Grete Jalk

I started this blog September 6, 2010. Some of you have been readers since the beginning. Others have come on board later. From now through the end of the month, I'm going to be on a short blogging break. Not only am I in the middle of a big volunteer project, I'm also trying to help get the new store open, so I've decided share some of my favorite posts from the past four years. I'll throw in a few new photos for you longtime supporters who read the posts when they were first published.


(First published 11/26.2010)

Danish-born Grete Jalk (1920-2006) studied first at the School of Arts and Crafts, Copenhagen. Later she studied under Kaare Klint at the Danish Technical College. After apprenticing as a cabinetmaker, she opened a studio of her own in 1954 and began showing her work at the annual exhibitions of the Copenhagen Guild of Cabinetmakers.

Jalk´s pieces are often described as sculptural. Of all her work, the famed Plywood chair (1963), manufactured by Poul Jeppensen, best embodies this quality. It differs from any previous experiments with molded plywood by virtue of its sheer technical daring; despite being composed of two pieces, the effect is seamless and elegant. She also designed a well-known tubular steel chair for Fritz Hansen in 1964.

Jalk´s work as a furniture scholar is likewise noteworthy. Her 1987 book, The Art of Danish Furniture is an important contribution to the topic.

In 1946, she won the prestigious prize of the Copenhagen Joiners' Guild, and in 1963 she was awarded the Daily Mail International Furniture Competition award. She exhibited at the 1951 Triennale di Milano, the 1968 "Two Centuries of Danish Design" exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and in 1968 at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris.

Along with her colleagues Finn Juhl and Hans Wegner, Jalk´s early work helped to propel Danish design to the cutting edge of international style.

From lostcityarts.com

Laminate chair
huffingtonpost.com

Bench
artfinding.com

Stools
dwell.com

Daybed
1stdibs.com

Coffee table
mid2mod.com

Pair of armchairs
furniture-inc.de

Sofa
mid2mod.com

Flip-top bar cart
etsy.com - TheModernHistoric

Armchairs
1stdibs.com

Adjustable stool
1stdibs.com

High back armchair
midcenturymobler.com

Credenza
1stdibs.com

Lounge chairs
circamodern.com

Pronunciation Guide

Grete Jalk...just for me

I almost never look at Craigslist anymore, but I am a member of a local group on Facebook that buys, sells and trades mid-century pieces...and also posts when a great Craigslist bargain is spotted.

Imagine my surprise this afternoon when I logged on to find that someone had posted to let the group know about this Grete Jalk bar cart/table she had seen on CL. When I texted the owner to see if it was still available, I fully expected to be too late, but she still had it. Picking it up required a three-hour round trip drive, but the seller was offering it at such a steal of a price that it was worth every mile.

The seller was a woman about my age who said she chats up prospective buyers, and if they say they're going to paint a piece, she won't sell it to them. Now that's real dedication to the restoration process!

This one isn't going to the store. I bought it just for me. Thanks again for the tip, Sarah!

Grete Jalk bar cart

Grete Jalk bar cart top rotated and opening

Grete Jalk bar cart open to use as a table

In the store: A little old, a little new, a lot fabulous

For the past couple of months, we've been clearing out all our merchandise at the old location and stocking the new store. My SIL has made some stellar purchases, and Hank Tosh and Rene Martinez deserve a huge round of applause for the incredible restoration work they've done on a steady stream of pieces.

I could talk about all the new things for paragraphs on end, but I think I will let them speak for themselves.

Floor piece from the C. Jeré Birds in Flight series...over six feet tall

Need I say more?

Rare John Keal mahogany magazine table for Brown Saltman

Four beautifully reupholstered Saarinen Executive chairs and a black Tulip table

Grete Jalk sofa and coffee table with Raymor and Jens Quistgaard accessories
with a Gus* Modern Timber table and George Nelson cigar  lamp

Vintage cork and teak lamp on a Drexel Declaration table by Kipp Stewart
teamed with a Gus* Modern Atwood chair

Vintage black and white Fisher stereo with Gus* Modern I-Beam acrylic tables

Newly restored Danish credenza with sculpture by Oklahoma artist David Anderson

Gus* Modern Annex cabinet with vintage art glass bowl

Vintage X-base chrome coffee table with Gus* Modern sofa,
Dino Martens bird and vintage Austrian triangular bowl

Artichoke style lamp

Crystal Starlite lamp

Sheaf of Wheat side table with travertine marble top

 Vintage sofa with pristine original upholstery by the Valentine Seaver division of Kroehler
and a newly restored Drexel Precedent desk by Edward Wormley in the background

In the store: Jalk, Brasilia and more

Since we're in transition and have furniture in the old location as well as the new one, we're having a hard time taking photos of everything. It seems that no matter where we are, the camera is always at the other place...or the battery is dead.

Here, at last, is the Broyhill Brasilia dining set, illuminated by a great lamp my SIL found at a recent estate sale.

Broyhill Brasilia dining set, with original upholstery

At the same estate sale, he found a beautiful Grete Jalk sofa that I've already shown you,  but I'm only just now getting photos of the Grete Jalk coffee table he got at the same sale. Both pieces were manufactured by Glostrup.

Grete Jalk coffee table for Glostrup

He also found a Sven Aage Larsen credenza, which was manufactured by Faarup Møbelfabrik. It has amazing doors and lots of drawers.

Credenza by Sven Aage Larsen for Faarup

Larsen credenza, open

An unexpected find was this cute little rolling teak bar with leather trim. I love how it looks when open.

Bar, exterior and interior

Photos to come of the Brasilia side table, the Kipp Stewart side table and the Nakashima style table.

Up and coming

We opened the doors of our store last March in an 1100 square foot location...with my daughter, SIL and two grandsons living in an apartment taking up the back 600 square feet. Right after Thanksgiving, they moved to a large loft much better suited to raising active little boys, and the wall dividing the two spaces came down.

However, my SIL saw an opportunity to expand further in a more highly trafficked area, so the move is on. Here is a peek at our new digs as he is getting it ready. (For those of you in the area, it's the old Century Modern space. Watch for our name to go up soon!) Stay tuned for photos of the finished store.

For the moment, as you can see, we have furniture at both places, as it makes no sense to unload new things at our current location and then have to move them in a few days. And somehow, in between painting and running the store, my SIL is still finding time to keep buying new things! He just called to recite a list of today's estate sale booty, which includes this beautiful turquoise sofa manufactured by Glostrup and designed by Grete Jalk. At the same sale, he found a Grete Jalk coffee table by Glostrup, a Sven Aage Larsen credenza by Faarup, a Nakashima-style side table and a rolling bar. Photos of those will be coming soon.

Grete Jalk sofa by Glostrup Møbelfabrik

In the meantime, here are some better photos of a couple of the Broyhill Brasilia pieces and the American of Martinsville bedroom set from the last buying trip out of state.

Broyhill Brasilia room divider sans estate sale knicknacks 

Broyhill Brasilia buffet

American of Martinsville bedroom set

If money were no object

While sitting around the shop yesterday, my SIL and I played one of those "what if" games...about what pieces of furniture we'd have in our own homes if money were no object. I was surprised to find out that it would be tough to make decisions if I actually had the money in my hand and could buy anything I wanted.

We agreed that we'd have to have a Hans Wegner Papa Bear chair. It's kinda like the Holy Grail of chairs for us (although I openly pine for one of his Ox chairs, as well as a Saarinen Womb chair and a Juhl Chieftain). Since we were talking about pricing yesterday, I asked him what he'd sell a Papa Bear for if he got his hands on one. He looked at me like I had suddenly lost my mind, and said, "Sell it? You think I'd sell it?"

Hans Wegner Papa Bear chair
classicchair.net

We both insisted that we'd have to have a group of George Nelson lamps hanging somewhere in our houses. My SIL wanted some dramatic Danish floor lamps too, while I wanted a large Poul Henningsen PH-5 lamp hanging somewhere...and a Sarfatti or a Geller or a Thurston on my desk...and, of course, a Noguchi Akari light or two somewhere. See what I mean? Narrowing it down gets harder and harder as you try to figure out exactly where you'd put the pieces in your home and which ones you'd use together in groupings. So much to choose from...so little space.

George Nelson bubble lamps
georgenelson.org

Poul Henningsen PH-5
designer-lighting.com

Gerald Thurston tripod lamp
1stdibs.com

Noguchi Akari lights
noguchi.org

When it came to choosing our all-time favorite sofas, it was even more difficult. We realized that that we love so many sofas, it's impossible to pick just one. My SIL is a real admirer of Finn Juhl, but there's something about the drama of Paul Evans that fascinates him. (I told him I'd be afraid to sit on a Paul Evans sofa. The term "Brutalist" conjures up images of being bitten on the posterior by some wild, metal creature, although the one he chose was fairly tame by Evans's standards.)

Finn Juhl sofa
danish-furniture.com

Paul Evans sofa
redmodernfurniture.com

I immediately thought of a Florence Knoll sofa, but I'm not crazy about the metal legs. OK, maybe a Wegner or a Grete Jalk. But in the end, I was true to my real love, the wonderful Mr. Risom.

Florence Knoll sofa
1stdibs.com

Hans Wegner sofa
scandinavianmod.com

Grete Jalk sofa
1stdibs.com

Jens Risom sofa
1stdibs.com

By the time I finished weighing the pros and cons of all my favorite sofas, the SIL had changed his mind. He decided to go for comfort, and since he's decided that the Adrian Pearsall gondola we have is the best thing he's ever stretched out on, that was his final choice.

Adrian Pearsall gondola sofa
livinghomefurniture.com

Dining room furniture was a bit of a challenge too. We tossed around the ideas of a Platner set or a Noguchi Cyclone table but decided we'd rather have the smaller rocking stools. There were several Scandinavian sets my SIL liked, so he really couldn't make up his mind. I finally decided that the only thing I'd give up my Drexel Profile set for is a Brasilia Cathedral table in mint condition, with the glass in the center without a scratch and the ceramic bowl without a chip (which is so rare I couldn't even find a good picture of one). Oh, and did I mention that the fabric would have to be the original bird pattern without a spot? Otherwise, I'd hang on to what I have.

Noguchi rocking stools
designmuseum.org

Warren Platner dining set
deconet.com

Credenzas were a little easier. My SIL decided again to go for the drama with Paul Evans, while I decided that I'd keep my Jens Risom credenza, if only for sentimental reasons, even if money were no object. It was my first really nice designer piece, and I doubt that I'll ever let it go.

Paul Evans credenza
worthpoint.com

My Jens Risom credenza

So what would your dream home have in it?  Trust me, this isn't as easy as it sounds.


Update: 5/4/2014...Three years later - Looking back at this early post was a real eye-opener. In the years since I wrote it, pieces that seemed almost impossible to attain when we first went into business have come and gone. We've sold several Papa Bear chairs, as well as dining sets and sideboards by Hans Wegner. We've had Nelson bubble lights, Noguchi cyclone tables and rocking stools and tables by Warren Platner. We've sold many Adrian Pearsall chairs and sofas and tables, as well as quite a few Paul Evans pieces. We had a Grete Jalk sofa in turquoise that was just like the orange one, and we have a Knoll sofa in the store now.

The Henningsen and Thurston lamps have remained elusive. They're still on our list of things to find, along with many items we've added along the way. I'm sure if we played "what if" today, the thing on our lists might include quite a few new pieces.

I still have my Jens Risom credenza and John van Koert china cabinet, but I've moved on and sold the dining set. Things change...but that's what makes life exciting.