Sika-Design
A family-owned rattan furniture maker on Funen, founded in 1942, that makes its own designs and wicker chairs by Nanna and Jørgen Ditzel, Arne Jacobsen and Franco Albini.
- Founded
- 1942
- Founded by
- Ankjær Andreasen
- Based in
- Rynkeby, Funen
Pictures © Sika-Design, from sika-design.com.
Why it is renowned
Sika-Design makes the Hanging Egg chair that Nanna and Jørgen Ditzel designed in 1959, and calls it a Scandinavian classic and one of the best-known Danish designs, used by architects and designers all over the world.1 The chair is listed among Nanna Ditzel's main works.2 When Louise Andreasen took over the management of the family company, it exported furniture to 72 markets.3 The Arne Jacobsen estate has worked with it since 2013, when it launched his early rattan chairs, the Paris and the Charlottenborg, and calls it Scandinavia's oldest maker of rattan and wicker furniture.4
In the 1960s the company began exporting across Europe, showed at international furniture fairs and opened a German branch near Flensburg; in 2004 it set up Sika France in Grane, in southern France, and in 2009 it took the name Sika-Design as exports grew.5
The story
Ankjær Andreasen started the company in Jutland in 1942 as Jysk Siv og Halmkunst, with home basket makers weaving baskets, reed shoes and lampshades from Danish straw and reed while imported materials were short.5 In 1951 it moved to Funen and became Sika, from siv (reed), kurve (baskets) and Andreasen; the Renoir hanging chair of 1956 is the oldest design still in its range.5 In the 1960s it ran two rattan workshops on Funen and, with its subcontractors, employed about 100 people there.5
In 1972 Andreasen set up rattan production in Malaysia; Danish production closed after Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines banned the export of raw rattan in 1988.5 Today the furniture is woven by hand in Indonesia to designs from Denmark.51 His son Knud bought the company in 1983, and Knud's daughter Louise Andreasen now runs it from Rynkeby on Funen, where it moved in 2005.53 Since 2012 the ICONS collection has reissued rattan designs by Nanna and Jørgen Ditzel, Arne Jacobsen, Franco Albini and Franca Helg and others, made in close collaboration with the designers' descendants.56
Works
Hanging Egg Chair A rattan chair shaped like an egg that hangs from a chain, designed by Nanna and Jørgen Ditzel in 1959 and woven by hand for Sika-Design.
Madame Lounge Chair A woven rattan lounge chair with a rounded shell for seat, back and arms, designed by Nanna and Jørgen Ditzel in 1951 and made by Sika-Design.
Charlottenborg Chair Arne Jacobsen's rattan lounge chair of 1936, named after the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition of 1937 and reissued by Sika-Design.
Renoir A rattan hanging chair on a rope, designed by Sika-Design in 1956 and the oldest design still in its range.
What to know it by
- Hanging Egg Chair11959Nanna & Jørgen DitzelWoven rattan shell that hangs from a chain
- Madame Lounge Chair11951Nanna & Jørgen DitzelShell-shaped wicker lounge chair
- Charlottenborg Chair4Arne JacobsenEarly rattan lounge chair, reissued since 2013
- Renoir51956Hanging chair, the oldest design in the range
Sources
- Nanna & Jørgen Ditzel, Sika-Design. sika-design.com, read 17 October 2026.
- Nanna Ditzel, Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org, read 17 October 2026.
- Sika-design får ny direktør, Designbase. designbase.dk, read 17 October 2026.
- Sika Design, Arne Jacobsen. arnejacobsen.com, read 17 October 2026.
- Our History, Sika-Design. sika-design.com, read 17 October 2026.
- Sika-Design. sika-design.com, read 17 October 2026.
Last checked 17 October 2026, against the maker's own pages.