Radiata pine gets Danish style

By PAM GRAHAM

Danish furniture makers working with forest products company Tenon are designing a new furniture collection even before the first one hits shops in Europe.

The Northland range designed by Zenia House has 250 outlets in Europe signed up, but just how it will go down with customers will not be known until the end of the year.

Tables will sell in Europe for about $700 to $800, around the top end for Ikea-type furniture.

Zenia House managing director Claus Petersen and director Johan Petersen are so confident of success they are working on a new range - between contemporary and Shaker in style.

The selling point of the furniture is that it is made from a new kind of wood - or rather a familiar wood put together in a new way.

Radiata pine without knots has been cut up and glued back together to produce timber with a straight grain and the Danes have developed new finishes that they refuse to talk about.

In Europe they will market the wood, branded as Taupo Clearwood, without their finishes, as well as their furniture designs.

Zenia was a management buyout breakaway from Danish furniture firm Club 8, and Tenon has bought a 20 per cent stake with a right to go higher.

The Danes were in New Zealand this month to talk to a New Zealand designer and to look into marketing the furniture here.

They were told that if it was sold as coming from Europe it might sell well - which led them to conclude that New Zealanders were too modest about their own talents and products.

They say they found a better cultural fit with a company on the other side of the world than they had with some German companies.

The venture came as the result of an introduction organised by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.