EIKUND - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Designer from the Scandinavian Design
Fredrik A. Kayser is a well-loved furniture designer from the Scandinavian Design period of the mid-twentieth century. He was born in the Norwegian town Bergen, grew up in a musical family, and played both the cello and the mandolin. He found a lot of inspiration in music. His father Trygve Kayser had a furniture agency and a large network in the industry. Fredrik began his carpentry apprenticeship right after the middle school exam. At the age of 15, he had already drawn his first dining room, which was put into production at Viken Møbelfabrikk. Kayser got his diploma at the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry in Oslo in 1945, the same year he started his career at the Rastad & Relling Tegnekontor.
His furniture is characterized by elegant design and material sensitivity, with a rare sense of proportions and composition. In his most famous design, "Krysset", the front and back legs are fixed together by four wood nails that in a refined way emphasize the construction. Kayser was inspired by the trends of the time, but always managed to give his creations a unique personal touch, with elegance that made them instant classics.
Torbjørn Afdal is among our most gifted and productive furniture designers. After graduating from the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry in 1946, he spent his career with the legendary Bruksbo Tegnekontor, who for three decades were one of Norway's leading design offices for quality furniture. They created models for dozens of furniture manufacturers, and in the mid-1960s a large percentage of Norwegian furniture exports were designed by Bruksbo. Afdal got recognised internationally as a highly skilled designer, he was awarded with a gold medal for the lounge chair Broadway at the Deutsche Handwerksmesse in Munich 1959. Among those who purchased Afdal's design were First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and the Japanese Emperor, and he later designed the office of Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland.
His work is characterized primarily by a refined understanding of material and form. Afdal had a combination of art and tradition in his work, with a talent of utilizing the natural possibilities of wood. Around 1955-65, Afdal's furniture design gained a more crafted feel, the armchair Broadway together with the hunting chair Hunter was his artistic highlights. Many of his products are true classics and deserves to be revived.