![]() That was when product developer Glenn Berndtsson was talking to Ingvar Kamprad about going through old documents, what IKEA likes to call ‘the treasure chest’, to see if there were any nice products that could be given new life. LÖVET remained in the IKEA catalogue until 1962, and then took a long break until 2013. They were the DELFI, KÖKSA and RIGA tables, launched in 1953. LÖVET was, however, not the first self-assembly product in the IKEA range. ![]() It could be packed into a small flat pack, or “individually packed in wood wool & cardboard with string” as it was described at the time. LÖVET had jacaranda in the top and brass-covered feet. When the LÖVET coffee table was launched in the 1956 IKEA catalogue, Ingvar Kamprad described it as “a lovely little thing, in ultra-modern design”. “I think that’s one of the reasons why STRANDMON is so popular,” says Ulf Engström. That’s equivalent to sitting in it and getting up again once a day for 136 years.”Įven though people in many ways live differently now compared to the 1950s, there still seems to be a need for a classic, high-quality, high-comfort armchair. Ulf Engström, product developer at IKEA: “STRANDMON has been tested so we can be sure a person can sit down on it and get out of it at least 50,000 times. STRANDMON had to undergo a lot of tough quality tests before it reached the market. But of course it had to be adapted to modern needs in terms of sustainability and comfort. One reason IKEA launched an armchair so similar to MK was that there was no other large, cosy wing chair in the range. This led to a comeback for MK in 2012, under a new guise and a new name: STRANDMON. Over the years, wing chairs have become classics that are still in demand today. Above all it was a much-loved reading chair in Swedish homes. For several years it was one of the most popular products at S:t Eriksmässan, the Stockholm Furniture Fair of its day. The early IKEA catalogues described MK as “A quality product with superlative characteristics”, “The favourite to beat all favourites”, and “…the best the Swedish furniture industry has to offer”. Wing chairs were the height of fashion in the 1950s, and of course IKEA wanted to sell one too. ![]() Ingvar had long been planning to expand his range with upholstered furniture. It was designed and manufactured at the factory. The chair was the result of a collaboration between Ingvar Kamprad and the Qvarnström furniture factory in Liatorp, near Älmhult. The MK wing chair was launched in 1951, and was one of the first pieces of upholstered furniture to be launched at IKEA.
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