With an unwavering commitment to traditional craftsmanship and a penchant for innovative design, Swedish furniture designer Åke Axelsson carved out a distinct niche in the realm of Scandinavian carpentry, one he continued to establish decades after he made his first chair. Now, to mark his passing, we revisit our 2023 sit-down with the functional fundamentalist
Most days, you can find Åke Axelsson in his workshop in Valholm, where wooden chairs of various shapes and sizes hang from hooks attached to the birch wood roof. His tools – chisels, mallets and hammers – are neatly displayed on one wall above a well-worn workbench. Even though he’s accomplished so much in his life, at 91, he is still working, his lifelong passion for carpentry as unrelenting now as when he was a child. “When I was 12 years old, I made a small wall cabinet in the woodworking class in school,” the carpenter designer reminisces. “It has followed me through the years.”
His work – awarded with an array of prestigious accolades – is subtle, meaning it can sometimes get glossed over when discussing “Scandinavian furniture classics”. While most people have come to covet known icons from the likes of Alvar Aalto, Arne Jacobsen, and Finn Juhl, Axelsson has been quietly working on his unassuming, understated carpentry. In fact, most people in Sweden have probably sat on an Åke Axelsson-designed chair without really realising it. His chairs line the desks at Vogue Scandinavia’s offices, perch quietly in corners of libraries, and in the coming year will house politicians in the United Nations.
‘Light & Easy’ chair, €590. Gärsnäs. Photo: Kristian Bengtsson