Severin Hansen Jr. was born in 1936 in Copenhagen under the name Erik Severin Risager-Hansen into a family of dedicated furniture people. His grandfather was a highly skilled cabinetmaker. His father, Hans Severin Hansen, also started out as a cabinetmaker before carving out a successful career as one of the most colourful furniture salesmen in Denmark. Hansen Snr. managed a showroom in Copenhagen where he sold furniture by brands such as Slagelse Møbelværk, and the much smaller Haslev Møbelsnedkeri, in which he was a shareholder.
Erik was the youngest of the Hansen brothers, and demonstrated a lasting interest in furniture design. Shortly after leaving school, he started to work in the factory at Haslev and made an instant impact as a budding designer. Erik’s flair for design manifested itself in the use of clean lines and geometric shapes, which combined to create a unique modernist style all of his own.
In 1957 at the age of just 21, Erik became chief designer at Haslev Møbelsnedkeri. Within a year he had presented the finished range of tables that would confirm his place in the top tier of Danish Modern designers. This groundbreaking collection featured the Model 36 desk, a dining table, side tables and a dressing table, all with the 3-way mitred corner. In 1964 Erik evolved his trademark tables further by creating a more complex rounded three-way corner joint for a new collection of tables.
Erik engaged in many interesting pursuits outside of furniture making throughout his life, most notably in motor racing where he reached the pinnacle of competing in the Monte Carlos Rally of 1962. By 1969 he became co-owner of Haslev Møbelsnedkeri. However, the company was sold four years later in 1973 as the demand for primarily wood furniture receded across Europe and the USA. The new owners of Haslev changed direction and Severin Hansen's design career came to an end as a result in 1978 when he eventually left the company.
In less than 20 years Erik Severin Risager-Hansen had designed multiple pieces that are still iconic today.
