17 Facts About Jens Risom

Jens Risom was a Danish American furniture designer.

An exemplar of Mid-Century modern design, Risom was one of the first designers to introduce Scandinavian design in the United States.

Jens Risom was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 8 May 1916.

Jens Risom's father was a prominent architect, Sven Risom, a member of the school of Nordic Classicism.

Jens Risom was trained as a designer at the Copenhagen School of Industrial Arts and Design, where he studied under Ole Wanscher and Kaare Klint.

Jens Risom spent two years at Niels Brock Copenhagen Business College, before beginning work as a furniture developer and interior designer with the architectural firm of Ernst Kuhn.

Jens Risom later relocated to Stockholm, taking a job with a small architectural firm.

In 1939, Jens Risom traveled to New York City to study American design.

Jens Risom found it difficult to find work as a furniture designer in New York and was forced to accept a number of textile designs that ultimately secured him freelance work with designer Dan Cooper.

In 1941, Jens Risom teamed with entrepreneur Hans Knoll and in 1942, they launched the Hans Knoll Furniture Company with 15 of the 20 pieces in the inaugural "600" line designed by Jens Risom.

In 1941, Risom sold 21 furniture designs to Frederik Lunning Inc who produced prototypes for Georg Jensen Inc, launched as The Lunning Collection in October 1942.

In 1961, Jens Risom was one of six furniture designers featured in a profile in Playboy magazine.

Jens Risom sold JRD to Dictaphone in 1970, after having run the company for 25 years.

Jens Risom stayed on as CEO for 3 years, and then relocated from New York to New Canaan, Connecticut and launched a consulting service, Design Control.

Jens Risom died at his home in New Canaan, Connecticut, at the age of 100.

In 1996, Jens Risom was presented with the Danish Knight's Cross by Margrethe II of Denmark.

Jens Risom was a long-standing trustee of the Rhode Island School of Design.