Illum Wikkelso

Kristian Illum Wikkelsø (1919 - 1999), created some of the most striking and beautifully crafted Danish furniture of the 1950's and 60's. After finishing his education as a cabinet maker at Fåborg Technical School in 1939, Wikkelso went on to study at the Copenhagen School of Arts and Crafts with contemporaries such as Hans Wegner.

Wikkelso graduated in 1943 and moved to Arhus in 1944 where he worked as an interior designer, carpenter and upholsterer with Knud Christiansen. Wikkelsø quickly showed his natural talent for design and went on to work as an architect with master carpenter Jacob Kjær and architect Peter Hvidt. He opened his own studio as an independent furniture designer in 1954.

In the late 1950's Wikkelso moved his studio to a small village south of Arhus and established himself in a two-century old farm. From this idyllic setting he designed his signature furniture, inspired by the Danish landscape and its natural organic forms. Wikkelso designed furniture for some of the top Danish furniture makers and received several medals and awards for his work.