Although Scandinavian audiences in the 1960s were a bit clueless about the chair, with its sweeping, wing-like seat, the Shell Chair CH07 is now considered one of the great designs of Danish designer and furniture pioneer Hans J. Wegner. In 1998, the chair was reissued and immediately showered with design awards. At Carl Hansen & Sons, where numerous Scandinavian furniture classics are still being produced, an expressive edition of the Shell Chair, one that features brightly coloured silk fabrics from the textile factory Jim Thompson Fabrics, has been released just in time for the dark winter season. Incidentally, designer and architect Jim Thompson (pictured above), who started his silk business in 1950 in Bangkok, was also responsible for the interior furnishes in the London Savoy Hotel.

Photos: Carl Hansen & Son