GUBI is a design company dedicated to celebrating the luxury of living life. Designs that combine the
past and the present for the new to evolve. Designs that stimulate the senses, are beautiful yet usable.
GUBI is pursuing perfection with passion and courage. Evolution is the essence.
ith an insatiable drive to rediscover bygone furniture icons, Danish Gubi call themselves the treasure hunters of the design world, and for over 45 years they have lived up to this moniker. The firm was started by designer Gubi Olsen and is now run by his sons Jacob and Sebastian. As a global brand with Nordic roots, the company is driven by curiosity and admiration for designers of the past as well as an intuition for which designs from history will succeed in the modern-day market. This quest to keep important design moments from history alive manifests itself through Gubi’s launching of many re-editions as well as through their collaborations with contemporary designers with unique and imaginative approaches to furniture. In addition to cooperating with current talent, Gubi backs up its belief that it is possible for many centuries of design to interact in one space by re-launching designs ranging from the 1930s to the 1970s, including pieces by Greta Grossman, Barbra Corsini, Kerstin Hörlin-Holmquist, and Robert Dudley Best.
The Gubi philosophy states that great design should have a story to tell and be able to blur the lines of time, and that a bit of courage and risk-taking can carry you far in the design world. This was confirmed for the company when the daring and challenging Gubi chair by Komplot Design – the first 3D veneer chair ever made – was selected as an exhibitions piece at The Museum of Modern Art in New York and became the recipient of many awards. Jacob Gubi described how, when he saw the handmade miniature prototype – with its gentle nod to Eames and mid-century modern sensibilities – he knew it would be a classic. That was all it took to propel Gubi into being a sought-after and credible brand. Their retro-classics and modern classics alike share sculptural qualities, impeccable craftsmanship, and sumptuous materials, yet accessible enough to grace the dining halls of so-called best restaurant in the world Noma in Copenhagen. Yet another great moment of Gubi design came from Danish-Italian duo GamFratesi and their Beetle Chair, comfortably upholstered in Kvadrat and its pin-thin legs lending a playful and honest likeness to its namesake.