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Bruno Mathsson was a famous Swedish furniture designer. Five generations of his family were cabinetmakers, including Bruno's father. Bruno, who was born in 1907, grew up in Varnamo learning how to make well crafted wood furniture. He developed the skills needed to become a woodworker and furniture designer.

After Mathsson became interested in the technical aspects of making furniture, he began to absorb all the information that he could about furniture making. He borrowed books from designers and museums, and contacted people who would become long-term associates and mentors. He became intrigued by functionalism as a result of his self-education in technical issues and design. He earned a scholarship with a functionalist chair design.

Feeling that traditional flat board furniture had too many limitations, Mathsson decided to try designing chairs with no springs at all and with light upholstery. He wanted the chairs to have clean, elegant lines and to be able to change positions. This was actually so controversial an idea at the time that some of his designs were hidden away until he became a well-known and respected designer.

Mathsson was worried about the "mechanics of sitting". He did tests to see what kind of pattern a human being made when sitting. He even sat in the snow to see what effect it would have. Mathsson won the Grand Prix design award in 1937 at the Paris Expo. Bruno was finally able to get his once hidden chairs out for the world to see once he obtained some recognition.

One of his classic designs is the Pernilla chair. It is made in easy chair and lounge chair formats with bentwood and lamination techniques employed as part of the design. It can be upholstered or made with webbing. During war shortages of materials, Mathsson experimented with jute and hemp and anything else he could obtain, and this design can be adapted to nearly any wood or material. Pernilla chairs typically have an attached pillow.

In 1935 Bruno Mathsson designed the Fällbord table. This became one of his most famous designs for a modular table that can be configured in many different ways which is still as modern today as it was in the 1930s. In fact, there is a timelessness about most of Mathsson's designs, including his highly-desired Jetson, Miranda, Eva and Pernilla chairs.

Another notable table (Mathsson bord) that is still particularly popular is the Mathsson Superellips. It is a huge testament to his work that so many pieces of his furniture (Mathsson m¶bler) continue to be in such high demand. Mathsson died in 1988 after an illness, leaving a legacy of his family craft taken to an even higher level.