The Furniture We Need
Recently, Danes have really noticed the furniture maker and designer Anker Bak, and I am meeting the sought-after gentleman in the beautiful Kulturtårnet on Knippelsbro bridge, where he exhibited his designs under the title ‘The Furniture We Need’ in the early summer of this year.
By Ditte Wamberg
A dignified journey
Anker greets me, smiling and welcoming, and immediately begins to talk about both the joy and challenges of the beautiful location.
It required creative thinking with the narrow winding staircase and the small rooms, but Anker came up with the idea to build the exhibition around the concept of a dignified journey.
An idea that has a double meaning as it literally refers to the staircase you climb, but also refers to our final journey through life from old age, with its first physical limitations, to the final farewell.
These are phases of life that for many are taboo, but Anker addresses the inevitable and provides us with the tools to experience it in a beautiful and dignified way.
This is most clearly present when you arrive at the beautiful coffin placed in the lookout tower, which has been transformed into a kind of dining table.
Anker Bak, The Furniture We Need, 2024. Photo: Jacob Fox MauleFor our interview, it is set with biscuits and coffee on top of the coffin, which is covered by a glass plate. Sitting here feels like a logical first step towards daring to have the difficult conversations about the final stage of life, and it feels more natural than expected.
However, Anker’s designs are not only made for the elderly but also for other people with physical challenges, who deserve beautiful designs as ‘companions’. Among other things, the crutch ‘Værdig’ was developed in close collaboration with two women suffering from multiple sclerosis, and Anker also hopes to make a difference for all those who are physically challenged early in life.
Anker Bak, Værdig, 2014. Photo: Jacob Fox Maule
It started with the smell of freshly planed wood
I ask Anker the traditional question of how his interest in furniture design started, and we have to go far back in time to find the answer.
“My grandfather was a woodcarver and lived in Sweden, and I think that’s one of the reasons I got into it and at the very least the reason I became a carpenter. The smell of freshly planed wood from his workshop is something that really lingers in my memory.”
Anker also mentions his dyslexia as a reason that he started to work more with his hands.
“I got extra woodworking classes in primary school so I could use my hands a bit instead of sitting and reading, so I think dyslexia is an important factor. You must find other ways to express yourself, then.”
Anker believes that everyone can make a difference, and since he is not a politician, he can instead use his hands and creativity.
Anker’s holistic approach to design and furniture production has led his PR man to call him a ‘furniture activist’ because Anker is doing something bigger than just selling furniture. He starts conversations and creates stories that can change our perception of design.
Anker Bak, Ærlig , 2014. Photo: Jacob Fox Maule
Quality first
Anker explains that he prioritises quality when he conceives and works on his designs.
“One thing that is very important to me is the quality of the product and the quality of the furniture, because there is both a design quality, a functional quality, and also the whole craftsmanship and construction quality. So in all the products I make, it’s very important that things are unified, so sometimes I spend an extremely long time on my things.”
One of the products Anker is very proud of is his beautiful circle cane, which is made from a single piece of moulded wood and features a simple and functional design.
But it all started with the crutch ‘Værdig’, which he designed for his grandmother. After a hip operation, she needed support to walk but was embarrassed to walk around with the ugly walker she had been given. Awareness of this socially limiting issue has led Anker to work with the philosophy that his designs should solve real problems for real people.
Anker Bak, The Furniture We Need, 2024. Photo: Jacob Fox MauleFurniture Instead of aids
Anker’s dream is that people of all ages should carry their crutch, cane, and walker with dignity. The only certainty in life is that we all get older and that we all will die, and this journey should be made with dignity and surrounded by beautiful aids. Therefore, Anker insists that he does not design aids but furniture, which in the long term should be available in furniture shops on an equal footing with other designer furniture.
In the meantime, Anker will continue to create conversations about design and dignity.