String Shelving system 1949–today

Some things are so closely related to a certain time that they become timeless at some point. This is how Nisse and Kajsa Strinning's contribution to Scandinavian design history can be described. But what was the spark for the String® shelving system?

The Bonnier publishing house found that most Swedish houses were not equipped to store books, which made selling books difficult. In 1949, the publisher announced a competition in which participants were asked to submit a design for a shelf that had to be affordable, easy to ship, and easy to assemble. String® met all of these criteria and was named the winner that same year. String® became an extremely popular piece of furniture in Swedish homes in the 1950s. The 1950s and 1960s were very eventful for String®: the UN headquarters in New York was generously equipped with the company's products, String received the gold medal at the Triennale in Milan, exhibited at the H55, which marked the beginning of the Swedish design movement, and the String® system also became the best-selling Scandinavian piece of furniture in Germany.

String® was not produced for a few years. The years passed and it wasn't until 2004 that the brand was given new life again. During this time, the String® brand as we know it today began to take shape. The range has been carefully revised and new features have been designed and developed for the shelving system. The updated and modernized shelving system was a complete success. Almost overnight, String® suddenly became an essential element of the timeless Scandinavian design style.

Nisse Strinning, who was still alive when the shelving system was revived in 2004, was just as creative at this point as he had been in 1949. Nisse designed a brand new product that he called the String Pocket. A miniature version of the shelving system for storing smaller items such as paperback books, smaller plants and the like. String Pocket developed into a recipe for success and is still one of our best-selling products today. The Pocket Shelf reminds us of Nisse and its ingenious design every day.

The relaunch of String® was well received by both the public and legal circles. This led to the shelving system being classified as applied art under the Copyright Act in 2009. String® has been considered a work of art since 2009, which, in addition to its timeless, modern design, also offers solutions for almost all storage needs in homes, public facilities and offices.  

In connection with the relaunch, working methods and methods were carefully reviewed, which resulted in the introduction of a new sustainability strategy throughout the company. Environment, quality and social responsibility have become central concepts and are incorporated into decision-making processes in many places, e.g. B. when selecting suppliers and purchasing materials. Our sustainability strategy is continually reviewed and implemented daily.

Over time, other product groups were added and String® made room in its product portfolio for Works ™ ..by String Furniture and Museum ™ ..by String Furniture. The Works™ range goes back to the architect Anna von Schewen and the industrial designer Björn Dahlström. The idea for Works™ arose from the desire to design meaningful and inspiring workspaces with a high level of functionality for both home and office. Museum™ was created from a completely different motivation. The architectural firm TAF – Gabriella Gustafsson and Mattias Ståhlbom – was commissioned by the Swedish National Museum as part of the artistic community project NM& to design a shelf console for the museum's bust exhibits. String Furniture was commissioned to manufacture the shelf console and the launch took place to coincide with the reopening of the National Museum in 2018.