70 Years of PP Møbler

Q+A

To coincide with PP Møbler's anniversary, we caught up with Kasper Holst Pedersen, Master Craftsman, Owner and CEO, to reflect on 70 years of craftsmanship, the company's connective history with Hans. J Wegner and the future of the renowned Danish joinery workshop.

2021: As PP Møbler reaches an anniversary milestone (congratulations!), it’s a great opportunity to reflect; what do you consider to be the company’s biggest accomplishments since its foundation?

KHP: Personally, I think our biggest accomplishment has been to stay alive. It may sound as a bit too humble an approach to business, but if you look at the development for Danish furniture workshops, in the 50’s when our workshop was founded, we were just one small player with many renowned and legendary workshops around for us to admire. Today they are all gone, and the remaining Danish furniture business has in general been significantly industrialised. We are proud to still have our full integrity with a thriving environment for further development of the Danish traditions of good craftsmanship. And it has certainly been a struggle to stay alive!

2021: Are you planning any events or activities to mark seventy years of PP Møbler?

KHP: Our new flagship store in Copenhagen is the strongest way imaginable to celebrate our anniversary. I only wish my grandfather was still around to see it. He would have been very proud!

2021: What differentiates a PP Møbler piece from your contemporaries?

KHP: Every PP Møbler piece bears the mark of true craftsmanship. In many cases, it shows in the joint details and/or in the complex shapes carved in solid wood. In some cases, it is harder to see, as the high quality of materials and craftsmanship often is hidden inside the piece. Like in the Papa Bear Chair that offers a unique comfort thanks to the springs, horsehair and cotton inside the back of the chair.

2021: Many pieces of furniture produced by PP Møbler’s are highly sought after, which do you consider to be the most collectable design and the scarcest to find?

KHP: Yes, we have quite a few rare pieces in our collection. Personally, I think the pp266 Chinese Bench and the pp518 Bull Chair are nice collectables that are produced in very few pieces each year. But also the pp521 Upholstered Peacock is a true collectible. And pieces like the pp501 Round Chair (with cane seat), pp505 Cow Horn Chair and pp250 Valet Chair are all among my personal favourites and if cared for they will patinate and age into vintage icons.

2021: PP Møbler has a rich collaborative history with Hans J Wegner, are there any specific memories or anecdotes that you recall? What was he like to work with?

KHP: I remember when I was just a child and lived right next to the workshop in a small house, whenever Wegner came to the workshop, you would immediately sense an atmosphere of seriousness and respect streaming through the building. He had a very strong connection to our staff, and they genuinely respected him. Later, when I joined the company as a trained cabinetmaker, I remember the thrill when I had to present my work by implementing advanced computer-controlled (CNC) machinery in making the critical joints in the backrests of pieces like the pp501/pp503 Round Chair, the pp502 Swivel Chair and the pp701 Minimal Chair to Wegner in person, and in particular I remember the joy of receiving his recognition for the accuracy of the joints. Wegner was an extremely skilled craftsman himself with an unusual deep understanding of the materials and crafts, so he gave feedback that was extremely satisfying for any skilled craftsman.

2021: PP Møbler has continually produced some of Hans J Wegner’s greatest designs – is there anything in the PP archive or any other work not in production that you would like to relaunch? Do you have a personal favourite Wegner design?

KHP: There are so much in the archives of Wegner that unfortunately we cannot make it all. But yes, I do have a few favourites that still remain out of production. One of them being the very nice stool with a cane seat that was made at Johannes Hansen (JH 539). That is just a small piece of practical jewellery all made using natural vegetable materials (wood and cane).

2021: Beyond the design of Hans Wegner, PP Møbler has worked with Jørgen Høj and more recently both Danish and internationally-based contemporary designers – how do you select the contemporary designers you work with?

KHP: I just have two basic criteria for new design: It should be something that allows our specific unique skills to stand out, so straightforward designs that might as well be made at a factory are not interesting for us. And it must offer something very different from Wegner because no one will ever reach the level of Wegner anyway, so we have to take a very different approach, or we will be bound to fail.

2021: Denmark has a long history of celebrated craftsmanship. PP Møbler exemplifies high-quality workmanship, expertise in material selection and longevity of the items created as some of your values – As a company that planted a forest of 4000 trees in Denmark back in 2012 what are your thoughts on sustainability? How are you adapting to address the challenges of the climate crisis today?

KHP: We will continue to search for improvements in quality. Improving quality will sometimes involve changing materials to more eco-friendly ones. For example, we recently stopped offering lacquer as a finish, as conventional lacquer is a plastic based on petrochemicals. Also, we are searching to replace foam for upholstery with natural materials like horsehair, vegetables, natural rubber etc. For all new products, we will refrain from using foam. We just launched the pp16 which contains no foam in the upholstery. Foam is based on petrochemicals, doesn’t “breathe” and ages quite bad as opposed to natural upholstery materials that last longer.

2021: 70 years in business, family-owned is a fantastic achievement and the company has continued to grow, taking upholstery and weaving in-house alongside the carpentry and joinery that PP is admired for the world over. Is it challenging to maintain a workforce so skilled in furniture making of this quality in Denmark in the modern age?

KHP: Yes, it’s a constant challenge! But it’s a challenge that also comes with some pleasure, I have to say. After all it’s all about working with people, and I guess that’s always a challenge, but whenever we succeed and reach something of extraordinary beauty and excellence, it makes you feel good. It’s an emotional experience.

2021: So, looking towards the next 70 years! Are there any plans for the future you can share with us?

KHP: Well, it’s all about how to continue the development of our crafts, and the big question is if we will continue production at our current location, which in terms of building capacity is maxed out already. If our business continues to develop in a positive direction, I cannot rule out the possibility that we will one day move to a new and bigger workshop allowing for even more fractions of crafts to emerge and evolve. But we are extremely picky about the location and architecture of our workshop, so it’s not an easy task. About products, Wegner will continue to dominate our collection, as his work is of such a profound significance and quality that it will stay relevant. But we will always search for a new design that can offer something truly genuine and interesting. And 70 years from now hopefully the company has entered the 5^th generation.