Nordic Legacy

The partnership reflects a shared appreciation for craftsmanship and vintage furniture. Great Dane founder Anton Assaad and Dagmar’s Aaron Fitzgerald each began their respective journeys with an obsession for vintage pieces, evolving that passion into a commitment to enduring Scandinavian design. 

Central to Dagmar’s approach is an appreciation for the designers and cabinetmakers who defined Scandinavian Modernism. Through carefully considered reissues, the brand places renewed focus on form, proportion and presence, preserving the qualities that made these designs significant while demonstrating their continued relevance today. 

Through Great Dane, the Clam Chair and Karu Chair have recently been introduced to the Australian market, joined most recently by the Tissø Sofa by Danish designer Alfred Christensen.

Originally designed in 1952 as the Model 185 sofa for Slagelse Møbelværk, the furniture manufacturer Christensen owned with his brother Erik, the Tissø Sofa is immediately recognisable by its distinctive heart-shaped back. Its name references Lake Tissø in West Zealand, where Christensen and his son Guido would often go fishing, connecting the reissued piece with a personal part of the designer’s story.

The Clam Chair reaches further back into Danish design history. Designed in Copenhagen in 1944 by Danish upholsterer Arnold Madsen, the chair became known as the Muslingstol, or Clam Chair, for its distinctive form. The following year, Madsen founded furniture company Madsen & Schubell with cabinetmaker Henry Schubell to produce the design.

Dagmar has since relaunched the Clam Chair in collaboration with the estate of Arnold Madsen. The new edition combines traditional joinery techniques with modern technology, retaining the integrity of a piece that became an icon of the Danish Modern movement.

The Karu Chair draws from a different chapter of Nordic design. A contemporary update of a classic design first produced in Finland by Haimi Oy in the early 1950s, its curved arms and subtle winged back embody the post-war Nordic aesthetic. Its balanced proportions allow it to sit comfortably within both bedroom and living spaces.

Beyond seating, Dagmar also revisits the work of significant Danish designers through pieces including the Entre Bedside Table. Designed by Kai Kristiansen in 1956 as part of a modular collection of bedside cabinets, benches and chests, the new editions are produced in small batches in Denmark and offered in oak or walnut.

Severin Hansen’s Model 35 Bedside Table similarly returns as part of the Margrethe Collection. Defined by Hansen’s signature three-way mitred joints and tapering legs, the reissued design reflects the forward-thinking approach that brought the Danish designer international attention.

Together, the collection illustrates the longevity at the heart of Scandinavian Modern design. Rather than simply looking back, Dagmar allows significant pieces to become part of contemporary interiors once more, preserving their original character while introducing their stories to a new generation.

For Australian design enthusiasts, architects and interior designers, Great Dane’s partnership with Dagmar offers a new opportunity to encounter these enduring Scandinavian forms closer to home.

LEARN MORE: https://greatdanefurniture.com/collections/dagmar/