Untitled - Edilportale

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skills and his flair for materials with the new,
functionalistic design trends. He was open
and forthcoming and had an uncompromising
insistence on quality with regard to design as
well as craftsmanship. With unfailing commitment,
and in collaboration with a handful of
skilled craftsmen, he managed to establish a
well-reputed company in only a few years.
In 1960 the staff had expanded to include
six trained craftsmen, and the company had
outgrown the workshop on Nannasvej.
Erik Jørgensen moved to Korinth by Faaborg,
25 kilometres away, and the workers commuted
back and forth until 1965 when the company
returned to a newly built factory in Svendborg.
A considerable investment and a stately building,
which was an extension of Erik Jørgensen’s
level of ambition.
By then the staff numbered 15 workers, and
Erik Jørgensen Møbelfabrik had found a work
form which corrosponded with the founder’s
wish: constantly to contribute promoting
product development for new furniture in
Denmark. Erik Jørgensen went on to take that
measure by collaborating closely with some of
the leading furniture designers in the country.
Ever since the collaboration started in the late
fifties, it has evolved constantly, and today
the relationship between the factory and the
designers is closer than ever.
The new factory in Svendborg made it possible
for Erik Jørgensen to carry out yet another
ambition. As a consequence of the technological
development, the process from drawing board
to living room which furniture went through
was going through a dramatic change in those
years. Within a couple of years the entire
production process was industrialized, and
Erik Jørgensen saw great potential in that
development, both with regard to a more
effective production and making use of new
materials, which could change the design of
furniture radically.
Han var åben og imødekommende og med en
kompromisløs insisteren på møblernes kvalitet,
såvel i designet som håndværksmæssigt.
I kraft af sit stærke engagement lykkedes det
ham på få år at skabe en velrenommeret virksomhed
i samarbejde med en gruppe dygtige
håndværkere. I 1960 var medarbejderstaben
udvidet til seks uddannede håndværkere, og
virksomheden var vokset fra værkstedet på
Nannasvej. Erik Jørgensen søgte til Korinth,
ved Faaborg, 25 kilometer væk, og medarbejderne
pendlede frem og tilbage, indtil 1965,
hvor virksomheden vendte tilbage til en nyopført
fabrik i Svendborg. En stor investering
og et byggeri i fornem kvalitet, et billede på
Erik Jørgensens ambitionsniveau.
På dette tidspunkt talte staben 15 medarbejdere,
og Erik Jørgensen Møbelfabrik havde
fundet en arbejdsform, der harmonerede med
grundlæggerens ønske om konstant at medvirke
til at drive produktudviklingen af nye møbler
fremad i Danmark. Det sikrede Erik Jørgensen
med et meget nært samarbejde med en række
af landets toneangivende møbeldesignere.
Siden samarbejdet med arkitekterne begyndte
i slutningen af halvtredserne, har det udviklet
sig konstant, og i dag er relationen mellem
fabrikken og designeren tættere end nogensinde.
Den nye fabrik i Svendborg gjorde det
muligt for Erik Jørgensen at realisere endnu
en ambition. Møblets vej fra tegnebordet til
dagligstuen var nemlig under voldsom forandring
i disse år, som en konsekvens af den
teknologiske udvikling. Over en kort årrække
blev hele fremstillingsprocessen industrialiseret,
og det var en udvikling, som Erik Jørgensen
så store muligheder i. Både for en effektiv
produktion og for at tage nye materialer i
brug, der kunne påvirke formgivningen af
møblerne. Erik Jørgensens gode ry nåede
hurtigt København, og efterhånden begyndte
flere kendte arkitekter at få deres gang på
værkstedet i Svendborg.
Erik Jørgensen’s good reputation quickly
spread to Copenhagen, and gradually more
established architects started frequenting
the workshop in Svendborg. One day in the
beginning of the 60s, Poul M. Volther had left
his drafting room in the capital and set course
toward southern Funen on a journey which
would lead to the creation of the legendary
chair Corona a few years later in 1964. Poul M.
Volther brought with him an air of the big city
and modern culture, and in many ways the
collaboration with him was illustrative of the
philosophy which Erik Jørgensen had about
design and production. Working interactively
with the architects in order to create the right
combination of form, function and quality was
crucial to him. It was Erik Jørgensen’s firm belief
that his equal flair for the market and craftsmanship,
combined with the creative minds of
the designers, was the key to popular furniture
design. Some of the biggest classics the
company produced were designed by himself,
all characterized by the achievement of balance
between aestheticism and functionality.
The collaboration with Poul M. Volther was
a determining factor for the development of
the company. In Volther Erik Jørgensen had
found a man just as ambitious as him self.
Volther’s perfectionism and Erik Jørgensen’s
enterprising feel for the market was a fruitful
partnership and contributed to the progress
of the company.
After Poul M. Volther, a string of Danish
architects followed, and in close collaboration
with Erik Jørgensen they all laid the bricks of
Danish furniture design history during the postwar
era. Rud Thygesen and Johnny Sørensen,
David Lewis and Gunnar Graversen,
Jørgen Gammelgaard, Verner Panton,
Niels Gammelgaard, Erik Ole Jørgensen and
Hans J. Wegner all contributed greatly to the
development of modern furniture in Danish
homes.
En dag i begyndelsen af 60’erne var det således
Poul M. Volther, der havde forladt sin
tegnestue i hovedstaden og sat kursen mod
Sydfyn på en rejse, der et par år senere, i 1964,
førte til skabelsen af den legendariske stol
Corona. Poul M. Volther bragte et strøg af storby
og moderne kultur med sig, og samarbejdet
med ham var på mange måder illustrativt for
Erik Jørgensens filosofi om design og produktion.
For ham var det afgørende at være i samspil
med arkitekterne for derigennem at skabe den
rigtige blanding af form, funktion og kvalitet.
Det var Erik Jørgensens grundtanke, at hans
føling med markedet og håndværket kombineret
med formgivernes kreativitet var nøglen til
populære designmøbler. Selv formgav han flere
af virksomhedens største klassikere, netop
med blik for det rette forhold mellem æstetik
og funktionalitet.
Samarbejdet med Poul M. Volther spillede en
afgørende rolle i virksomhedens udvikling. Her
fandt Erik Jørgensen en mand, der var lige så
ambitiøs som han selv. Volthers perfektionisme
og Erik Jørgensens entreprenante markedsforståelse
var en frugtbar cocktail og medvirkede
til at drive virksomheden fremad.
Efter Poul M. Volther fulgte en perlerække
af danske arkitekter, der alle lagde brikker til
dansk møbeldesigns historie i efterkrigstiden
i et tæt samarbejde med Erik Jørgensen.
Rud Thygesen og Johnny Sørensen, David Lewis
og Gunnar Graversen, Jørgen Gammelgaard,
Verner Panton, Niels Gammelgaard, Erik Ole
Jørgensen og Hans J. Wegner, bidrog alle
afgørende til udviklingen af nye møbler til
danske hjem.
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