Shelves by Kajsa & Nils Nisse String for String, 1960s

About This Piece

Vintage Design

Click here for full description Close description

Creator	Kajsa & Nils "Nisse" Strinning
Manufacturer	String
Design Period	1960 to 1969
Year
Production Period	1960 to 1969
Identifying Marks	This piece is attributed to the above-mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark
Style	Vintage, Mid-Century, Scandinavian Modern
Detailed Condition	Very Good — This vintage item has no defects, but it may show slight traces of use.
Restoration and Damage Details	Light wear consistent with age and use, Patina consistent with age and use
Product Code	ZVL-1289907
Materials	Metal, Wood
Color	Black, blonde, brown, tan
Width	80 cm 31.5 inch
Depth	21 cm 8.1 inch
Height	77 cm 30.3 inch
Duties Notice	Import duty is not included in the prices you see online. You may have to pay import duties upon receipt of your order.

Shipping & Delivery

Ships from	Germany
Duties Notice	Import duty is not included in the prices you see online. You may have to pay import duties upon receipt of your order.
Returns	Returns accepted within two days of delivery, except for Made-to-order items

Sustainability

Carbon Neutral	For every purchase made, Pamono offsets 100% of estimated carbon emissions from global shipping.
Vintage	Choosing vintage and antique furniture reduces your carbon footprint by cutting down on waste and reduces demand for new materials and extends the life of the products we use.

Delivery Details

Delivery will be completed by a parcel service such as UPS, DHL, or FedEx.
You will receive a tracking number to monitor the status of your shipment.
Delivery will take place between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
A wooden crate may be used for intercontinental shipments for maximum protection.
Item will be left in its packaging after delivery.
A signature will be required upon delivery.

*Important Note

Please examine the packaging upon delivery. In the event that there are visible signs of damaged packaging, please indicate the problem on the Delivery Note, take pictures, and—if the item inside shows damages—contact us within 48 hours of delivery. A signed delivery receipt without notations regarding damaged packaging represents your acceptance of the completed order in perfect condition.

About the Creator

Kajsa & Nils "Nisse" Strinning

Swedish architect-designer Nils "Nisse" Strinning (1917-2006) is best known for his minimalist and cost-effective String Bookshelf System and his versatile designs in plastic.

Born in Kramfors in 1917, Strinning studied architecture at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (KTH) from 1940 until 1947. As a student, he—along with the Swedish engineer Arne Lydmar—conceived a way of coating steel wire with plastic. Using this method, Strinning designed the Elfa Dish Rack (1946), which found worldwide success decades later. Today, the dish rack is produced by the Swedish storage company of the same name.

In 1949, Strinning and his wife Kajsa, also sometimes written as Katja (b.1922 in Svanholm) designed a bookshelf for a contest initiated by Bonnier, Sweden’s largest publishing house. The super-simple design consisted of two plastic-coated metal wire “ladders” and three shelves. Among the 194 designs submitted from around the world, the String Bookshelf was chosen as the winner. An immediate success—as contemporary today as it was almost 70 years ago—String is an affordable, lightweight, easy-to-transport, and flexible system that expands to accommodate growing book collections. One of Scandinavia's most iconic designs, it has received more than 15 prestigious national and international awards, including the Gold Medal at Milan’s Triennale in 1954, and was acquisitioned into the Swedish National Museum's design collection in 1979.

In 1952, Strinning founded both String Design AB and Swedish Design AB. The following year, String Plex was launched, along with a standalone shelving system, which Strinning is rumored to never have liked. In 1955, the String Shelf was exhibited at the H55 Helsingborg Exhibition. Easily reproduced, it was subjected to flagrant copywriting. In 1961, Sweden’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of Strinning, and the shelf was patented.

Over the course of his career, Strinning and his wife designed a variety of plastic objects, such as the Vispi Bowl (1951), as well as other free-standing and wall-mounted shelves in various sizes, including the Kam Bookshelf (1968), which received the Excellent Swedish Design Award from Svensk Form in 1993.

Strinning passed away in 2006. His firm String Design AB has since moved headquarters to Malmö and continues to launch new products, including the String Office Range (2015), which received the German Design Award in 2016.

Images courtesy of String