MORTEN GEORGSEN: “Simplicity can be popular in any country because people of every background are able to understand it.”

Following Denmark’s finest traditions, Furniture Designer’s Morten Georgsen collaborated with Bang & Olufsen prior the establishment of his first company, Futhark Design. Inspired and full of ideas, Georgsen not only produced sensational pieces of furniture for both residential and commercial sectors, but he is also extremely enthusiastic about making great designs affordable and accessible for everybody. He refers Scandinavian icons such as Abba and Ikea, who may have a love-hate relationship with their audience but have been adopted by the world.
Democratic Design is a philosophy he embraces and practices in his own life. As he quotes: “The world of design has always been wrapped up in a layer of snobbery and elitism, as if good taste is the intellectual preserve of a few and the aesthetic monopoly of artists. In some ways, this aura that surrounds designers and architects is good, as a certain mystique can inspire and challenge new generations to emulate the great masters that went before, but at the end of the day furnishing is a practical need that we all have – and in that sense, we all deserve quality.”
It is obvious that Georgsen’s statement does not endorse the hierarchy of design scholars who “decorate’ their work with pseudo-intellectual language and provide an intricate sociological significance to their design method.
“Let artists experiment with their deepest feelings and then try to explain them back to us as we stand before some piece of modern art,” claims Morten Georgsen. “As for designers, well, we have an earthlier practical role to fulfil, although I do agree that design is where art and engineering, culture and industry, come together.”
EXQUISITE DESIGN FOR EVERYONE
Georgsen founded Futhark Design (later By Georgsen) thanks to his passion for design and its consequences in people’s lives. He sees no difference in people’s social status and cannot comprehend why everybody can experience stunning, well-designed pieces. By saying that he has turned into a connoisseur in styling to order, and has produced collections for affordable priced retailers such as Carrefour as he is at creating avant-garde pieces for high end Italian and Scandinavian brands such as Bo Concept.
“Of course, it is great fun and creatively very pleasing to make limited series pieces for luxurious brands,” states Morten. “For one thing, you know your creations will be made with the use of the finest materials, which cannot help but make them more beautiful. A natural feeling for design – that is stylish and trendy as opposed to faddish and pastiche – combines with a knowledge of materials and the structural part of the job. However, making an affordable range look first rate is even more of a challenge – and an achievement we have become something of a specialist company in.”
While developing concepts for mass brands, Georgsen and his team must consider factors such as tighter development budgets, cheaper materials, an extent practical operation and beyond all that, designing with reasonable costs, mass-produced manufacturing scheme in place. - “There are often more variables and you become more involved with external factors such as production processes, logistics, styling that suits heavily segmented mass market tastes and ultimately, creating a great product range at highly economical prices.”
A BRILLIANT VISION
BY GEORGSEN, employs a creative team based in Valencia, Spain which consists of designers from a multicultural background ranging in all ages. Because of this Morten's style is strongly in the Scandinavian tradition but with a multi-national outlook. "The different cultural traditions and age perspectives enrich our work" states Morten.
"This is very important in an industry where it is perhaps too easy to become complacent and keep repeating a certain 'house stye'. I like to shake things up and keep them fresh, so besides exploring new styles in themselves we are also always looking for new materials to work with, combining new and old to inspire new ideas and create combinations".
“Simplicity can be popular in any country because people of every background are able to understand it. Everyone can recognize the beauty of a finely crafted piece of furniture”
-Morten Georgsen