Thrift: Børge Mogensen bench

August 24th, 2009

mogensen bench-1

I am proud to announce we have an addition to the furniture clan here at Kitka, let me introduce you to our new (old) Børge Mogensen bench.

A while back Juli did some photography work for one of our favourite stores to loiter at in the city Machine Age Modern. Juli had some store credit left over from the shoot, and I was looking for something to spend it on. We were chatting with Jake and Carol about design and somehow we mentioned how Børge Mogensen was one of our all time favourite designers, and the owner Jake said that he had something in the back that may be of some interest to us. For the amount of store credit ($250) plus an additional $100 the bench was ours (basically what Jake paid for it).

mogensen bench-2

It was a bit rough around the edges and pretty worn in, but the design was unmistakably Mogensen.

mogensen bench-8

The Sofa was a contract piece for “Eaton’s”  and was used at Mount Sinai hospital (there was a Mount Sinai sticker and serial # but it was too hard to photograph). It was really neat to find out that something so familiar to the city like Eaton’s and Mount Sinai had Danish designs in their offices. I wonder if they commissioned Mogensen to produce these and there aren’t that many of them around, or if they were readily available for the public consumer…

mogensen bench-3

The tired leather needs a lot of reinforcing to get back to it’s former glory. After the hours I spent refinishing that Danish Safari chair, I don’t know why I’m already jumping on another project.

mogensen bench-4

The high density foam fillings they used on these old chair pads last forever, it’s always a big bonus to have the original cushions.

mogensen bench-5

The solid oak slats on the back of the bench have a beautifully subtle curve to them, providing interest against the strong lined shape.

mogensen bench-7

“AKTIESELSKABET – FREDERICIA STOLEFABRIK – MADE IN DENMARK – DESIGN: BORGE MOGENSEN”

I can’t wait to get to work on it! Hopefully I’ll have some updated pictures for you guys soon!

Filed under: Thrifting | no comments