago. The company was more or less at a standstill. Investments in production were lacking and the enthusiasm seemed to have disappeared. Together with the new owners, we decided to reverse the trend. One of the decisions was to close down the textile factory and concentrate instead on design, development and marketing. The machinery needed extensive modernisation, but instead of making large investments we found collaboration partners in the Czech Republic who match us for quality, which is something we never compromise on.”

The new times for Georg Jensen Damask have resulted in strongly increasing exports, not least to Japan where Georg Jensen’s designed textiles have turned out to fit perfectly with the table laying culture. In addition, products are being exported to a large number of countries in Europe, and to North America.

In the old days it was the bride’s dowry

“The table laying products still account for the bulk of sales,” says Hulweg Christiansen. “But the other products such as bed linen, kitchen textiles and towels are becoming increasingly more important. Is there any nicer luxury than to crawl into a bed which has damask bed linen?”

http://www.damask.dk