Leia Chair – Thomas E. Alken, Cabinetmakers Exhibition

Leia Chair is a furniture design by Copenhagen-based designer Thomas E. Alken, presented at the Cabinetmakers Autumn Exhibition (Snedkernes Efterårsudstilling) in Denmark.

Thomas E. Alken was born in Copenhagen in 1970. He graduated from the Danish Design School (KADK) in 1997, with supplementary studies at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki (UIAH).

That same year he founded Format design, a studio in central Copenhagen focused on furniture and product design for Danish and international clients.

Alken has a long-standing involvement with the Cabinetmakers Autumn Exhibition — serving as board member from 2001 to 2014 and as chairman from 2005 to 2012. The exhibition, formally known as Snedkernes Efterårsudstilling, was re-established in 1981 to revive the tradition of the historic Copenhagen Cabinetmakers Guild annual shows, which ran from 1927 to 1966 and played a defining role in establishing Danish Modern internationally.

Format design describes its approach around concept-driven, human-centred design: aesthetic clarity, material honesty and manufacturing optimisation. Alken is also an associate lecturer at KADK, a member of Design Denmark (MDd) and has served as an expert judge at the Maritime and Commercial High Court since 2017.