Georg Jensen
Georg Jensen gambled his life savings at 37 years old on opening a tiny silversmith shop in the spring of 1904. Jensen was born in 1866, the seventh of eight children, in the town of Radvaad just north of Copenhagen. Moving to Copenhagen when he was 14 he apprenticed as a goldsmith with the firm Guldsmed Andersen. There he attended a technical school and after four years he left to pursue his interest in sculpting which he studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, graduating in 1892. He married and fathered his first child the previous year and was unsuccessful as a sculptor so he began to look for other work. So he began as a modeler at the Bing & Grøndahl porcelain factor. He then set up his own small pottery workshop in partnership with Christian Petersen in 1898. His wife died tragically leaving him with two young sons to raise. Sales were slow and by 1901 he had to change direction again. This is when he looked to work as a silversmith and designer with Mogens Ballin. Three years later in the spring of 1904 he opened a small silversmith workshop at 36 Bredgade in Copenhagen. He married his housekeeper Maren, with whom he had one daughter, but within three years he found himself a widower for the second time.
Then in 1907 he married Johanne Nielsen which brought him not only happiness and stability at home but it also proved to be of professional significance as several of her siblings would go on to work for the company. By 1908 Jensen was employing nine staff and mentoring two apprentices. Jensen was keen to collaborate with other designers and craftsmen. He always fully credited those he worked with and these type of collaborations were synonymous with the Georg Jensen company. In 1912 he moved to a larger premises on Knippelsbrogade and a showroom was opened at 21 Bredgade which was run by Johanne’s sister. Another sister became the bookkeeper, her eldest brother photographed every new collection for the company and most significantly, her youngest brother Harald became an indispensable part of the team. He created detailed drawings for the silversmiths to work from and often completed the detailed work on Jensen’s designs. He would eventually succeed his brother in law as artistic director of the company. By 1918 his staff had grown to 125 and another move to larger premises became necessary as well as a newly designed elegant shop from which to sell the work. His beloved wife unfortunately passed that same year. They had had three children during their eleven years together. Jensen distracted himself from the personal trouble by opened a shop in Paris on the rue Saint-Honoré. This was followed by one in London three years later and in 1924 he opened a boutique in New York. Jensen briefly moved to Paris in 1925. He returned to Copenhagen a year later and resumed his position as artistic director of the company, continuing to help it grow and winning numerous awards at World Fairs including Paris in 1925 and Barcelona in 1929. Before those fairs he married again in 1920 going on to have two more children (at this time nearly 61 years old). Georg Jensen died in 1935.
Then in 1907 he married Johanne Nielsen which brought him not only happiness and stability at home but it also proved to be of professional significance as several of her siblings would go on to work for the company. By 1908 Jensen was employing nine staff and mentoring two apprentices. Jensen was keen to collaborate with other designers and craftsmen. He always fully credited those he worked with and these type of collaborations were synonymous with the Georg Jensen company. In 1912 he moved to a larger premises on Knippelsbrogade and a showroom was opened at 21 Bredgade which was run by Johanne’s sister. Another sister became the bookkeeper, her eldest brother photographed every new collection for the company and most significantly, her youngest brother Harald became an indispensable part of the team. He created detailed drawings for the silversmiths to work from and often completed the detailed work on Jensen’s designs. He would eventually succeed his brother in law as artistic director of the company. By 1918 his staff had grown to 125 and another move to larger premises became necessary as well as a newly designed elegant shop from which to sell the work. His beloved wife unfortunately passed that same year. They had had three children during their eleven years together. Jensen distracted himself from the personal trouble by opened a shop in Paris on the rue Saint-Honoré. This was followed by one in London three years later and in 1924 he opened a boutique in New York. Jensen briefly moved to Paris in 1925. He returned to Copenhagen a year later and resumed his position as artistic director of the company, continuing to help it grow and winning numerous awards at World Fairs including Paris in 1925 and Barcelona in 1929. Before those fairs he married again in 1920 going on to have two more children (at this time nearly 61 years old). Georg Jensen died in 1935.
