On 28 July 1943, Ingvar Kamprad, then only 17 years old, founded IKEA in the small town of Älmhult in Småland, Sweden. Now, IKEA is celebrating 80 years of entrepreneurial spirit, innovation, and co-creation with a curious, humble, and positive outlook for the future.
We know no better way to celebrate than remembering all bits and pieces of the past that made us who we are today. Thus, here it is: discover the gripping stories behind some of our (and your) favourite products!
More to come.
We know no better way to celebrate than remembering all bits and pieces of the past that made us who we are today. Thus, here it is: discover the gripping stories behind some of our (and your) favourite products!
More to come.
The birth of FAMNIG HJÄRTA cushion
In 1997 a co-worker at IKEA discovered that the eyes on the soft toys at Children’s IKEA can come off, which creates a choking hazard. Straight after noticing this, production at the supplier company in India was halted, but we wanted to take responsibility for the workers at the factory. Carrying on working with them lead us to FAMNIG, a heart-shaped cushion with outstretched arms.
A ‘proper’ bookcase also known as BILLY
In the early years bookcases by IKEA largely comprised glass doors, drinks cabinets and base cabinets. But as time went on, more and more customers were looking for a ‘real bookcase’. In 1977 the bookcase BILLY was born. It was named after Billy Liljedahl, IKEA head of advertising at that time who expressed a desire to have a proper bookcase just for books.
STRANDMON, the favourite to beat all favourites
Wing chairs were the height of fashion in the 1950s. MK, the predecessor of STRANDMON wing chair, was launched in 1951 and was one of the first pieces of upholstered furniture at IKEA. The current version of STRANDMON wing chair had to undergo a lot of tough quality tests before it reached the market – it has been tested to make sure a person can sit down on it and get out of it at least 50 000 times. That’s once a day for 136 years.
The first piece of furniture sold in a flat package
When the LÖVET, a graceful, leaf-shaped coffee table was launched in 1956, IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad described it as “a lovely little thing, in ultra-modern design”. However, it was slightly too large to fit in a tiny IKEA co-worker’s car who was tasked to deliver a table to a photo studio to be shot for the catalogue. He decided to remove the legs and reattach them later...
A sofa that meets all family needs
The softly shaped KLIPPAN sofa is our eternal classic. First presented in the 1980 IKEA catalogue, it has since made an annual comeback in hundreds of different covers. But the story if KLIPPAN started even earlier than it was presented worldwide. It all began at home of Lars Engman, IKEA Product Developer whose six-year-old daughter and her friends managed to ruin several sofas by jumping on them. This is when he got wondering whether it was possible to make a child-friendly, reasonably priced sofa that's safe and easy to maintain.
LAMPAN, a unique lamp packaged within itself
Creating a good table lamp at the best price on the market is a tricky task. However, our designers managed to reduce costs by using the lamp shade as part of the packaging. This is how the LAMPAN desk lamp was launched almost 20 years ago. Over the years it has been sold in a range of different colour combinations and has become a true classic in the lighting range around the world as well as in Lithuania.
A side table at a surprisingly low price
Say LACK and most people think of the original square table. But do you know how it was invented? Vivianne Sjölin, the range coordinator at IKEA those days, thought that IKEA had too many big, heavy tables made of wood, metal and glass. She wanted to see nice, little, colourful tables that were easy to place with flexible use, and that customers might buy on impulse – almost like a souvenir.
STOCKHOLM, a truly exclusive collection
In the 1980s, IKEA faced an interesting challenge: to satisfy its loyal customers’ who were looking for comfort and elegance. Task was to fill the range with furniture and objects of high-class materials, in timeless design and, as Ingvar Kamprad described, to create „the best of IKEA“. The result was a collection launched in 1985 under the name STOCKHOLM.Curiosity about people’s lives, needs and dreams at home has always been the starting point at IKEA. We have 80 years of unique design heritage and strong commitments to people and the planet.
