by Charlotte Jul

Ditzel's dogmas

Nanna Ditzel had three children, so it was pretty obvious for her to focus on designing furniture for children. The High Seat Chair, dating from 1955 along with her Toadstools (Trisser) were nothing short of a revolution, because they were some of the first items of children's furniture ever in which just as much attention to detail was paid as in furniture intended for adults. The thought of spending money on quality furniture for kids was extreme in those days! The High Seat Chair is formed in a straightforward style, a continuation of the simple design Nanna Ditzel learnt during her training with Kaare Klint and the functionalist tradition - a tradition which Ditzel further developed and departed from.

190px_Nanna Ditzels datter Vita Ditzel i den høje barnestol ca 1956 Foto Nanna Ditzel Design ASBreakaway designers
Nanna Ditzel covers a wide field: from design concepts, to furniture, jewellery, tableware and textiles - and a long period: from her start at the Craftsmen-Designers' Carpentry Day School in 1943 until 2005 when she died - still active as a designer. She was one of the "young revolutionaries" along with her husband, Joergen Ditzel, the artist Gunnar Aagaard Andersen and the designer Verner Panton. Gunnar Aagaard Andersen in particular worked closely with the Ditzel furniture designer couple. The trio broke with conventional norms, they were - like Panton - preoccupied with using space in a new way. A staircase concept in clear colours, which divided the room up into different levels, so people could sprawl about while they spoke to one another. Or suspended swinging basketware seating which swayed in the room just like a hammock. Why does a chair absolutely have to have four legs?

Ditzel awarded top order
Nanna Ditzel lived and worked in London for 18 years and her frequent study trips abroad inspired new ideas within her. Her encounter with the turquoise and pink colours of Mexico inspired her to develop the Hallingdal textile line which you can still see used in some Danish State Railways trains. In 1995 Nanna Ditzel was invested with the Order of Dannebrog, and in 1998 the Ministry of Culture granted her a lifelong endowment for her work.

Children's furniture universe
High Seat was one of the first furniture designs for children. Today the market has exploded and many designers are working with furniture and arrangements for children. Here in Denmark the artistic duo Bosch & Fjord are in 2006 putting the finishing touches to a improvement project at Ordrup School, near Copenhagen. Here a variety of different tubular seating arrangements, holes, hollows and rooms within a room combine to create environments which promote diversified education and creative new thinking. All very much in the Ditzel spirit. Fifty years after her first children's furniture ...

Charlotte Jul is a writer on design and responsible editor of the periodical KUNSTUFF.

Nanna Ditzel's daughter Vita Ditzel in the High Seat Chair, 1956. Photo: Nanna Ditzel Design A/S.