String – the story
String has earned its place in design history thanks to its
elegant simplicity and ingenious construction. Designed
by Nisse and Kajsa Strinning, the String shelf won its first
design prize in 1949. Based on three simple elements –
the shelf, the wall panel and the metal fitting – it can be
combined in an infinite number of configurations and is
endlessly reinvented as it passes from one generation
to the next.
All books and no shelves
In the late 1940s, vast number of books were being
sold in Sweden. Even the smallest town had its own
bookshop, and salesmen often peddled their wares in
the workplace. With Swedish homes overflowing with
books, the question naturally arose: where should they
all be kept? Bonniers Folkbibliotek, one of Sweden’s
largest publishers, decided to answer this question by
holding a design competition in the spring of 1949. They
called for a new kind of bookcase that would be affor-
dable, wall-mounted, expandable and hold at least two
metres of books.
Nisse Strinning
At this time, a young Stockholm architect called Nisse
Strinning had just begun his career. Although a trained
architect, Nisse was actually more interested in de-
signing smaller everyday objects that could have a big
impact on people’s lives.
As a child, he had designed and built his own bookcase.
As an adult, he had all the theoretical knowledge and
practical experience needed to recreate that book-
case… making it open, affordable, space-saving, and
expandable to any size.
In fact, when Nisse heard about Bonniers’ bookcase
competition, the idea of the String bookshelf was almost
ready to go.
Kajsa cracks the details
At this point, it would be remiss not to mention Strin-
ning’s wife Kajsa – also an architect – without whom the
String shelf might never have past the prototype stage.
Unlike her husband, Kajsa had the artistic talent to refine
Nisse’s raw industrial designs, and the patience to create
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