The first lamp
P.V. Jensen Klint was an architect and also a far-sighted and visionary gentleman.
He had designed a stoneware oil lamp which needed an appropriate shade.
What does the gifted and curious designer do? He invents a unique product – a lamp shade with folding across the pleats.
P.V. Jensen was a Bachelor of Engineering, an architect and a painter. One must accentuate two achievements which still remain after his death. One is the
Grundtvig
Church in
Copenhagen and the other is the cross pleated lamp shade which 40 years later went into production under the company name of LE KLINT.
LE KLINT – the company
Tage Klint, son of P.V. Jensen Klint, was the creative entrepreneur who in 1943 chose to turn the family’s artistically folded lamp shades into a regular business. He also added a crucial detail to the original shades; the unique “collar” at the top of the lamp, designed to fix the shade to the metal stand. Furthermore, he designed a number of lamps which have all been a part of LE KLINT’s assortment.
In 1953 his son, Jan Klint, took over the company. As a business man, he was years ahead of his time. In order to secure his employees, he created a fund which has since 1972 been in charge of the company LE KLINT. In addition, the fund supports former employees, designers and architects.
True classics
Kaare Klint was the son of P.V. Jensen Klint. He was a well-known and respected architect and a skilled craftsman and designer who has had considerable influence on Danish furniture making.
The company LE KLINT was blessed with Kaare Klint’s great talent from the beginning. Today, the “fruit lantern” which he created in 1944, is as successful as ever and one of the company’s most popular lamps.
An impressive list of competent and well-reputed designers and architects have designed LE KLINT shades and lamps throughout the years. There is no doubt that this is one of the explanations why
LE KLINT-lamps are considered “modern classics”.
