Chemex: The Original Design-Lover's Coffeemaker

Recently I was excited to find a vintage Chemex coffeemaker from the 1970s. We sell the Chemex line at the store, and I have a small 3-cup version I use myself, but this vintage one was the older style with the sharp angles - like the one included in the MoMA collection and the handmade version currently in production.

The Chemex Coffeemaker was designed in 1941 by Peter Schlumbohm. He was a chemist and used his scientific knowledge to develop the functional aspect of the design. The aesthetic aspect was inspired by the German Bauhaus, specifically their work with heat-resistant borosilicate glass (see the famous glass teapot designed by Wilhelm Wagenfeld).

For over 30 years it was the only real design-forward coffeemaker. Photos of architectural interiors through the 50s and 60s would regularly feature a Chemex in the kitchen, and it was often featured in popular media. Even James Bond, obviously better known for his specifications with a martini, preferred his coffee made in a Chemex. It wasn't until Braun introduced the famous KF 20 in 1972 that another coffeemaker was deemed worthy of discussion as a design object (a great overview of *that* over at Core77).

Mary Richards knew what's what.

Looks aside, Chemex would never have endured if it didn't make an outstanding cup of coffee. In many ways it is the original pour-over, but the combination of that method with the bonded paper filter is what really made it better than the others.

As both a design object and a way to brew a connoisseur's cup of coffee it endured well into the 80s. As often happens, trends emerge and it fell out of favor. Advances in the technology of the very convenient drip coffeemaker as well as the emergence of the stylish French press relegated Chemex to the back burner (so to speak) for a while.

From a 1982 Naugahyde ad in Playboy.

Of course today it has found renewed popularity, and deservedly so. It comes in two styles, both of which I sell at Hugh (links take you to the website) - the handmade version, which is identical to the Chemex as it was originally designed, and the "Chemex Classic," which has had a few tweaks to make it easier to mechanically produce.

Handmade (L) and Chemex Classic (R)

The handmade has a bit more heft and the subtle elegance that is the characteristic of mouth-blown glass. As the "original" version, it is often preferred by design lovers and for special occasions. The Chemex Classic is less expensive and a great everyday coffeemaker. But both function identically - that is to say, brilliantly. If you haven't tried coffee made in a Chemex, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.

Block Chromatics

For years and years I have come across pieces of a dinnerware pattern called Chromatics made by the Block China company. I even got a full set, still in boxes, as part of a lot I bought from a design professor friend back in 2001. It's just so cool and always been a favorite, and oddly it has not been well-documented online.

Graphic, stackable and of obviously high quality, the Chromatics dinnerware pattern is one of the most stunning modern dinnerware patterns to come out of the late mid-century period. Introduced in 1970 by Block China, it consisted of boldly-colored sculptural pieces in porcelain that were designed to stack and fit together with their concave and convex edges. It also had coordinating stainless steel flatware and glassware, which are harder to find but if you get the set ... so good (I got the set). The pattern came in several complementary color combinations - Brown/Gold, Black/Beige, Blue/Green, Red/Lavender, and an unusual black/white pattern called Games.

Block Chromatics was designed by Gerald Gulotta, an American industrial designer and educator who, among other accomplishments, studied under modern master Eva Zeisel at Pratt and eventually took over teaching her ceramics class when she retired. The dinnerware was produced at Porzellanfabrik Arzberg in Germany, one of the great Bavarian porcelain manufacturers (you may be familiar with their wonderful white porcelain relief vases).

It represents an real evolution in thinking about the dinnerware service for 1970, and today you can see the spirit of it in other dinnerware patterns such as Hasami dinnerware from Japan. Architectural, sophisticated and and incredibly cool - it's as good a design choice today as it was in 1970!

Here are some pics of the great starter set we had at the store a while back, still in the box from Hudson's Department Store. A total wedding gift.

Richard Nissen

There were many companies producing teak housewares in the latter half of the 20th century, and the biggest by far was Dansk Designs. The originality and quality of the designs produced made them a sensation from their introduction in the 1950s well into the 1980s (and of course again today). The history of the company and the designer, Jens Quistgaard, is well-documented.

Less is written about the other companies that followed that trend. Companies such as Digsmed, Laurids Lonborg, Ernest Sohn and others all made interesting designs in teak over the years, but in my experience the company that really hit the mark on quality rivaling that of Dansk was Richard Nissen of Denmark. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to discover that they were, in manufacturing at least, the same company.

Nissen ice bucket and bowl, at the 2nd Hugh pop-up, 2010.

Den Permanente Catalog 1972 (Selections)

As a follow-up to my post about Den Permanente, here are some pages from the 1972 catalog.

Borge Mogensen sofa, chair, trolley and table, Kvadrat rug, 

Top: H. Vestergaard Jensen sideboard and dining table, Larsen & Madsen chairs.
Bottom: Hans Wegner everything, Nanna Ditzel nursery chair.

Den Permanente

A couple weeks ago I came across some simple teak bar boards. I grabbed them because vintage barware does well in the store, and frankly a nice bar board is a great find under any circumstances, new or vintage. Each had a price sticker from a store unknown to me called “Den Permanente.” I figured they were import items, usually a solid selection, and moved on.

Obviously once I was home I did some digging on Den Permanente. Information online was surprisingly limited, but what I did find left me with one question: Why, after nearly 20 years of researching mid-century design, and after all the Danish Modern furniture and housewares I've bought and sold, did I know nothing about the greatest Danish design store that ever existed?

Den Permanente, 1972 (photo: JC Raulston Arboretum archive)