MODERN TIMES
tesy of Lenox Group, Inc. tesy of Lenox Group, Inc.
Cour Cour
Tabletop Two
Dansk Designs, whose flatware, china, linens and glassware were Mettalise, a metallic-glazed porcelain that references both Refsgaard’s
some of the most coveted of their midcentury era, is returning to its own classic Dansk dinnerware designs and those of Quistgaard, priced
classic designs and introducing new ones. Under a program spear- at $59.95 per place setting. Soon, even the No. 810/811 ice bucket,
headed by Paul Thonis, the company’s design director, who collabo- formerly made in teak, will be available again, this time in acacia, an
rated with Dansk co-founder and chief designer, Jens Quistgaard abundant, fast-growing wood with excellent color and grain, making
(1919–2008) in its glory years and returned to the company in 2002, the design more affordable to a new generation of Dansk lovers.
Dansk reintroduced Quistgaard’s Kongo of 1955 earlier this year (Real Thonis seeks out old Dansk designs, sales literature and ephem-
Modern, Vol. 11, No. 2). Sales have been so gratifying that Dansk is era to guide vintage product redevelopment. The ice bucket proved
now bringing back its very first design: the teak-handled Fjord flat- difficult to recreate, until Thonis found old factory photos that gave
ware, introduced in 1954. Fjord has been unavailable since 1984, clues to the original manufacturing process. He has also interviewed
when its 30-year run ended due to price increases. The new version, people connected to former Dansk suppliers to better understand the
called Classic Fjord, has been re-sized in accordance with today’s pref- techniques and materials.
erence for larger flatware and its teak comes from sustainably man- More revivals of classic Dansk are contemplated; collectors can
aged forests in Panama. Classic Fjord is priced at $100 per five-piece look forward to the day when many, if not all, of the designs are
place setting, but is discounted on the Dansk website to $59.95. back in stores everywhere, as they were when modernism was
Also back is Quistgaard’s Fluted Flamestone stoneware of 1957, mainstream. For more information, visit the Dansk website at
redeveloped in a slightly smaller size to fit today’s dishwashers and www.dansk.com. —Sandy McLendon
priced at $49.95 per place setting; an all-ivory version has been add-
Above left The new Flamestone is slightly smaller
ed to the original brown and ivory colorway. Dansk has re-engaged than the 1957 version.
Danish potter Niels Refsgaard (1934–), whose Generation stoneware
Above right Classic Fjord, Dansk’s new version of their
was a ‘60s best-seller for the company, to do new lines. One of these is
1954 Fjord flatware by Jens Quistgaard.
Marvels of the Modernist Landscape
The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TLCF) works to bring endangered or little-known, signifi-
cant landscapes to the attention of the public through its annual Landslide initiative. This year,
Landslide highlights the work of modernist landscape architects such as Garrett Eckbo, M. Paul
Friedberg, Lawrence Halprin, Dan Kiley, Ted Osmundson, John Simonds and Robert Royston, who
died on September 19 (see Modernism’s online edition at www.modernismmagazine.com).
Landscapes are particularly vulnerable to the threat of redevelopment. One example is the
looming demolition of Boston’s City Hall Plaza (1961), along with City Hall, both designed by the
architecture firm of Kallmann, McKinnell and Knowles. Another is San Francisco’s Parkmerced
(1941), a large-scale apartment complex combining low- and high-rise units that is tempting
developers in a city of stratospherically priced real estate. With a layout by Leonard Schultze
and landscaping by Thomas Church and Robert Royston, Parkmerced features considerable
green space that is an important contributor to the city’s quality of life.
This year, Landslide’s endangered sites are being presented online at www.tclf.org/landslide;
on signboards displayed at each site; and in original photography at George Eastman House
Museum of International Photography and Film in Rochester, New York, on display through
January 5, 2009. For more information, visit www.tclf.org/landslide/2008/exhibit.html. —SM
20 www.modernismmagazine.com