Thema chair – Swedese
Yngve Ekström, 1953 

Beautiful, simple, comfortable – and loved. When a Swedish interiors magazine asked its readers to vote for "a piece of furniture from the 20th century", they chose the Lamino armchair designed by Yngve Ekström, the founder of the Swedish company Swedese. "Having designed a good chair may not be a bad life,” he had said many years before. But his legacy is far greater than the Lamino. Yngve Ekström had his own personal style, which allows much of his furniture to be preserved and kept in production.

Ekström was born in 1913 in Småland, where the oldest furniture factory in the country was located. His father died young and Ekström started working in the factory when he was 13 years old. His talent with woodworking and his diverse experience gave him a keen eye for materials and construction.

Like Alvar Aalto, Bruno Mathsson, Arne Jacobsen and Poul Kjaerholm, Yngve Ekström was part of the post-war modern movement that made the concept of "modern Scandinavian" world famous. His furniture is presented in numerous permanent collections, notably at the Victoria & Albert Museum, in London.