Simon Legald
Head of Design
Has been with Normann Copenhagen for the past 8 years.
What is a typical day at Normann Copenhagen like
for you?
Coffee is always first on my agenda, and this is pretty
much the only thing that is typical for my workdays.
Some days are spent working on projects, others on
deciding which products we should move forward with.
I also spend a lot of time visiting suppliers to look at
prototypes and make corrections.This is my favorite
part of the process, seeing how the drawing transforms
into a physical, three-dimensional object that you can
touch and feel. No day is the same, and this is really
what I love about my job - the sheer diversity of what
I face every day when coming in to work. Each day
something new occurs, something new comes to life.
Can you tell us a fact about Normann
Copenhagen that might surprise people?
It might surprise people to know how we settle on
which designs to put into production. I guess you would
expect our choices to be based on set strategies and
careful decision-making, but primarily we just go with
the things we really feel for.The love of design is the
ultimate motivating force.
What is your fondest or funniest memory with
Normann Copenhagen?
It is not one particular moment that comes to mind,
more like a series of events, a period of time. What
I remember fondly is driving around with Jan in his
car examining how we should start up the furniture
production. Our conversation about what we were
going to create together was very personal and
rewarding. He was my mentor, while at the same time
I was being trusted to take the lead on this huge step
forward. Normann Copenhagen had experimented
with furniture before with external designers, but the
plan was to pursue it in-house and get real about
introducing furniture to the collection. The first pieces,
Kabino, Sumo, Block and Form, are the result of a whole
lot of talks and time spent together. I look back on this
time as the start of something great.
Three words that describe Normann
Copenhagen?
Passionate, open-minded and familiarity.