Beak Bird, Awake Snipe, smoked oak

Svend Aage Holm-Sørensen (1913–2004) was a Danish designer known especially for his extensive production of lamps. Having begun his career as a designer in the 1950s, Holm-Sørensen trained as an ornamental metalsmith, and decorative, perforated metal surfaces indeed play an important part in his work.

In addition to lamps, Holm-Sørensen also designed furniture and small items, which can now be found in the selection of the Danish brand Warm Nordic.

Svend Aage Holm-Sørensen – an elegant modernist of Danish lighting design

Svend Aage Holm-Sørensen (1913–2004) was a Danish designer known especially for his distinctive lamps of the 1950s to 70s. His work brings together functional thinking, a bold use of materials and an interest in how light reflects, filters and builds atmosphere in a space.

Holm-Sørensen trained as a metalsmith, and it is precisely this strong knowledge of the material that shows clearly in his work. He is known above all for his perforated metal shades, his use of brass and copper, and his architectural lines.

Sculptural lamps in 1950s style

Holm-Sørensen’s work from the 1950s clearly reflects the modernist design language of the era, in which light structures, slender legs and geometric forms played a central role. In his later work, the look of the lamps became stronger and bolder in expression.

Over the course of his career, Holm-Sørensen designed lamps both for his own production and for other manufacturers, and his work has since become a part of the history of Danish lighting design valued by vintage collectors and design enthusiasts.

A new life for the classics

The Danish design brand Warm Nordic has brought Holm-Sørensen’s best-known lamps back into production in collaboration with the designer’s family. The re-editions retain the original design language and materials, but in terms of technology, they have been updated for the present day.

In this way, Holm-Sørensen’s timeless design has found its way into the interiors of a new generation as well.

Who: Svend Aage Holm-Sørensen

• Danish designer and metalsmith (1913–2004), known especially for his lamps.
• One of the central names in 1950s Danish lighting design.
• His work is marked by perforated metal shades, brass and copper surfaces, and the indirect, atmospheric use of light.
• Holm-Sørensen’s original lamps are sought-after collector’s items today.
• Notable products: the Silhouette, Cone, Lightsome and Opal Shade lamps and the Beak Bird wooden birds, manufactured by Warm Nordic.

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