It might be too ambitious to claim that I know Copenhagen from a mere three-day stay, but the excitement started six months ago and built up even as we grew our sales of elegant Danish designed Fritz Hansen furniture. The contest announced in March 1st allowed our top FH sales – and myself as partnership liaison – to receive brand training in Fritz Hansen’s birthplace.
Haworth appreciates Fritz Hansen’s design philosophies and see it a very significant partner within the AP regions. Adding Fritz Hansen accents to tenders can be and have been the differentiation from our competitors to win sales of Haworth systems and seating.
None among our party of five had landed in Europe before and our nerves were enlightened by the curiosity that we seem not to even remember the tiring and fully-packed ten-hour flight or the time lag when we arrive at Frankfurt for a changeover. As a curiosity, we spot a random display of the Series 7 chairs which make our surroundings seem less alien.
The plane to Copenhagen is not as much as packed, indicating that we are going to a kingdom with only one-quarter the population of Shanghai. Two hours later, Copenhagen airport strikes us with the first impression – This really is a design kingdom!
Once we arrived at the renowned Radisson SAS Royal hotel, the receptionist recognized us right away and gave us a friendly greeting, “We are waiting for you to check in as Fritz Hansen has already booked the rooms for you.” As carefully as Fritz Hansen treated their products, we were arranged into three corner rooms to have better views. On our first night in Copenhagen, it took us long time to fall asleep contemplating our discoveries yet to come.
I woke up at 5:00am in the morning, listening to the traffic rhythm. Leaning on the window sill, I started to enjoy every minute in the Nordic land and wait for the brightening up of the sky. It is too great a luxury to let the time pass without experiencing every aspect of the place.
The hotel was designed entirely by Arne Jacobsen 50 years ago when the life style was fully interpreted by his famous Egg, Swan and other design details. Later, we learnt that each standard room was decorated by two Swan chairs, one Series 7 and one PK product.
Lily and Seven bar stools dominated the cafeteria when we went to breakfast. Unlike other high-end hotel cafeterias, this one has more academic feelings, even onto the food; we thought it was due to the exclusive interior design and Arne Jacobsen’s classic furniture.
Taking taxi in Copenhagen is also an expensive experience; but the cabby was very friendly and explained a lot on the reasons for the high price such as taxes and reselling policy. It was quite a pleasant way to Fritz Hansen’s Vassingerod factory since there were so many interesting views. Everything here shows the seamless combination of nature and human activities. Even the birds seem to walk freely on the sidewalks and show they are proud of being Copenhagen citizens.
The ride was so cozy the 30km ride passed really fast and our hearts were deeply touched by seeing a Chinese flag, hanging paralleled to the Danish one. We felt extremely honored as it was Fritz Hansen’s tradition of welcoming guests from countries all over the world and see what they understand providing great customer experience. We had arrived at Fritz Hansen’s newer factory which was established at the beginning of the new millennium.
Leaving the taxi, we were received by Kit, our Fritz Hansen tour guide. After a brief and warm introduction, she brought us to Fritz Hansen’s grand showroom. This is an exquisitely designed space in which every portion was fully utilized to express powerful brand feelings and stories behind. Kit told us that every time she enters the place, she could feel new things even though she’s come hundreds of times. We couldn’t agree more and were astonished by the stunning display. We felt regret at having such a short stay yet more surprises were waiting for us.
We traversed a colorful room and then arrived at a high-tech factory. This is the birthplace of Ant, Series 7 and other products which involve plywood technology and processing. Our guide stopped at each key step which lead up to the final product. I find similar production criteria between Fritz Hansen’s furniture and Chinese Ming and Qing porcelain wares.
There aren’t many menial workers in the factory since half of the manufacturing is controlled by a pre-programmed system. However, Fritz Hansen design and quality relies on procedures which require skilled workmanship and are managed by experienced artisans. Our colleague Rahul unexpectedly came across an Indian worker who had worked for Fritz Hansen since 1990 which made him rather proud.
The last agenda and the icing on the cake in the Vassingerod factory was to visit the Fritz Hansen museum. The great tale started from a farsighted Danish cabinetmaker Mr. Fritz Hansen 136 years ago and evolved through creative partnerships with visionary designers and architects such as Hans J. Wegner, Arne Jacobsen, and Poul Kjalholm and now has grown into a global brand with great commercial success in the 21st century.
With a great amount of valuable knowledge, we then left for the second stop – Fritz Hansen’s headquarter at Allerod, only 5 minutes drive from Vassingerod.
The building itself is a preserved architectural artifact and the refurbished building houses the factory and administration to make an efficient system. Welcoming us is a set of PK products; the 9999 clothing rack took care of all our belongings.
The administrative offices are arranged with great flexibility and the application of Fritz Hansen furniture adds enjoyment to the day to day work. The office tour involved many different functional departments terminating at the chief executive office. It was simple, outspoken and dedicating of Fritz Hansen’s philosophy of timelessness, pure, original and sculpture.
The most fun part was the meeting with Hans, Fritz Hansen’s passionate professional who mastered all knowledge of leather testing and stitching for Egg and Swan. We even underwent an apprenticeship of to try sewing the leather for Swan chair and deeply realized the difficulty and pure craftsmanship in creating one of the most elegant chairs in the world. On Hans’ exclusive workspace, there was a picture of him with the Danish King some years ago.
With all the beautiful memories of the Fritz Hansen tour, we left the picturesque and well-organized company land.
Following up the agenda, we went to see Louisiana Museum of Modern Art located directly on the shore of the Øresund in Humlebæk 35 kilometers north of Copenhagen. A corner in the entry way of the 1958 established museum was beautifully accented by Poul Kjalholm’s PK31, and the monumental PK80 daybed adorned the exquisite Giacometti room. A group of Series 7 brightened up the children’s play ground on the way to the seashore. We suddenly realized how powerful Fritz Hansen furniture is to add special meaning to the already graceful museum.
On the way to the hotel, a hot discussion took place on how to bring the wonderful design culture to China and India. We’ve already started the journey and will work continuously to bring the stories of the 136 year-old Fritz Hansen to the oriental lands.
Haworth appreciates Fritz Hansen’s design philosophies and see it a very significant partner within the AP regions. Adding Fritz Hansen accents to tenders can be and have been the differentiation from our competitors to win sales of Haworth systems and seating.
None among our party of five had landed in Europe before and our nerves were enlightened by the curiosity that we seem not to even remember the tiring and fully-packed ten-hour flight or the time lag when we arrive at Frankfurt for a changeover. As a curiosity, we spot a random display of the Series 7 chairs which make our surroundings seem less alien.
The plane to Copenhagen is not as much as packed, indicating that we are going to a kingdom with only one-quarter the population of Shanghai. Two hours later, Copenhagen airport strikes us with the first impression – This really is a design kingdom!
Once we arrived at the renowned Radisson SAS Royal hotel, the receptionist recognized us right away and gave us a friendly greeting, “We are waiting for you to check in as Fritz Hansen has already booked the rooms for you.” As carefully as Fritz Hansen treated their products, we were arranged into three corner rooms to have better views. On our first night in Copenhagen, it took us long time to fall asleep contemplating our discoveries yet to come.
I woke up at 5:00am in the morning, listening to the traffic rhythm. Leaning on the window sill, I started to enjoy every minute in the Nordic land and wait for the brightening up of the sky. It is too great a luxury to let the time pass without experiencing every aspect of the place.
The hotel was designed entirely by Arne Jacobsen 50 years ago when the life style was fully interpreted by his famous Egg, Swan and other design details. Later, we learnt that each standard room was decorated by two Swan chairs, one Series 7 and one PK product.
Lily and Seven bar stools dominated the cafeteria when we went to breakfast. Unlike other high-end hotel cafeterias, this one has more academic feelings, even onto the food; we thought it was due to the exclusive interior design and Arne Jacobsen’s classic furniture.
Taking taxi in Copenhagen is also an expensive experience; but the cabby was very friendly and explained a lot on the reasons for the high price such as taxes and reselling policy. It was quite a pleasant way to Fritz Hansen’s Vassingerod factory since there were so many interesting views. Everything here shows the seamless combination of nature and human activities. Even the birds seem to walk freely on the sidewalks and show they are proud of being Copenhagen citizens.
The ride was so cozy the 30km ride passed really fast and our hearts were deeply touched by seeing a Chinese flag, hanging paralleled to the Danish one. We felt extremely honored as it was Fritz Hansen’s tradition of welcoming guests from countries all over the world and see what they understand providing great customer experience. We had arrived at Fritz Hansen’s newer factory which was established at the beginning of the new millennium.
Leaving the taxi, we were received by Kit, our Fritz Hansen tour guide. After a brief and warm introduction, she brought us to Fritz Hansen’s grand showroom. This is an exquisitely designed space in which every portion was fully utilized to express powerful brand feelings and stories behind. Kit told us that every time she enters the place, she could feel new things even though she’s come hundreds of times. We couldn’t agree more and were astonished by the stunning display. We felt regret at having such a short stay yet more surprises were waiting for us.
We traversed a colorful room and then arrived at a high-tech factory. This is the birthplace of Ant, Series 7 and other products which involve plywood technology and processing. Our guide stopped at each key step which lead up to the final product. I find similar production criteria between Fritz Hansen’s furniture and Chinese Ming and Qing porcelain wares.
There aren’t many menial workers in the factory since half of the manufacturing is controlled by a pre-programmed system. However, Fritz Hansen design and quality relies on procedures which require skilled workmanship and are managed by experienced artisans. Our colleague Rahul unexpectedly came across an Indian worker who had worked for Fritz Hansen since 1990 which made him rather proud.
The last agenda and the icing on the cake in the Vassingerod factory was to visit the Fritz Hansen museum. The great tale started from a farsighted Danish cabinetmaker Mr. Fritz Hansen 136 years ago and evolved through creative partnerships with visionary designers and architects such as Hans J. Wegner, Arne Jacobsen, and Poul Kjalholm and now has grown into a global brand with great commercial success in the 21st century.
With a great amount of valuable knowledge, we then left for the second stop – Fritz Hansen’s headquarter at Allerod, only 5 minutes drive from Vassingerod.
The building itself is a preserved architectural artifact and the refurbished building houses the factory and administration to make an efficient system. Welcoming us is a set of PK products; the 9999 clothing rack took care of all our belongings.
The administrative offices are arranged with great flexibility and the application of Fritz Hansen furniture adds enjoyment to the day to day work. The office tour involved many different functional departments terminating at the chief executive office. It was simple, outspoken and dedicating of Fritz Hansen’s philosophy of timelessness, pure, original and sculpture.
The most fun part was the meeting with Hans, Fritz Hansen’s passionate professional who mastered all knowledge of leather testing and stitching for Egg and Swan. We even underwent an apprenticeship of to try sewing the leather for Swan chair and deeply realized the difficulty and pure craftsmanship in creating one of the most elegant chairs in the world. On Hans’ exclusive workspace, there was a picture of him with the Danish King some years ago.
With all the beautiful memories of the Fritz Hansen tour, we left the picturesque and well-organized company land.
Following up the agenda, we went to see Louisiana Museum of Modern Art located directly on the shore of the Øresund in Humlebæk 35 kilometers north of Copenhagen. A corner in the entry way of the 1958 established museum was beautifully accented by Poul Kjalholm’s PK31, and the monumental PK80 daybed adorned the exquisite Giacometti room. A group of Series 7 brightened up the children’s play ground on the way to the seashore. We suddenly realized how powerful Fritz Hansen furniture is to add special meaning to the already graceful museum.
On the way to the hotel, a hot discussion took place on how to bring the wonderful design culture to China and India. We’ve already started the journey and will work continuously to bring the stories of the 136 year-old Fritz Hansen to the oriental lands.
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