Jens Risom was born in Copenhagen, May 8, 1916. After studying at Kunsthandvaerkerskolen in Copenhagen and working at the architectural office of Ernst Kuhn, Risom came to the US in 1939 to study and remained here, first as a free-lance designer of textiles for Dan Cooper, Inc. and interior design for model homes for Collier's magazine, commissioned by Edward D. Stone. In 1941 he met Hans Knoll, and designed fifteen pieces for Knoll (chairs, tables, cabinets) in Scandanavian modern style.

In 1946, he formed Jens Risom Design, Inc., one of few companies specializing in modern furniture design at that time. He worked solely to create his simple, well-crafted quality designs. In the mid-50s, he advertised his home furniture with photography by Richard Avedon. By the 1960s, he focused more on office furniture, as did most American designers and manufacturers; (for an interesting analysis of this, I encourage you to read Cara Greenberg's book, Op to Pop: Furniture of the 1960s).

Dictaphone bought Risom Design in 1970, where Risom stayed on as chief exective for three years. Since then, he has headed his own free-lance design company, Design Control, in New Canaan, Connecticut.

sources: Design 1935-1965 What Modern Was edited by Martin Eidelberg.

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