A Matter of Time: Knud Erik Hansen on Carl Hansen & Søn, Craft and the Making of Things That Last.

We have become rather bad at waiting for things.

A chair, fortunately, does not care.

It can take hours to make something that, once finished, appears almost insultingly simple. The CH24 Wishbone Chair is a case in point: Its familiar silhouette conceals more than 100 manufacturing steps, while the woven seat still requires a skilled craftsperson and around 120 metres of paper cord. It has been in continuous production since 1950.

There is something almost perverse about this in an age of instant gratification. We have perfected the art of making things quickly, replacing them even faster and confusing novelty with progress.

Carl Hansen & Søn belongs to another rhythm altogether - one in which repetition is not redundancy, craftsmanship is not nostalgia and time is not necessarily an obstacle to efficiency, but part of the thing being made.

The company's story began in Odense in 1908 with cabinetmaker Carl Hansen. By 1915, its manufacturing operation was already bringing machinery and skilled craftsmen into the same equation. More than a century later, that relationship between technology and the hand remains remarkably relevant. At its Gelsted factory, craftsmanship sits alongside contemporary production, while THE LAB trains a new generation of cabinetmakers rather than assuming that accumulated knowledge will somehow preserve itself.

This is where the romance of Danish design becomes rather more interesting.

We often talk about simplicity as though it were an aesthetic decision: Fewer lines, quieter forms, nothing unnecessary. But a genuinely simple object can demand an extraordinary amount of knowledge. There is nowhere for the unnecessary to hide, and very little for the imperfect to disguise itself behind. The finished object may whisper; the process behind it can be anything but quiet.

The Danish designer Poul Henningsen once observed that the task of design was not to decorate life, but to make it better. There is a useful provocation in that distinction. Good furniture does not necessarily ask to be looked at. It asks to be lived with. A chair earns its place not when it photographs well, but when someone instinctively pulls it towards the table, sits down and stays longer than intended.

Perhaps this is also why the most enduring furniture acquires a curious status somewhere between object and witness. It sees dinners, arguments, birthdays, unfinished conversations, children becoming adults. Its surface records use; its continued presence records attachment. At some point, the distinction between owning a piece of furniture and living alongside it begins to disappear.

For a company with more than a century behind it, that raises a particularly interesting question: How do you preserve knowledge without turning it into nostalgia? How do you introduce technology without allowing it to flatten judgement? And how do you keep a design alive without mistaking preservation for progress?

Knud Erik Hansen: Making good taste look suspiciously easy.

Knud Erik Hansen occupies an unusually intimate position within those questions. As CEO and third-generation owner of Carl Hansen & Søn, he is responsible not simply for a company with an extraordinary design archive, but for the less visible machinery that allows that archive to remain useful: the people, skills, materials, processes and decisions that stand between an original drawing and an object someone might still want decades from now.

The challenge, ultimately, is not making furniture that lasts.

It is making furniture worth keeping.

We spoke with Knud Erik Hansen about the difficult art of simplicity, what a trained hand notices that a machine may not, the uneasy alliance between technology and craftsmanship, and why the future of good design may depend rather more on what we choose to preserve than on what we choose to replace.

Carl Hansen & Søn has made simplicity an extraordinarily sophisticated discipline. What, for you, separates genuine simplicity from mere reduction?

Knud Erik Hansen: Genuine simplicity is never about removing elements for the sake of minimalism. It is about achieving clarity and purpose. In furniture design, every line, joint and proportion must justify its existence. When something is truly simple, nothing feels missing and nothing feels excessive.

Reduction can be a stylistic exercise. Simplicity, on the other hand, is often the result of tremendous complexity, countless decisions and a deep understanding of materials, function and human behaviour. The challenge is not to make something less, but to make it complete with as little as possible.

Craftsmanship is central to Carl Hansen & Søn’s identity. In an increasingly automated world, what can the trained human hand still see, feel or understand that a machine cannot?

Knud Erik Hansen: Wood is a living material. No two pieces are identical, and each responds differently during production. A skilled craftsperson can read the grain, sense subtle variations in density and understand how the material needs to be worked.

Machines are invaluable for precision, consistency and doing the hard work, but they cannot replace human judgement, intuition and experience. The trained hand recognises details that are difficult to quantify: the perfect tension in a woven seat, the final touch of a sanded surface, or whether a piece simply feels right. These are qualities that are as much about sensitivity as they are about skill. This is how every piece of furniture is infused with a soul, which only can be done by the hands of a skilled artisan.

Your production combines advanced technology with highly skilled cabinetmaking. Where, ideally, should technology end and human judgement begin?

Knud Erik Hansen: I do not see technology and craftsmanship as opposites. The best results come when each is used where it creates the greatest value. Technology helps us achieve precision, efficiency and repeatability, while skilled craftspeople ensure quality, character and integrity.

For us, technology supports the craft rather than dictate it. Machines simply do the hard work, so artisans can focus on the delicate work processes. The final responsibility must always remain with people who understand the material, the design intent and the standards we have spent more than a century building.

Many Carl Hansen pieces are intended to last for generations. Is longevity ultimately a question of construction and materials, or must a piece also possess an emotional quality to remain relevant?

Knud Erik Hansen: Longevity is the combination of both. Exceptional materials and construction are essential, because furniture must physically endure decades of use. But durability alone is not enough.

People keep objects for generations because they form a relationship with them. A chair may survive a hundred years technically, but it remains relevant because it continues to provide comfort, beauty and meaning. The most enduring designs become part of people's lives and stories. That emotional connection is what transforms furniture into heirlooms.

Carl Hansen & Søn is now custodian to an extraordinary design heritage. How do you preserve the integrity of a classic without turning it into a museum piece?

Knud Erik Hansen: The best way to honour a classic is to keep it alive. We remain absolutely respectful of the original designer's vision, proportions and craftsmanship, but we also recognise that furniture is made to be used, not merely admired.

Our responsibility is to preserve authenticity while ensuring relevance for contemporary living. That may involve introducing new material options, responding to changing customer needs or presenting a design in a new context. The essence remains unchanged, but the life around it continues to evolve. An example of this is that we about 30 years ago increased the height of our chairs, as a consequence of the fact that people simply are becoming taller than half a century ago.

Danish design often disguises considerable technical complexity beneath an apparently effortless simplicity. Do you think contemporary consumers sufficiently appreciate the craft hidden within a seemingly simple object?

Knud Erik Hansen: Some do, while others only discover it over time. One of the remarkable qualities of great design is that it does not demand attention. A chair such as the CH24 feels natural and effortless, yet behind that simplicity lies an extraordinary amount of technical expertise and craftsmanship.

I believe consumers today are becoming increasingly interested in how products are made and what gives them lasting value. When people learn about the materials, processes and skills involved, they often develop a much deeper appreciation for what might initially appear simple.

Through initiatives such as THE LAB, Carl Hansen & Søn is preserving specialist knowledge as well as producing furniture. What is at risk of being lost if traditional cabinetmaking becomes purely historical?

Knud Erik Hansen: We risk losing far more than production techniques. Traditional craftsmanship embodies generations of accumulated knowledge about materials, construction and problem-solving. It is a way of thinking as much as a way of making.

If these skills become purely historical, future generations lose the ability to build upon them. Innovation depends on knowledge. To create the next generation of exceptional furniture, we must continue to preserve and develop the skills that made the classics possible in the first place.

At THE LAB we currently train more than 20 cabinetmakers, who will carry traditional skills combined with modern technology into the future, securing that every piece that leaves our factory is of the best possible quality.

In an industry increasingly preoccupied with sustainability claims, is making something exceptionally well, and making it last, still the most convincing form of sustainable design?

Knud Erik Hansen: I believe it is one of the most important forms of sustainability. The most sustainable product is often the one that does not need replacing. This has been our mantra since the foundation of Carl Hansen & Søn in 1908.

Of course, sustainability also involves responsible sourcing, efficient production and thoughtful use of resources. But lasting quality remains fundamental. If a piece of furniture can be repaired, maintained and enjoyed for generations, its environmental value extends far beyond any single trend or claim. Creating products that people genuinely want to keep is a responsibility we take very seriously.

When Carl Hansen & Søn collaborates with a contemporary designer, what must a new piece possess before you feel it belongs within the company’s distinctive DNA?

Knud Erik Hansen: The first requirement is honesty. The design must have a clear purpose and an authentic relationship with materials, craftsmanship and the pieces of our existing collection. We are not interested in creating furniture that follows temporary trends.

At the same time, a new design should bring its own perspective. It must feel contemporary while sharing the values that define Carl Hansen & Søn: exceptional quality, lasting relevance, respect for materials and meticulous attention to detail. The goal is not to recreate the past, but to contribute meaningfully to a continuing design tradition.

Having inherited a family company with more than a century of history, what is one principle you hope Carl Hansen & Søn will remain stubbornly unwilling to compromise as the next century unfolds?

Knud Erik Hansen: An uncompromising commitment to quality.

Markets change, technologies evolve and customer expectations develop over time. But quality must remain non-negotiable. It informs every decision we make, from sourcing materials and preserving craftsmanship to investing in people and long-term relationships with sawmills and other suppliers.

My grandfather and parents all understood that quality, that is relevant design and impeccable craftsmanship, creates trust, and trust is what allows a company to endure for generations. If Carl Hansen & Søn remains faithful to that principle, I believe the company will continue to thrive for the next hundred years and beyond.

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Words and questions by AW.

Answers courtesy of Knud Erik Hansen.

Photo courtesy of Carl Hansen & Søn.