Kay Bojesen

Silversmith and designer Kay Bojesen had a very special talent. He was able to bring wood to life, and he became world-famous for creating wooden toys that had soul and an impish sense of humour. With more than 2000 pieces to his name, Kay Bojesen was one of Denmark’s most prolific artisans in the 20th century. He is best known for his playful and cheerful monkeys, royal life guards and other wooden toys, but his wide-ranging production also includes jewellery, cutlery, teapots and silver goblets.

In the 1930s, Kay Bojesen started in earnest to indulge his interest in wood. He created a range of wooden toys that all lived up to his ideal that design should be round, soft and have a good feel to it. His idea was not to create lifelike copies of real animals or to be too sophisticated or focus too much on detail, but instead to create imaginative toys in designs based on a child’s own world where ‘lines need to smile’. The wooden toys had to be simple, solid and inspire children to play. With this basic philosophy in mind, Kay Bojesen created his beloved wooden toys that appeal to the child within us all.

For generations, Kay Bojesen was seen as the high spirits of Danish industrial design. Today, Kay Bojesen is regarded as one of Denmark’s biggest designer names and his designs are among the most popular in Danish design.