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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.

Mathsson became intrigued with the technical side of furniture design, and started voraciously reading everything he could locate on the subject, from reading museum books to contacting design centers. He educated himself on both the technical issues involved and the design styles themselves, and in the process became focused primarily on functionalism. He eventually received a scholarship for his work on functionalist design.

Feeling that traditional flat board furniture had too many limitations, Matsson 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 so anxious about the thing he calls the "mechanics of sitting" that he conducted trials to determine the precise blueprint which was created by a person while reclining, even dropping in the snow to look at the result! By 1937, he had attained a Grand Prix design honor at an Expo in Paris. At that time, a few of his lost chairs began to be viewed by the public again.

One of his classic designs is the Bruno Mathsson 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. Bruno Mathsson 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.

Yet another piece of Mathsson furniture (Mathsson mobler) that MUST be mentioned here is another of his tables. The Mathsson superellips is also considered a classic and it seems like it will increase in value for many years to come. Mathsson passed away in 1988 leaving an amazing legacy of family heritage made great by his insight.

Bruno Mathsson (1907-1988) was a Swedish furniture (mobler) designer who was concerned about the "mechanics of sitting". After learning a great deal about woodworking from his cabinet making father, he went on to carry out much research into the way people sit and used this in his classic Mathsson Pernilla Chair design. This chair uses bent and laminated wood with various types of materials for upholstery. Another of his creations was the Fällbord table which has several configurations. After winning a design award in 1937, his designs went on to receive widespread popularity even into the 21st Century.