Chairik XL 134 Chair: 5-Star Swivel Base

Founder Morten Engelbrecht found his bliss while working for a Copenhagen furniture store at age 17. He didn’t know it at first; he even tried twice to get into architecture school. “I realized that it was never going to happen,” he says, and in 1989 he started his own furniture company while still in his twenties. First as an importer of other European brands, Engelbrechts then developed into an international manufacturer, partnering with the likes of renowned Danish designers Erik Magnussen, Jørgen Rasmussen and Anders Hermansen.

“Simplicity, functionality, high comfort, the design must be useful,” Morten says as he ticks off the company’s priorities. “We don’t make small details just to make it look nice, that’s not how we work.” Creating timeless furniture is also how his company looks to the future. “Good design is sustainable, both in terms of the environment but also sustainable in terms of long-lasting products that you want to keep for a lifetime.”