Carl Hansen Unveils the Children’s Wishbone Chair – A Tribute to Hans Wegner’s Legacy
Carl Hansen & Søn presents the first edition of Hans J. Wegner’s Wishbone Chair for Children. The new CH24 Children’s Wishbone Chair will be launched on 2 April, in celebration of Hans J. Wegner’s 110th birthday.
Designed by Hans J. Wegner in 1949, the Wishbone Chair is now being presented for the first time in a version suitable for children from the age of three. Carl Hansen & Søn has had the idea for the chair on the drawing board for a long time and will launch it this year. Although smaller, the chair is no less complex to craft as the downscaling was particularly challenging. The individual components cannot simply be downscaled by the same ratio; each component requires its own precise dimensions to retain the chair’s original expression. This compelled Carl Hansen & Søn’s design team to work out how to balance the proportions before they could achieve a perfect result.
Like the original, the Children’s Wishbone Chair is made up of fourteen components, taking more than a hundred production steps to craft and assemble each chair, most of which are done by hand. The seat is woven in the envelope pattern using 75 meters of paper cord. The diameter of the paper cord is also scaled down to achieve a lighter expression that matches the chair’s smaller dimensions. It takes an experienced craftsman one hour to weave the seat by hand, and all the processes are carried out at Carl Hansen & Søn’s factory in Gelsted, Denmark.
Knud Erik Hansen, CEO and third generation owner-manager of Carl Hansen & Søn, comments: “Beautiful design and excellent craftsmanship are ageless, which is why we’re very pleased to present the CH24 Children’s Wishbone Chair. We’ve been dreaming of making a child-sized version of the iconic Wishbone Chair for years now, and we’re delighted with the result. This smaller version of the Wishbone Chair blends in perfectly with the rest of a household’s furniture and is an ideal gift idea for future design enthusiasts.”
The CH24 Children’s Wishbone Chair will be available in stores from 2 April 2024.
HISTORY OF THE CH24 WISHBONE CHAIR
Hans J. Wegner (1914-2007) is considered one of the most creative and productive Danish furniture designers who ever lived. His impact on furniture design both in Denmark and abroad is enormous. Wegner, also known as the ‘Master of the Chair’, designed up to 500 chairs during his career, many of which are now considered innovative masterpieces. His CH24 Wishbone Chair in particular has won wide international acclaim over the years and is deemed an ideal chair that captures the essence of modern Danish design.
Inspired by chairs from China’s Ming dynasty, Hans J. Wegner designed the CH24 Wishbone Chair in 1949, as part of the very first time Hans J. Wegner and Carl Hansen & Søn joined forces on a project. Wegner was keen to design a wooden chair that could be mass produced, whereas Carl Hansen & Søn had the right setup and tenacity to include the chair, which was considered avant-garde at the time, in its collection.
Hans J. Wegner took a quantum leap in furniture design when he created the CH24 Wishbone Chair by making the back and armrests out of a single piece of wood. To stabilize the steam-bent back and maximize its comfort, Wegner developed the characteristic wishbone-shaped back for which the iconic Wishbone Chair is named. For the seat, Wegner chose paper cord weaving, a choice necessitated by the post-war shortage of the materials traditionally used to make chair seats, such as leather, textile and wood. After working with paper cord for several years, he became so fond of its appearance and qualities that what was originally an improvised solution became his preferred choice.
The CH24 Wishbone Chair has been in continuous production at Carl Hansen & Søn since 1950.
PRODUCT INFO
Recommended retail price
CH24 Children’s Wishbone Chair: USD 845 ex. VAT
Dimensions (in)
Seat height 11.7”, height 20.1”, depth 13.4”, width 15”
Materials
Frame: FSC® certified oak
Seat: FSC®-certified paper cord (FSC C135991)
