Grethe Meyer

The Danish Grethe Meyer is one of the most important representatives of Danish industrial design. She was designer and architect and was awarded many times for her works.

Grethe Meyer (1918-2008) finished her apprenticeship at the Royal Danish Architecture Academy in 1947 and embossed the Danish history since then. Meyer was a pioneer in a man’s dominated field, who always talked and acted as she wanted. In the moment she analysed details, such as human eating habits or room restrictions in her homes; her work was embossed by systematic organisation.

Grethe Meyer worked at the institute for construction research from 1955-60. Here she also filled an important part of the “Baubuch” (Germ. building book), which served as important source of education in the architecture academy for many years, before she founded her own studio in 1960. Afterwards she concentrated on things of everyday life for tables and kitchens.

Grethe Meyer: The love for details

Meyer’s working process was open and creative. One of the reasons for it is that she often didn’t really imagine how the final product would look like. She closely inspected all the details – shapes, materials and colours – again and again and again until she was convinced of the processing. Her designs always had quality, personality and respect for the user.

After the design of the Copenhagen cutlery for Georg Jensen, Grethe Meyer also designed different tableware services for The Royal Porcelain Factory (Royal Copenhagen now), like the famous service “Blaue Kante” (Germ. blue edge). Her developed sense for slim and elegant shapes transformed many of her designs into classic pieces. Her works are characterized by simple, powerful expressions, which are responsible for the timeless touch.

Grethe Meyer passed by in 2008 after a long and successful life. She designed the way people live with her works. She was awarded and recognized for her works and many of her products are exposed in design museums all over the world.