Furniture factory in every basement
Hundreds of furniture factories with suppliers, transporters and vendors were established during the entrepreneurial period around and during World War II. Most of them vanished when the golden age was over. However, a few survived and grew out of their basements. The first factory buildings were simple, but these were the reasons why Sykkylven would become the country's largest furniture community.
The market
It was not written in the stars that large concentrations of furniture factories would be located in the Sunnmøre region. The factories were situated far away from most large markets. Materials had to be transported a long distance – mostly the same distance the finished furniture was dispatched – the long and winding road with a car, train and ship to Oslo and the cities in eastern Norway. The international depression during the 20s and 30s also hit the agricultural municipality of Sykkylven. Many young people escaped from unemployment at home and tried their luck in America. The emigration was so strong that the population was reduced by more than a hundred people in the decade following the 1920s. The remaining young people tried everything to make a living. Formerly, furniture production was all hand made. The farmers built their own benches and tables themselves or sent for a craftsman from the village if they could afford it. In town, the trained and well-paid professionals from the carpenter union were the ones to make the furniture. They defended their trade and took care not to let other furniture makers underbid them and as a result lower their prices. There was no particular competition between the furniture producers until the furniture from Sunnmøre reached the shops of the capital, writes the industry historian Eldar Høidal. The price of furniture fell 40 per cent after the Sunnmøre industry got a foothold around 1920 and through 1935. A whole of 144 furniture factories was established in Møre og Romsdal county throughout the 1930s. The equivalent in Oslo was 41. In 1951, half of the workers in the furniture industry were from this area.
Bought his workplace
There were several reasons why people from Sunnmøre succeeded in maintaining their low prices. The investments were small, with the businesses developing in basements and sheds. Nevertheless, they made use of serial production. Farmer boys with no job were utterly grateful for having something to do, even if this meant having to ask for a mortgage from relatives' farms and grounds to be able to buy the stockholding which was normally required to get a permanent job. The wage was not paid until the factory had received payment for the furniture and thereby creating cash balance. The workers often lived for free at the farms and worked for their food. The first industrial workers were trained in the farmer's individualism and the ideal way to be self-reliant in everything. In the farming society, people were brought up to perform many pursuits, work hard and to make to most of the hours and minutes. Nature increased the food supply when wages were delayed. If the factory had a standstill, one could always fish for dinner in the fjord.
Traditions
Sykkylven was early in providing electrical power to the industry. With the boat connection in 1920, and railway four years later, the region was given a communication network. This meant that the fjord settlements were not so isolated after all. The area also contained local crafts traditions. Ole Erstad came from Verpesdalen in Norddal. From 1871, he produced beds, drawers, chairs, benches and tables which he sold to dealers in Ålesund and Bergen. His son Johan O. Erstad brought the activity forward when the father retired. He took the handicraft tradition a step further by experimenting with efficient industrial production. Over time, young farmers working as handymen developed their skills for wooden materials. They learned in their hearts, heads and hands to become skilled craftsmen. Jens Ekornes was an apprentice at the basketry production of Andreas Riksheim, which started in 1913. The young boy Bernhard Tynes often visited the workshop as well. Both of them became considerable industrial entrepreneurs.
Breakthrough
1929 was the breakthrough year for the industrial production of Sykkylven. No less than three basketry factories saw the light of day. All three of them were companies founded by working stockholders and focused on modern industrial methods: serial production and piecework. In 1930, Sykkylven had eight woodworking companies. In 1939, the number had risen to 17, whereof 13 were suppliers for the furniture industry. During the same period, employment in the furniture industry rose from 68 to 403 employees.
During the 1940s and 1950s, there were more than 120 furniture businesses only in Sykkylven. Ekornes is still the largest furniture producer in the Nordic countries, and their Stressless from 1971 is one of the best-known brands in today's furniture industry. Other famous brands from Sykkylven are Siesta – beautifully, aesthetically and sculpturally formed, designed by Ingmar Relling and today produced by LK Hjelle. Brunstad has the well-known Delta chair, Formfin in Hundeidvik is producing solid and functional lounge furniture and Jarnes Møbler has found their niche with lightweight, retro-styled furniture. At Cylindra Gallery in Sykkylven, you can experience some of the most characteristic furniture Norway has to offer, in beautiful surroundings along the fjord. With Peter Opsvik's design, you can be seduced into a reflection of Norwegian nature and spirit through these truly unique objects. Here you will find cupboards, chairs and tables with a strong artistic look.
Did you know? The Ekornes factory in Sykkylven can produce 1500 Stressless chairs in one day. The number of employees in 2019 is 1200 and the turnover during the last few years has been approximately three billion Norwegian kroner.
Along the Design road, you will in addition to the wardrobe manufacturer Langlo and Slettvoll Møbler at Stranda find the production of Ekornes' wooden components at Grodås. In Stryn lies Tonning & Stryn with their classic models, representing old handicraft traditions, furniture of flamy birch and oak, designed by well-known Norwegian furniture designers. The factory Innvik Sellgren lies at the bottom of the fjord, producing high-quality textiles for more than a hundred years.
The furniture museum, Møbelmuseet, formerly Norsk Møbelfaglig Senter (NMFS) is a museum and a documentation centre for the furniture industry of Norway. The museum is located in Sykkylven and is part of the museum institution Stiftinga Sunnmøre Museum. Among others, the museum contains a permanent exhibition showing the development of the furniture industry.