A piece of cult always pleasant to live in, but with no pre-determined rules or limitations, and always leaving room for innovation. They were challenged by new materials and techniques that <strong>the</strong>y researched, experimented with and created new, inspired shapes. Like many designers of that era, <strong>the</strong> Ditzels worked on producing multi-functional furniture, which would be an economical solution for decorating a smaller apartment, in proportion with <strong>the</strong> needs of that era. Nanna never looked for inspiration in <strong>the</strong> already existent shapes of furniture or textile, but ra<strong>the</strong>r from momentary perception. She would get inspired by a photograph, motif from <strong>the</strong> nature or a detail from <strong>the</strong> urban environment, and that would set <strong>the</strong> stage for thorough analysis, which contained <strong>the</strong> start of <strong>the</strong> new idea. Nanna Ditzel worked for some of <strong>the</strong> leading designer companies, and some of her works have reached classic status during her lifetime as well (for instance, <strong>the</strong>re is Hallingdal, which was designed for <strong>the</strong> company “Square”). One of <strong>the</strong> more famous Nanna Ditzel’s pieces must be <strong>the</strong> “Egg Chair”, designed in 1957 with Jorgen Ditzel. It is a rounded chair that calls upon a shape of an egg or a cocoon, which freely “flows” through <strong>the</strong> air while attached only to a detached frame from non-corrosive steel, or it can also hang from a ceiling. It was made as <strong>the</strong> finest product of Scandinavian organic design. Both <strong>the</strong> shape and <strong>the</strong> structure, a wattle made from osier twigs, evoke a certain “female principle” by capturing <strong>the</strong> essence of birth, nature, shelter, warmth and delicacy. Although it was launched about fifty years ago, this chair still radiates freshness, simplicity and effortlessness that provide her with a timeless aura, and make it just as attractive now as it was <strong>the</strong>n. A chair for a dreamer, but also for a businessman who’s taking a break to look for an escapist five-minute return to nature where he can return to himself inside a safe cocoon, is a carefully designed object filled with symbolism. The chair is often used in interiors, becoming a part of <strong>the</strong> “funky” household décor, as well as in refined stores, but it’s also perfect for a terrace or garden. These days, it is produced by <strong>the</strong> “Pierantonio Bonacina” company, and it can be purchased in both its versions, as a detached or a hanging object, and we should add that <strong>the</strong> latter version is very appropriate for imaginative exteriors. The “Egg Chair” is an excellent example of designer’s resistance to impersonal mass production because, along with its characteristics of quality design work, it also features a strong author’s signature. Nanna Ditzel has added freshness into <strong>the</strong> every-day living spaces, re-establishing <strong>the</strong> connection between nature and architecture, but also putting <strong>the</strong>m in a state of discrete conflict that, at least when it comes to <strong>the</strong> “Egg Chair”, creates a new type of dynamics in <strong>the</strong> every-day surrounding. This designer piece also does a great job of testifying about <strong>the</strong> designer’s priorities and about how much personality she poured in it. The “Egg Chair”, in a way, <strong>offer</strong>s a slightly different feeling to an individual, a setback from <strong>the</strong> standard way of sitting, while giving him comfort, sense of protection, at least while he’s smoothly swinging, as he is seated into <strong>the</strong> comfortable, soft nucleus of its oval shapes. In <strong>the</strong> late sixties, several years after her husband passed away, Nanna Ditzel moved to London and started an international furniture house “Interspace” with Kurt Heide. The general idea was to create a “showroom” and a place where international designers can interact. During <strong>the</strong> following period, Nanna has remained extremely active on <strong>the</strong> international design scene, and has worked for leading manufacturers: making jewellery for company “Georg Jansen”, fabrics for “Square”, furniture for “Fredericia”. She has thrown exhibitions all over <strong>the</strong> world, had solo-exhibitions in Amsterdam, Berlin, New York, Vienna, London, Milan… She has received numerous international awards, and <strong>the</strong> one that truly matters would be <strong>the</strong> Japanese one for “Bench for Two” (Fredericia). She was chosen to become an Honorary Royal Designer in London in 1996, and she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Denmark in 1998. Nanna Ditzel, seen by many as <strong>the</strong> uncrowned queen of Danish design, has left behind practically classic pieces of work in <strong>the</strong> field of modern design, and she has permanently marked all of Danish culture. 103
Dekoracije BERLONI, www.berloni.com Osječka 9, 21000 Split Kuhinja rustikalnog stila A<strong>the</strong>na, dizajn Luciano Grugni / Country style kitchen A<strong>the</strong>n, design Luciano Grugni 104
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