Jens Risom

Jens Risom was born in Copenhagen. His father, Sven Risom was a well known architect and encouraged Jens to study design. Jens first studied business for two years at the Business College of Niels Brock in Copenhagen. He shifted his studies to furniture design and attended Kunsthåndvaerkerskolen, the School for Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen where he studied with fellow classmate Hans Wegner and worked under the likes of Kaare Klint.

In the late 1930s, Risom moved to the United States and collaborated with the famous furniture manufacturer Hans Knoll resulting in the Risom Collection. Risom used birch wood frames and weaved discarded parachute webbing due to the material restrictions of WWII. Despite the simplicity of the materials, the Risom collection is revered by many as elegant and streamlined. It is a classic example of Scandinavian Modernism.