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In 1958, Jacob Jensen opened his own studio in Strandgade in Copenhagen. Soon after, Jacob Jensen Design moved to a suburb Frederiksberg with a staff of 8. This development involved more management than design, which did not suit Jacob Jensen's taste. He reduced the staff to two and moved further outside the city to the village of Jyllinge. In this period, Jacob Jensen completed an extensive design concept for General Electric, which pointed towards Hi-Fi-systems of the future. General Electric chose not to use the design, which later became the basis of B&O's form language and strategy.
Hejlskov
In 1966, Jacob Jensen Design moved to its present location, Hejlskov on the Limfjord. The house is a modern fortress, built by Jacob Hermann, one of Jacob Jensen's former teachers at the School of Arts and Craft. It is situated in a beautiful and isolated landscape on the edge of the fjord. With Jacob Jensen are his American wife Patricia and their three children, Thomas, Katja and Timothy.
Bang & Olufsen
The move to Hejlskov was partly related to Jacob Jensen's new client, B&O in Struer, 50 kilometres from Hejlskov. The relationship was begun in 1964 and continued in various forms until 1991. During this period, Jacob Jensen designed over 200 products for B&O, creating the exclusive form language, which has provided the company with its international status and survival niche. (More can be read on this subject in the separate document, "Bang & Olufsen and Jacob Jensen").
The Museum of Modern Art
Jacob Jensen's design is exhibited in a number of art and design museums around the world. The most significant of the international exhibitions is the solo exhibition at MoMA in New York in 1978: "Bang & Olufsen - Design for Sound by Jacob Jensen". The exhibition comprised 28 audio products. Both before and after the exhibition, MoMA purchased Jacob Jensen designs for its permanent collection, and today owns 19 pieces. (More can be read on this subject in a separate document, "The Museum of Modern Art and Jacob Jensen")
Other Products
Jacob Jensen is primarily known for his B&O design, but as an industrial designer he has designed more than 500 products for a large number of clients. Among these are hearing aids for GH Danavox, Hi-Fi for General Electric, office chairs for Labofa, telephones for Alcatel-Kirk, cable reels for JoJo, wind turbines for NEG Micon, kitchen hardware for Gaggenau Haugeräte, along with watches, telephones, weather stations and more under the brand name JACOB JENSEN.
Awards
Jacob Jensen Design has received around 70 design awards all over the world, including the USA, Japan, Germany, Italy, Austria, and England. In Denmark, Jacob Jensen has received the ID-award nine times, has been awarded the Knights Cross of the Order of Dannebrog, and is included in the Foreign Ministrys list of Great Danes. (In a separate document there is a complete list with more than 100 exhibitions, awards, etc.)
The Mediterranean
In 1981, Jacob Jensen realised his old dream of sailing. Together with his second wife Hanne and their two children, Troels and Toke, they sailed through the canals of Europe to the Mediterranean where the family eventually settled on Mallorca. For some time the studio was run from Mallorca with assistants in Hejlskov.
Jacob Jensen still spends the winter abroad with his third wife, Nanna, while the sailing is done in Denmark during the summer.
Generational change
In 1990, Timothy Jacob Jensen, the youngest son of Jacob´s first marriage, took over the company. Timothy was apprenticed to his father from 1978 to 1981 and is now the owner, director and chief designer. With Timothy at the helm, the studio continues to be an exceptionally sought after and highly awarded enterprise. Futhermore, Timothy has developed an international product line under the brand name JACOB JENSEN. The JACOB JENSEN house today includes the companies; JACOB JENSEN HOLDING, JACOB JENSEN DESIGN and JACOB JENSEN BRAND. Jacob Jensen is still an active designer on selected projects and regularly acts as a sparring partner for Timothy.
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