Dansk Dinnerware
In 1955, New York entrepreneur and engineer Ted Nierenberg, and his wife Martha, traveled to Denmark. At Copenhagen's Kunsthaandvaerker Museum they saw a hand-forged fork, spoon and knife with teakwood handles that had won a design competition for 35-year-old Jens Quistgaard. Elegant and pure, the design combined two natural materials in a graceful manner — a simple concept for the Nineties, but revolutionary for the Fifties. Quistgaard told Nierenberg that his designs were too difficult to manufacture and no one wanted to tackle them. But Nierenberg's search led him to manufacturing sources he knew could execute such pieces; he convinced Quistgaard that they had to try. The pattern was Fjord. The company was Dansk. And the energy born of the fusion of Nierenberg's marketing genius and Quistgaard's brilliant creativity ignited a whole new industry. "Tabletop" had been redefined.
Nierenberg knew nothing of retailing, but he went out on the road to sell Fjord. The first 60 stores he visited placed orders. Fjord flatware went "platinum" and for 30 years was in the Dansk product line. It was discontinued in 1984 when it could no longer be manufactured maintaining Dansk's quality standard at an affordable price. When it was retired, Fjord sold for $100 a place setting.
Dansk proceeded to grow with the unique idea that every object needed for the top of the table could be beautiful as well as useful. Many Dansk designs found their way to permanent collections of the Louvre, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Smithsonian Institution. Introductions into the product line had a "safe" feel for the consumer because the designs could be mixed and matched. The Dansk approach became a lifestyle choice. Dansk designs are esteemed for their artistic value, with several pieces included in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Dansk was acquired in June 1985 by Dansk Acquisition Corp. through a transaction facilitated by Goldman Sachs. In 1991, the Brown-Forman Corporation acquired Dansk and incorporated it into its Lenox subsidiary. Subsequently, in March 2009, Clarion Capital Partners LLC led a group of investors to purchase the assets of Lenox, including the Dansk brand, renaming the company Lenox Corporation. Dansk operated as a brand under Lenox with its headquarters in Bristol, Pennsylvania, until May 2021, when Food52 acquired Dansk from Center Lane Partners with plans to rejuvenate the brand.
The Current Dansk Dinnerware Patterns
The following patterns are recognized as current Dansk designs; however, we have not identified any online retailers that currently stock these patterns.
Discontinued Dansk Dinnerware Patterns
Accidents happen and when a piece of your favorite Dansk dinnerware breaks, it can be frustrating trying to find a replacement when you discover that your pattern has been discontinued. To help you with your search for replacement or additional pieces for your Dansk collection, we have created this catalog of the discontinued and current Dansk patterns. Just bookmark the page for your pattern, and check back once a week for new listings to add to your collection.
There are a lot of Dansk patterns. Did we miss yours? We'll be happy to create a page for your pattern. Just post your request at our Facebook Page. Patterns are divided alphabetically into separate sections providing thumbnail preview of the pattern.
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