Hvidt & Mølgaard's Guild Shelf - Danish Design Classic by &Tradition

Extracting the essence of craftsmanship: Hvidt & Mølgaard’s Guild shelf is infused with historical sentiment.

In close collaboration with the Hvidt & Mølgaard families, &Tradition puts Guild – a lacquered, solid oak or walnut shelf with an undulating form and uncompromised level of craftsmanship – into general production for the first time ever.

In 1952, renowned architect Peter Hvidt designed his very first family home, astutely tailored to suit the needs of his family of six. The chosen plot of land was located in Klampenborg, a small suburb north of Copenhagen which was growing in popularity amongst Denmark’s most influential architects including Arne Jacobsen, Flemming Lassen and Kay Fisker.

Close-up detail of Guild shelf's distinctive curved edge and brass mounting hardware showing expert craftsmanship

The house featured meticulously crafted furnishings that were all designed by Hvidt and Mølgaard themselves. Fixed to the wall in the primary bedroom was a remarkable, 2-metre-long shelf, expertly carved from teak wood, supported by elegant brass fittings.

This shelf’s organic form, which subtly mirrored the curving paths of the family garden outside, was inspired by Hvidt & Mølgaard’s entry to the 1951 Copenhagen Cabinet Makers Guild Exhibition – a desk sculpted by master carpenter Axel Albeck with a distinctive boomerang-shaped edge.

Previously only ever seen in the Hvidt family private home and at the Guild exhibition, the new Guild shelf has been adapted to suit contemporary living, while maintaining the essence of Hvidt & Mølgaard’s design philosophy.

Available in two sizes, the HM14 is 25cm in depth and reaches 75cm in length, making it suitable for smaller spaces such as bedrooms, while the HM15 is 27cm in depth and reaches 120cm in length, lending itself to larger contract spaces or serving as a worthy surface for displaying personal objects.

Impact
The oak and walnut used in the collection are FSC® certified, having been harvested with consideration towards fragile forest ecosystems and local communities, supporting responsible environmental, social and economical management of the world’s forests. The water-based lacquer used as a surface treatment is a lower chemical alternative, caring for the safety of indoor air. The Guild shelf is designed in a way that enables the metal fittings to be separated from the wood, allowing for responsible recycling at the product’s end-of-life.

Guild shelf HM15 mounted in living space featuring curated objects emphasizing its sculptural quality Guild shelf HM15 in walnut finish mounted in living space featuring curated objects emphasizing its sculptural quality

Peter Hvidt (1916-1986) and Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen (1907-1993) were pioneers of Danish mid-century design and the founders of Copenhagen-based firm Hvidt & Mølgaard. Renowned for the simplicity of their works, the duo established a simple and precise aesthetic designing countless pieces of furniture over the years, many of which became icons of the era.

Hvidt and Mølgaard-Nielsen boasted superior technical skills. They both studied, after being trained cabinetmakers, at the School of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen under the tutelage of the famous architect Kaare Klint, supplemented by studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Today, their works can be found exhibited at MoMA, Victoria and Albert Museum, Melbourne’s National Gallery and Copenhagen’s Design Museum.