Sika Design
Furniture with Craftmanship
Sika Design is a Danish furniture manufacturer from Rynkeby, about 15 kilometres east of Odense, and official partner of TAGWERC. The TAGWERC Design STORE offers selected, handmade seating furniture from the Sika Design collection. All other furniture from Sika Design as well as accessories and spare parts are also available at TAGWERC.
Sika-Design is now run as a family business in the second and third generation and specialized in hand-braided rattan furniture for indoor and outdoor use. Sika Design says proudly of its own tradition and craftsmanship: “Our passion and understanding of Rattan goes back decades. We’ve been there long enough to call ourselves Scandinavia’s oldest manufacturer of rattan and wicker furniture.”
Reeds and straw
In fact, the company’s history begins in 1940, when a man named Ankjær Andreasen begins to make flower tables, lampshades and baskets, as well as other smaller decorative furniture for the interiors of rushes and pastures. In Mossa, not far from Horsens in Denmark, there is a shortage of raw materials due to war and high unemployment, as in many places. Flexibility and inventiveness are in demand and so Ankjær Andreasen uses free, unnecessary and raw materials such as reeds from the swamps and straw, which lies in the fields after harvesting. When the war is over, willow baskets are made in the Horsens state prison. In the 1950s, furniture from Rattan expanded Andreasen’s repertoire. In the 1960s, teak furniture was added, which was worn by a metal scaffold and is still sometimes traded in auction houses today.
Traditional craftsmanship
The materials, such as rattan and teak, were imported from Asia, and Ankjær Andreasen regularly traveled there to purchase materials for domestic production. The special craftsmanship of the basket weavers in the Far East finally led Ankjær Andreasen to move his production to Malaysia in 1972. Today the company manufactures in Indonesia and the name has also changed. The name Sika Design is inspired by the Sika deer, an Asian deer species. The animals are delicate, attentive and particularly agile. In case of danger, sika deers escape in swamps and into the water, as they are very good swimmers.
Passion for rattan furniture
In 1983, Andreasen handed over the management of his company to his son Knud. Nevertheless, until shortly before his death in 1997, the company’s founder can be found daily in the company during his so-called ‘inspections’. “On my tenth birthday, my father allowed me to take part in a trade fair where Sika-Design exhibited a series of rattan furniture,” recalls Knud Andreasen. “That day I knew I wanted to be part of his company, and my passion for rattan furniture began.”
Specialization and certification
Production in Indonesia is done by traditional handicraft. Hand-harvested rattan rods from the rattan palm are also used as the basis and working material. They are interspersed with individual fiber ducts. Their special anatomy makes rattan rods particularly light and elastic. For braiding the armchairs, sofas, footstools and hanging chairs, Rattan is steamed for a few minutes before it can be processed by basket makers into rattan furniture. Sika Design states that all production is certified according to the SA8000 standard and complies with the ISO14001 standard. This certification is intended to guarantee the highest level of environmental and social sustainability.
Icons Collection at TAGWERC
In addition to its own Sika Design drafts, TAGWERC is particularly interested in the ‘Icons’ collection, which includes designs by Arne Jacobsen, Nanna Ditzel, Viggo Boesen, Robert Wengler and Franco Albini. These furniture designs with names like ‘Fox Lounge Chair’, Teddy Lounge Chair’, ‘Charlottenborg Lounge Chair’, ‘Paris Chair’, ‘Nanny Rocking Chair’ or ‘Hanging Egg Chair’ are unique and timeless design classics to this day, not least because of their versatility and flexibility. Coupled with their longevity, Sika Design’s chairs, armchairs, sofas, tables and accessories are also used in bistros, restaurants, hotels and cruise ships around the world.
Modern materials and technologies
Sika Design has remained true to its location in Denmark and is now run here as a family business in the second and third generation. The values and maxims of the company founder are still committed to this day. These have been adapted to new materials and technologies. Sika Design is represented with the design classic collection ‘Icons’ in the TAGWERC Design STORE. As the official sales partner of Sika Design, TAGWERC will provide you with all original designs and accessories from the Sika Design collection.