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Collection by Miyoko Ohtake

The 3107 Chair

It takes nine sheets of veneer, two layers of cotton backing, up to five coats of paint, and 11 days to make a 3107 chair. We take you to the floor of Fritz Hansen's stackable-chair factory to show you how it's done.

The most famous photo of Arne Jacobsen’s 3107 chair isn’t even of a real 3107. The iconic image, taken by Lewis Morley in 1963, depicts British knockout Christine Keeler naked astride a knockoff. The provocative pic propelled the molded-plywood chair to international fame, and sales—which had inched forward at a snail’s pace after the chair’s 1955 release—skyrocketed. Today, the company has sold nearly seven million Series 7 chairs, including the 3107, the dining-height model, making it Danish furniture manufacturer Fritz Hansen’s best-selling family of seats.

View 12 Photos
The Fritz Hansen factory in Denmark.
The Fritz Hansen factory in Denmark.
A worker runs two strips of veneer through a machine that glues the edges together.
A worker runs two strips of veneer through a machine that glues the edges together.
A cotton backing is added before the sheets are cut into their rough shapes.
A cotton backing is added before the sheets are cut into their rough shapes.
The veneer is glazed with adhesive.
The veneer is glazed with adhesive.
After the veneers are covered in glue, they are assembled into nine-sheet piles.
After the veneers are covered in glue, they are assembled into nine-sheet piles.
The plywood pieces are fed into the factory's computer controlled machine (CCN, where they are cut into the signature Series 7 silhouette.
The plywood pieces are fed into the factory's computer controlled machine (CCN, where they are cut into the signature Series 7 silhouette.
A hydraulic press molds the stacks into chair forms; the machines can do up to eight pieces at a time.
A hydraulic press molds the stacks into chair forms; the machines can do up to eight pieces at a time.
Workers then sand the chair forms by hand.
Workers then sand the chair forms by hand.
A machine attaches plastic discs to the undersides of the seats.
A machine attaches plastic discs to the undersides of the seats.
A robotic arm paints the hanging chairs for optimum coverage.
A robotic arm paints the hanging chairs for optimum coverage.
The legs are attached and one last inspection is done before the chairs are packed and shipped.
The legs are attached and one last inspection is done before the chairs are packed and shipped.