Untitled - Edilportale

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In 1982 the company changed its strategy
and entered the growing market for design
furniture aimed on the contract market. By then
the first companies were beginning to profile
themselves through design and interior design,
and Erik Jørgensen clearly saw the potential of
that market. It was a visionary decision, made
exclusively by Erik Jørgensen, and the company
became the first northern-European supplier
of fully upholstered furniture for the world of
business and commerce. At the same time the
private market was weathering some difficult
years, so from a business point of view alone,
the decision turned out to be profitable.
An additional positive about the change was
that the collaboration with the foremost
Danish furniture designers was revitalized.
Erik Jørgensen was inquisitive by nature,
always on the lookout for new visual modes of
expression, so it was not surprising when he
in 1983 began collaborating with two young
architects, Johannes Foersom and Peter Hiort-
Lorenzen. The occasion was The Joiners’ Fall
Exhibition in Helligåndskirken in Copenhagen,
and the project was called Rotor.
After the minimalist and pared down design
of the 70s, the attitude toward design in
Europe was changing, and a design collective,
Memphis, was leading the way. The group
experimented with new materials and a very
conceptual attitude towards design, and in
Denmark Johannes Foersom and Peter Hiort-
Lorenzen were two of the finest exponents of
this new visual idiom, which marked a break
both aesthetically and commercially. With the
sofa Rotor they had created a beautiful and
functional piece of furniture, which, dependent
on the positioning of the movable back
elements, can be transformed from a two seat
sofa into a tete á tete sofa or a chaise longue.
For Erik Jørgensen Møbelfabrik Rotor marked
their entry on the new market, and it was about
the same time that Pipeline saw the light of day.
I 1982 ændrede virksomheden strategi og
bevægede sig ind på det spirende marked for
designmøbler til erhvervslivet. På det tidspunkt
var de første virksomheder begyndt at
profilere sig gennem formgivning og indretning,
og Erik Jørgensen så klart markedets potentiale.
Det var en visionær beslutning, egenhændigt
truffet af Erik Jørgensen, og virksomheden blev
den første nordeuropæiske leverandør af fuldpolstrede
møbler til erhvervslivet. Samtidig
gennemlevede privatmarkedet nogle vanskelige
år, så også forretningsmæssigt var beslutningen
en gevinst.
Det var endnu en gevinst, at samarbejdet med
de mest fremtrædende danske møbeldesignere
blev revitaliseret af skiftet. Også som menneske
var Erik Jørgensen nysgerrig og konstant på
udkig efter nye visuelle udtryk, og derfor var
det ikke overraskende, at han i 1983 indledte
et samarbejde med de unge arkitekter
Johannes Foersom og Peter Hiort-Lorenzen.
Anledningen var Snedkernes Efterårsudstilling
i Helligåndskirken i København, og projektet
hed Rotor.
Efter 70’ernes minimalistiske og beskedne
design var opfattelsen af formgivning i Europa
ved at ændre sig ført an af designkollektivet
Memphis. Gruppen eksperimenterede med nye
materialer og en meget konceptuel tilgang til
design, og i Danmark var Johannes Foersom og
Peter Hiort-Lorenzen blandt de fineste eksponenter
for det nye formsprog, der markerede
et nybrud æstetisk såvel som kommercielt.
I sofaen Rotor skabte de et smukt og funktionelt
møbel, der alt efter de bevægelige rygdeles
placering kan forvandles fra en tosædet sofa
til en tete á tete sofa eller chaiselong.
Rotor markerede Erik Jørgensen Møbelfabriks
indtog på det nye marked, og stort set samtidig
så Pipeline dagens lys. En visionær og spektakulær
nyskabelse, et superfleksibelt, modulopbygget
system af sofaer, der medvirkede
til at sikre Erik Jørgensen et både markant og
A visionary and spectacular new creation, a
super-flexible, module-constructed system
of sofas, which contributed to establish
Erik Jørgensen as someone with a considerable
and solid foothold on the contract market. The
collaboration with Foersom & Hiort-Lorenzen
led to other great victories. Partner from 1992
is one of the biggest commercial successes
of Erik Jørgensen Møbelfabrik. Today the
company offers a line of furniture from lobbies
to waiting rooms, the minister’s office and the
conference room. A full program, which, in
addition to the constant evolution of home
design furniture, ensures that Erik Jørgensen
Møbelfabrik hold solid positions in two
profitable markets.
Encouraged by the successful collaboration
with Johannes Foersom and Peter Hiort-Lorenzen
and wishing to follow the development in
Danish furniture closely, the company decided
to set up the Erik Jørgensen Møbelfabrik Design
Award, which is given out every other year. The
intention of the prize is to maintain and develop
the collaboration with young designers and
innovative design conceptualization. The first
winner was the double chaise lounge Waves
designed by Anne-Mette Jensen & Morten Ernst.
Along with Louise Campbell, they belong to a
new generation of talented designers with whom
Erik Jørgensen Møbelfabrik is collaborating.
From 1994 Erik Jørgensen’s oldest son,
Niels Jørgensen, gradually took over the daily
management of the company, including responsibility
for product development. Erik Jørgensen,
however, remained active and inspiring in the
development of the company and on the board
until his death in 1998.
Niels Jørgensen and the youngest son,
Ole Jørgensen, who is now the sales director,
have succeeded to lift the heritage of their
father and continue the ambition to break new
ground. Resting on a solid tradition of good
craftsmanship and a well-developed sense of
solidt fodfæste på erhvervsmarkedet. Samarbejdet
med Foersom & Hiort-Lorenzen førte til
flere triumfer, blandt andet Partner fra 1992,
en af Erik Jørgensen Møbelfabriks største
kommercielle succeser. I dag tilbyder virksomheden
møbler til alt fra foyeren og ventesalen
til ministerkontoret og mødelokalet. Et fuldt
program, der sammen med den konstante
udvikling af møbler til boligmarkedet sikrer,
at Erik Jørgensen Møbelfabrik går på to ben.
Ansporet af det succesfulde samarbejde med
Johannes Foersom og Peter Hiort-Lorenzen
og af ønsket om tæt at følge udviklingen i
dansk møbeldesign, besluttede virksomheden
i 1993 at indstifte Erik Jørgensen Møbelfabriks
Designpris, der uddeles hvert andet år.
Ambitionen med prisen er at fastholde og
udvikle samarbejdet med de yngste designere
og med den innovative designudvikling. Den
første vinder var dobbeltchaiselongen Waves,
tegnet af Morten Ernst og Anne-Mette Jensen.
Sammen med Louise Campbell tilhører de den
nye generation af talentfulde formgivere, som
Erik Jørgensen Møbelfabrik samarbejder med.
Fra 1994 overtog Erik Jørgensens ældste søn,
Niels Jørgensen, gradvist den daglige ledelse
af virksomheden, herunder ansvaret for udvikling
af nye produkter. Erik Jørgensen var imidlertid
fortsat særdeles aktiv og medlevende i
virksomhedens udvikling og sad i bestyrelsen
til sin død i 1998.
Det er lykkedes Niels Jørgensen, og den
yngre søn, Ole Jørgensen, der i dag er
salgsdirektør, at løfte arven fra deres far og
videreføre ambitionen om at være nyskabende.
Hvilende på et solidt fundament af godt
håndværk og en veludviklet kvalitetssans har
de stræbt efter at præsentere det uventede,
ofte med succes. For eksempel i 2001, hvor
Erik Jørgensen i samarbejde med Kvadrat
præsenterede en stofserie designet af
Charles og Ray Eames ved en event på Statens
Museum for Kunst.
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