Herbert Krenchel

Herbert Krenchel was a Danish engineer and designer who received a master's degree from the Technical University of Denmark. His research focused on the reinforcement of materials and fibres. He started working with design in the 1950s and founded his own company in 1953. A year after the studio was founded, his KRENIT bowls won a gold medal at the Milan Triennale. Krenchel believed in a balance between function and aesthetics. He considered the surface of a design object to be important because it is what makes people want to touch it.

His most famous product is the KRENIT bowls, which are made of millimetre-long sheets coated with the fibre cement material Eternite and covered with enamel in various colours inside. The combination of the name of the material and the name of the designer also gave rise to the name of the bowls, which are now regarded worldwide as an icon of timeless design and a model of perfect harmony between form and material.