ABOUT KAY BOJESEN (1886 - 1958)

Kay Bojesen

Kay Bojesen considered himself a craftsman and first and foremost a silversmith. His motivation for creating new works was to shape things that would function and last. It was important for him that the things he made, could contribute something to the world, as he knew utilities were born from a demand, not aesthetics. Even many years after his death, Kay Bojesen’s designs remain highly beloved and are considered iconic symbols of Danish design, that spread joy in homes all over the world.

The functionalist Kay Bojesen

Kay Bojesen was trained as a silversmith in Georg Jensen’s silver workshop by the man himself in the beginning of the 1900s, which was a time characterized by Danish art nouvau and silver with a hammered surface. This is evident in Bojesen’s earliest works, which combine organic shapes, references to nature, complicated ornamentation, and sophisticated detailing.

Kay Bojesen’s curious nature made him very receptive to other movements. After completing his apprenticeship at Georg Jensen, he travelled around Europe, gathering new impressions and inspiration. When Kay Bojesen returned to Copenhagen during the 1910’s, he had become a big advocate for functionalism, which became characterizing for his subsequent work.

Kay Bojesen continued working in silver, which was his favourite material. The silver’s reflective properties captivated him and he mastered getting the clean, smooth surface appear as the decoration in itself. This approach to the craft has resulted in his designs still being as relevant in expression and function today, as they were when they were originally created.

HISTORICAL TIMELINE

Kay Bojesen established himself and created both a family- and working life in Copenhagen; the city where he grew up and was trained as a silversmith. He was incredibly diligent, ambitious, and talented at the silver craft, and therefore experienced recognition for his creations during his own lifetime. Today, Kay Bojesen’s design legacy is carried on by the family, who delve into his archive and introduce his designs in updated materials and sizes.

1886
1903
1907
1910
1913
1913
1919
1920’s
1922
1929
1931
1935
1938
1951
1951
1952
1953
1958
1991
2011
1886
Kay Bojesen is born on 15th of August in Copenhagen and is raised in a creative family. He is son of Valborg Rønsholdt and publisher Ernst Bojesen, co-founder of the prominent publishing house, now known as ‘Forlaget Gyldendal’, becoming the third child in a row of four siblings.
1903
After having received his preliminary exam, young Kay is sent to apprentice as a merchant outside Copenhagen, where he becomes familiar with trade and finance. To make a living, Kay Bojesen begins working at a goldsmith, where he is trusted with making patterns and, for the first time, explores his creative side, which he is far more drawn to.
1907
When Kay Bojesen completes his apprenticeship at the age of 20, he immediately returns to his beloved Copenhagen to pursue the creative. He discovers Georg Jensen’s newly opened silver workshop and decides to apply for an apprenticeship. In 1907, Kay begins his training, being taught in the silver craft by Georg Jensen himself.
1910
Kay Bojesen receives his certificate as a silversmith in 1910, accommodated by a few commending words from Georg Jensen, who has already at this point discovered that Kay “is in possession of considerable talent”, and writes that: “it is my belief that a young man with his abilities can make it far”. After this, Kay Bojesen travels to Germany, where he attends the vocational school for precious metals, after which he moves to Paris, where he works as a silversmith for a short number of years.
1913
After living abroad for three years, Kay Bojesen returns to Copenhagen, where he finds work. However, he quickly decides to open his own workshop, and with help from his father, he opens up his own silver workshop in 1913 in a basement at Nybrogade 14 in central Copenhagen.
1913
The same year, Kay Bojesen is admitted to the Copenhagen Goldsmith Guild, and in that connection gets his own trademark designed by Hans Tegner. It is based on the Bojesen-family’s old family emblem – a buoy floating on a wave. This can still be found above the door of Nybrogade 14 more than a century later, and has become the motif for the logo and silver stamp in all Bojesen’s works. The original trademark has later been reproduced by Gustav Biilmann Petersen, who in 1933 created the recognizable version found on Kay Bojesen’s products today.
1919
Kay Bojesen’s business in Nybrogade is a success, and after only a few years, he already has numerous employees, including Erna Drøge-Møller, who becomes the workshop secretary in 1914. Five years later, in 1919, Kay and Erna marry each other. In September of the same year, their son, Otto Bojesen, is born, becoming the muse for many of Kay’s cutlery pieces, tableware and toy designs for children.
1920’s
Kay Bojesen is considered one of the most skilled and acknowledged silversmiths of the time and stands out amongst some of the most reputable Danish architects, designers and craftsmen. Kay Bojesen is very progressive in his approach to design, exploring new materials and international movements, which becomes the beginning of his functionalist philosophy.
1922
The association ‘Dansk Arbejde’ holds a toy competition in Copenhagen. Kay Bojesen enters the competition and wins a prestigious cash prize. He receives many praises for his creations, which marks the start of a career in toys.
1929
Kay Bojesen creates his first set of cutlery for an exhibition, and finds that the cutlery is met with positivity and even steels the focus from his silver corpus, which have been the core of his portfolio so far.
1931
Kay Bojesen has sold his workshop in Nybrogade and is free from regular work. Instead, he spends his energy on a ground-breaking project, based on his own idea. It is named The Permanent Exhibition for Danish Crafts and Art Industry or simply ‘Den Permanente’ (The Permanent) in the vernacular and exists or 50 years between 1931 and 1981. This becomes a gathering place for Danish design icons, including Kay Bojesen’s own works, which are displayed and sold at the exhibition.
1935
In the mid-30’s, Kay Bojesen opens a combined boutique and workshop in a basement at Bredgade 47, Copenhagen. The interest in Kay Bojesen’s products, especially the wooden toys at this time, is so great that the window down to the shop shatters from the pressure of the many curious customers that are eager to have a look inside the shop on the opening day. Kay Bojesen’s designs thrive and are popular in Denmark as well as abroad.
1938
In 1938, Kay Bojesen has a solo exhibition at the Art-industry Museum in Copenhagen, where he, for the first time, presents the silver cutlery, which later becomes known as the ‘Grand Prix’ cutlery. The cutlery awakens great interest with its clean, simple look, which is described as the epitome of the potential of functionalism.
1951
Kay Bojesen presents the iconic monkey in 1951 for an exhibition with Steen Eiler Rasmussen. Here, a coat rack was to be created for a children’s room. Kay Bojesen designed the monkey with long arms that would bring the hook down to children’s height, and with legs that could be used to hang clothes on. During the first month, no less than 600 monkeys were sold from Bojesen’s own shop and at ‘Den Permanente’
1951
At the major world’s fair, IX Triennale di Milano, Kay Bojesen presents his silver cutlery from 1938, and receives the prestigious first prize called ‘Grand Prix’, which the cutlery takes its name after.
1952
Kay Bojesen is awarded with the title as Purveyor to Her Majesty by the king Frederik IX, after regular, long-term trade with the Royal Court. The predicate has managed to be retained in the family ever since, firstly being passed on to Kay Bojesen’s wife Erna, and then onwards. More than 70 years later, it is linked to the company Kay Bojesen ApS.
1953
After several years of work, Kay Bojesen finally presents the Grand Prix cutlery in matte stainless steel, as only few other cutlery sets in Denmark at the time. Bojesen was a front-runner in using steel for his designs, and thereby succeed in making his designs available to the general public, who did not necessarily have the means or desire to use silver cutlery on a daily basis. Today the Grand Prix cutlery is referred to as Denmark’s national cutlery and can be found on Danish embassies all around the world.
1958
Kay Bojesen passes away at the age of 72 on the 28th of August. He was active silvercrafting until his death and thus leaves behind an immense design legacy to the family, with a portfolio of more than 2000 designs. Erna continues to run the store at Bredgade until her own death in 1986.
1991
Erik Rosendahl gets permission to produce selected toys and designs in wood, as well as the Grand Prix cutlery in steel, the latter of which was transferred back to Kay Bojesen ApS in 2009. Today the wooden figures are still managed by Rosendahl Design Group.
2011
Kay Bojesen’s youngest granddaughter, Sus Bojesen Rosenqvist, heir to the rights to her grandfather’s silver archive, founds the company Kay Bojesen ApS and relaunches the iconic Grand Prix cutlery in silver and steel.

Today Sus Bojesen Rosenqvist continues to delve into Kay Bojesen’s silver archive and from time to time brings new Kay Bojesen designs to life in relevant materials and sizes, still respecting Kay Bojesen’s distinctive character and design philosophy.

The ultimate cutlery: Grand Prix

With functionality as the starting point, Kay Bojesen set out to create the ultimate series of cutlery in silver, believing that cutlery pieces are tools that should not steel the attention at the table, but, on the other hand, provide a service, so the guests could focus on the food and enjoy the meal. This amounted to collection of cutlery pieces in silver, that were all adapted to the hand and the mouth, and in this way achieved the recognizable soft and harmonious shapes.

Kay Bojesen’s cutlery won great recognition and was awarded with the prestigious first prize ‘Grand Prix’ at the world’s fair in Milan in 1951, which also ended up giving the name to the cutlery series. One year later, Kay Bojesen presented the Grand Prix cutlery in matte steel, to appeal to the wider population through a more affordable material – and it worked. Today the Grand Prix cutlery is widely used in many Danish homes, and can be found in the Danish embassy residences all over the world, which means that the Grand Prix cutlery can pride itself with the rare title as: “Embassy cutlery”.

A man of many talents

Kay Bojesen was constantly rethinking his works. He broke with the norms of the time and was a pioneer within the field of classical Danish designs. Kay Bojesen innovated shapes, materials and functions, bringing more than 2000 different designs to life throughout his industrious working life. Besides the silver and steel, Kay Bojesen also mastered materials such as bamboo, melamine, porcelain, tin, glass and wood of course.

Already in the 1920’s, Kay Bojesen created his first wooden toy. After this he gained ground on the toy market with his popular cars, trains and none the least his animals – including horses and dogs, as well as more exotic animals such as hippos, zebras and elephants. One of the most famous of his animals, the monkey, which was created in 1951, has since become a popular design icon worldwide. It was first designed because Kay Bojesen was asked to make a coat rack for an exhibition with children’s furniture. The monkey’s long arms brought the hook down to children’s height, and the short legs made space for a hat and a scarf.

In the last years of his life, Kay Bojesen was to be found in the backroom of his boutique and workshop at Bredgade 47 in Copenhagen. Often dressed in a white smock and accompanied by his wife, Erna, at the cash register serving the many customers. Countless Kay Bojesen works were sold to both adults and children. When stepping into the shop, it felt like arriving into a whole other world with exclusive silverware and cutlery, monkeys, rocking horses, toys and wooden royal guards, cane prams and Finn Juhl’s bowls in teak wood, created by Magne Monsen woodcarving workshop on the opposite side of the street.

A family business

Kay Bojesen’s youngest grandchild, Sus Bojesen Rosenqvist, has since she was young had a natural interest in her grandfather’s craftsmanship and designs. As a young girl, Sus worked in her grandfather’s shop and later helped her father, Otto Bojesen, with the quality control of Kay Bojesen’s wooden animals and steelware. After the Grand Prix cutlery was taken off the market in 2009, Sus Bojesen Rosenqvist decided to return to Kay Bojesen’s universe, after having tried her own hands as a silversmith and with an education and career in photography behind her. In 2011 Sus founded the company Kay Bojesen ApS and relaunched her grandfather’s silverware and the iconic Grand Prix cutlery in matte and polished steel.

About Kay Bojesen