Gemla – Great Dane

Founded in 1861, Gemla Fabrikers is Sweden’s oldest furniture manufacturer. Located in the small village of Diö among the beech forests by the river Helgeå in the region of Småland, the area is known for its curiously rich history, characterised by inventiveness as well as stubbornness.

In the 19th-century, craftsmen from Bohemia arrived in Diö, bringing the know-how and experience from Thonet’s factories with them. They became the first in Sweden to introduce the art of shaping wood to make Viennese cafe-style furniture. Ever since, Gemla’s master craftspeople have been taming wood and shaping it into beautiful chairs, cinema armchairs and even hockey sticks and tennis rackets, constantly developing and refining this technique. Now, 160 years on, Gemla is the only manufacturer of its kind in Sweden and is known for its attention to detail and use of natural, durable and sustainable materials.

Products from Gemla