The Scandinavian hour of name design struck when Erik Magnussen entered the Brakel scene in early 1994.

Born in Copenhagen in 1940, this Danish designer became famous when he followed in the footsteps of Arne Jacobsen at Stelton at the end of the 1970s. Magnussen’s jugs, butter dishes, side-forks, lanterns and stainless-steel cutlery designs became a Danish trademark, and his handwriting of clear form a symbol for what is often referred to as frosty Nordic design. His policy is to keep working on each preliminary design until its functionality comes naturally.

Our collaboration with Erik Magnussen began late in the summer of 1994, when Erik and his four-legged companion Kaktus stopped over at Brakel for the first time. Kaktus, a splendid wire-haired terrier, was part of the design team from the beginning. Erik inspected our production, discussed the concept of a product family with us, promised to mull over our ideas in sunny France and to come and see us again some time after the end of the long Danish winter.

Over the next twelve months, we got together about half a dozen times either in the Weser Hills or in the surroundings of Copenhagen, of course not only to plan designs, but in particular to accompany Kaktus on long walks through the Weser valley woodlands and around the royal hunting lodge. After such long, intensive preparations, it is hardly surprising that Erik Magnussen won the hearts of Brakel’s door handle makers with his very first sketches. Erik set his first ideas to paper with broad carbon-pencil strokes. We thought we could discern the wing-beats of Scandinavian gulls expressed in these drafts, which is how the entire product family acquired its semiotic identity. Erik Magnussen prescribed his favourite materials: stainless steel and black plastic. He also had a clear idea of the manufacturing process. We were not to engage in any bending, welding or widening, we were simply to fold the materials. Once again, we were led on by a designer into virgin engineering territory.