Surrounded by mystique, originally known as the SW 86 in the 1950s, the Kettelhut Chair was a striking design that Finn Juhl envisaged as having international appeal. Retaining the right to manufacture it abroad, he sent drawings to Baker Furniture in the United States. Baker had already launched and relaunched Juhl’s designs on the American market but declined to produce the SW 86 at that time.
Seventy years later, Baker Furniture’s former vice president of marketing reached out to the House of Finn Juhl saying she had received an original watercolour of a chair as a gift from her employer. This turned out to be an illustration of the SW 86. House of Finn Juhl decided to put the chair into production under the new name of ‘Kettelhut,’ in honour of the drawing’s owner, Mary Ellen Kettelhut. The chair itself has an unpretentious expression, with broad, embracing armrests that give it a commanding presence.
Finn Juhl was born on the 30th January 1912 in Frederiksberg, Denmark.
Although trained in architecture, it was his modern furniture designs that made him an international name. His first pieces of furniture were designed for his own apartment and were manufactured by the young Danish carpenter, Niels Vodder.
In 1946 Juhl got his first major interior assignment at Bing and Grøndahl’s store at Amagertorv in Copenhagen. This later became one of his main works and was awarded with the Eckersberg Medal in 1947. Soon after, he was given the opportunity to help furnish the new headquarters of the United Nations in NY - something which established his name with the American audience.
He is most famous today for his iconic furniture designs including The Chieftan Chair and The 108 Chair which are now produced by the House of Finn Juhl.
