In an exclusive interview with managing director Henrik Karlsson, we delve into the rich history and promising future of the Swedish brand Hans K. From the humble beginnings of the company in the village Kinna, the Swedish textile area, the company has now grown to reach a global market. 'We're a pretty small company, but we have managed to sell the brand relatively worldwide,' Henrik says.
Henrik Karlsson (right) and his son Karl (left) standing next to the new K5 Chair at the Stockholm Furniture Fair.
It's all in the name
Henrik's father Hans Karlsson was the founder of the company. The Swedish furniture industry had a lot of influence on Hans growing up and he started working with furniture in the 60s. What once was one man's passion for interior decoration has today grown into a successful international furniture design company. In 2002 Hans K was started, and to this day the family tradition still lives on. Henrik Karlsson is now the owner of the company. 'Hans is my father and Karl is my son. My father doesn't work in the company anymore, but his name is still the brand. Me and my son both have Hans as a second name, so we all carry the name Hans K,' Henrik explains.
The showroom
A tour of the showroom provided us with a firsthand look at some of Hans K's notable pieces, some of which the company also presented at the Stockholm Furniture Fair last month. 'We work with three different designers right now, one is my cousin Markus Johansson. We also work with Sami Kallio, who is quite a popular designer in the furniture market. Lastly we work with the German designer Jannis Ellenberger. All three have exhibited at SaloneSatellite in Milan,' he says, proudly showing their own designs.
The K5 chair is the most recent product of Hans K. It was designed by Sami Kallio and was on show at the Stockholm Furniture Fair in February. 'Sami has also done the Y5 Chair that won the German design award and Design S in Sweden. Bremen was also in Stockholm, which is a design by Jannis Ellenberger. The Zigzag chair is also a popular product of Hans K, soon to be launched in white pigment oil as well. In our spraybox we offer the choice to "pick your own colour" and this makes ZigZag even more unique on the market. We offer it in the colour of the year and we're also introducing wool cushions from the German company Hey Sign to fit the ZigZag chairs. These will be launched this year.'
The ZigZag Chairs by Hans K.
Stockholm Furniture Fair
Reflecting on their recent participation at the fair in Stockholm, Henrik expressed satisfaction with their more modest stand compared to previous years, emphasising the importance of meaningful connections over extravagant displays. 'We have been at the fair for decades. In 2019 we had a few hundred square metre stand, now we had a much smaller one. But if I had to choose next year, I would do this again. The participation was cost efficient, and what we did for the money was valuable and sustainable. We're here to meet people. To talk to existing customers, but especially for the unexpected meetings.' This was the main focus for Henrik.
Sustainability
Discussing the company's approach to sustainability, Henrik elaborated on their commitment to responsible practices. 'We work with American white oak and we have an assembly factory in China. From the logistic perspective, we could be more sustainable. But we have an efficient logistics system and we do a lot to be more sustainable. Our environmental footprint is significantly less than five to ten years ago,' Henrik explains. He further emphasised Hans K's adherence to EU regulations, such as EUTR and REACH, ensuring that their products meet rigorous standards for environmental responsibility. Some of the products are also thoroughly tested at RISE (Research Institute of Sweden).
The K5 Chair, designed by Sami Kallio.
In addition, Hans K is focusing more on refurbishing old products. 'We have a warehouse of about 3000 square metres filled with goods and we have a spraybox and a small (upholstery) repair shop here. Right now the local golfclub is going to renovate their restaurant, so we took their old chairs back and are reviving them. I really believe in the concept of reuse, recycle, repair.'
A global brand
Henrik also shed light on Hans K's global reach. 'Solid wood furniture and Scandinavian design are becoming more popular in markets like New Zealand, Israel, Korea, and Thailand,' he says. Despite the challenges posed by evolving retail landscapes, Henrik remained optimistic about the brand's future prospects. 'At the fair unexpected people came up to me to tell me they liked our designs, so I have big confidence that we will get more and more requests from all over the world. In the future we would also like to expand to the US.'
More information:
Hans K
Redskapsgatan 5
Kinna, Sweden
+46 (0)320-205750
[email protected]
www.hansk.se