Dansk Stainless Flatware

Forty years ago, New York entrepreneur/engineer Ted Nierenberg and his wife Martha traveled to Denmark, and at Copenhagen's Kundstanvaark Museum saw a hand-forged fork, spoon and knife with teakwood handles that had won a design competition for 35-year-old Jens Quistgaard. Elegant and pure, the design combined two natural materials in a graceful manner - a simple concept for the Nineties, but revolutionary for the Fifties. Quistgaard told Nierenberg that his designs were too difficult to manufacture and no one wanted to tackle them. But Nierenberg's search led him to manufacturing sources he knew could execute such pieces; he convinced Quistgaard that they had to try. The pattern was Fjord. The company was Dansk. And the energy born of the fusion of Nierenberg's marketing genius and Quistgaard's brilliant creativity ignited a whole new industry. "Tabletop" had been redefined. Nierenberg knew nothing of retailing, but he went out on the road to sell Fjord. The first 60 stores he visited placed orders. Fjord went "platinum" and for 30 years was in the Dansk product line. It was discontinued in 1984 when it could no longer be manufactured maintaining Dansk's quality standard at an affordable price. When it was retired, Fjord sold for $100 a place setting.