MODEL 137 / Japanese lounge chairs – Finn Juhl / France & Daverk

MODEL 137 / Japanese lounge chairs
Designer: Finn Juhl
Manufacturer: France & Daverkosen
Materials: Teak structure, original fabric of the time.

The armchair was produced for the first time in 1953 for C.W.F. France of France & Daverkosen in Orholm. It was a mattress company, but the owner, Mr. France, had the enlightened idea of producing cushions for armchairs and sofas with “free”, leaning seats. Among the designers who were contacted at the time for this project was Finn Juhl. France was not only an enterprising and creative businessman; he had a great instinct for quality. From that moment on, he began a partnership with Finn Juhl that lasted several years. The Japanese was the first teak chair, Juhl’s favourite material, to be produced industrially, the result of studies and experiments on the blades and cutting techniques of this material, which until then had only been used for artisan production. The sophisticatedly simple line owes its inspiration to Japanese aesthetics; in particular it is inspired by the Miajima door, off Hiroshima.