The mother of all sofas

DESIGNER FURNITURE: Danish furniture design has had world class status since the middle of the 20th century. The craftsman and upholsterer Erik Jørgensen is among the design icons whose sofa EJ220 has been called simply “The Mother of All Sofas.” Today Jørgensen’s factory represents a groundbreaking collaboration with young, progressive designers.

EJ220

It is called “The Mother of All Sofas” for a reason. This design, with the unpretentious name EJ220, is the most inspiring and certainly the most copied of all designer sofas sold worldwide today. EJ stands for Erik Jørgensen, the craftsman and upholsterer who became a designer and a legend in Danish furniture design, both in his own right and for his collaboration with other icons like Hans Wegner, Verner Panton and Poul M. Volther. Today Jørgensen’s name is carried on by his two sons Niels and Ole at the factory in Svendborg. Erik Jør-gensen himself passed away in 1998. But all his monumental work in upholstery and leather lives on.

“Plus a lot more new and progressive furniture by young and revolutionary, but quality conscious designers who will carry the torch further,” says Niels Jørgensen. “We never forget the golden age when chairs such as Corona and Oxchair were created, nor the 1990s either, when names like Johannes Foersom and Peter Hiort-Lorenzen helped to create some of our greatest sales successes. But it is the young and innovative individuals who will shape the future.”

One of the great merits of the Erik Jørgensen Furniture Factory is the establishment of a design prize which is awarded biennially at the Danish furniture fair. The prize was given for the first time in 1995, and was won by the two young designers Anne-Mette Jensen and Morten Ernst. The winning item of furniture was an amazing double chaise longue named Waves. Just like all other furniture from the factory, it is only produced to order: most recently to a multi-billionaire who wanted it for a country home in Rocky Mountains. The almost sculptural piece was supplied covered with the finest mink from Saga Furs.

“The special thing about our design competition is that the maximum age for entrants is 35,” says Ole Jørgensen. “It is the young and preferably slightly mad we seek, who can come with daring ideas about how furniture should function. We make it a requirement that entrants have a strong feeling for good workmanship. And the results must last.”

Niels Jørgensen adds:

“It must also be something playful. There must be a playful element in the furniture. And preferably something amusing. The furniture must surprise us and make us feel happy.”

In addition to producing the standard furniture range, the Jørgensen brothers have recently put increased emphasis on collaboration with interior designers, and on development and adaptation of furniture for the concept market. This applies for instance to a number of specially designed items of furniture for The Wave Copenhagen’s new opera house, and to the design for the flagship stores of Bang & Olufsen round the world. The company has also supplied a number of furniture items for the redesigned Museum of Modern Art in New York.

“And when all this has been said, we always return to our father’s sofa EJ220, and two others in the range: 600 and 56. They are quite simply so classic that they never will go out of fashion.”

The Wave