Rosewood and Cow Hide Chair by Kurt Østervig for Sibast, 60s Denmark

Kurt Ejvind Østervig was born in 1912 in Odense, Denmark. He was originally trained and worked as a shipbuilding engineer. However, by the 1930s Østervig shifted to furniture design because of his passion for woodworking.

Østervig's career as a furniture designer began at E. Knudsen’s architectural design studio in Odense. In 1947, Østervig opened his first own studio as a freelance furniture designer, with a focus on modern design. In the following decades, he worked with many of the leading Scandinavian furniture producers of the period.

Østervig was exceptionally versatile, designing furniture for hotels, cinemas, and won numerous design competitions during his career. He won awards at the Milan Triennale in 1953 and 1960. In the 1960s, one of Østervig’s designs was selected for an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Østervig had a flair for the dramatic, infusing his furnishings with unique elements that stood out. From elegant, organic to coarse and purely functional furniture, his versatility earned him recognition.

Find vintage Kurt Østervig seating, tables, storage cabinets and other furniture on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by H. Gallery)

While the origins of Sibast can be traced back to wooden furnishings created in a modest cabinetmaker’s workshop in 1908, the Danish company is best known for the vintage dining chairs, desks, armchairs and other pieces it produced during the postwar years. Owing largely to the creative direction of designer Helge Sibast during that period, the manufacturer is internationally revered today for its wide range of sleek and collectible Scandinavian modern furniture. 

Sibast was established by cabinetmaker Peder Olsen Sibast in 1908 as a small carpentry shop in rural Denmark. Peder's son Helge was born that year and began apprenticing alongside his father at a young age. In the 1940s, when the elder Sibast passed away, Helge assumed a management role at the company alongside his siblings, Ole and Emma.

Helge was tasked with leading design, production and product development at a time when what we now call mid-century modernist furniture design was gaining popularity with American consumers and elsewhere, and his own designs reflected a focus on craftsmanship and an emphasis on clean lines as well as the use of organic materials in their construction. Sibast also enlisted the talents of other renowned Danish modernists including Piet Hein, Arne Vodder and Grete Jalk. Vodder designed many of the brand’s armchairs, dining tables and dining chairs that were exported to the United States throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s.

In 1953, the company introduced two of Helge Sibast's most celebrated creations — the Sibast No. 7 and No. 8 chairs. The popular Sibast No. 7 dining chair is noted for its floating backrest and expressive form. With its sturdy Y-frame, the unassuming Sibast No. 8 was a worldwide hit when it debuted, and its simple and functional mid-century modern appeal made it an instant classic. In the 1960s, Sibast chairs were even purchased for interiors at the White House.

The Sibast family sold the company in 1984 but retained the copyrights to Helge's designs. In 2012, Helge's grandson Ditlev and his wife Anna relaunched the Sibast furniture company. The brand’s offerings include many of Helge's original creations alongside new designs that adhere to the company's long-held tradition of creating sculptural, innovative and functional furniture.

Find vintage Sibast storage pieces, seating and tables on 1stDibs.