One could say that working with the possibilities of the veneer and stretching it to its limits is a signature for some of your work. Where does a new design takes its beginning for you? Is in the user’s needs or maybe in the properties of the materials?

This idea for the Soft chair, of draping the seat and backrest with moulded veneer on a solid wooden frame was the starting point for the project. So in this case, the materiel and the idea of moulded veneer as textile was the beginning, but I knew the whole time that it was about a chair and a function — function should always be present in design, otherwise there is no need, and therefore no reason to produce in my opinion. Besides that, I try to push the limits of material and processes in all the projects I do — to innovate. 

With roots in the Danish design tradition and with a background as a craftsman, where do you see craft in industrial production? It’s not as visible as before, but is it still there?

When industrial production is done right, it is craftsmanship to me. To make complex, high-quality products made to last in mass production, is difficult and demands skilled craftspeople and production facilities. We designers have a role to challenge the materials, production, processes, and people so that we can help develop and maintain modern craftsmanship.

This idea for the Soft chair, of draping the seat and backrest with molded veneer on a solid wooden frame was the starting point for the project.

-Thomas Bentzen-