Viken spring 20

As seen at MoMa back in 1985. Those who know, know.

Apart from the global community of design aficionados, not too many people know that Skargaarden’s Viken chair, by Gunilla Norin, is the folding teak chair. Viken is the Swedish word for bay – and it’s also the name of a small village on the Swedish west coast.

If it’s true that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it’s unlikely that any chair has been flattered as much as Viken. When Gunilla Norin designed it in 1983, she wanted a practical and comfortable chair for her balcony. So, she made one. Viken is the very essence of an idea that in hindsight is so obvious that it seems so simple: overlap the slats, so the seat can be folded. But the structure is unusual, since it is made entirely from wood.

There are no screws, frame or metal rods. What you see is what you get. And what you see is teak. For the past thirty years, the imitations, the copies and the mimics have come thick and fast. Some believe that it’s the most copied of all chairs. And that could well be the case. When you buy Viken, you’re buying the original. And it’s an extremely comfortable original in which to sit. Just as well Gunilla didn’t just buy a chair that fateful day.

Proud Viken owners still have their original chairs from back then, proving that investing in the original design, is money well spent. Thanks for taking the time reading this, we wish you a nice weekend. Whether you spend it in a Viken chair or not.