WOOL x GUBI Exclusive Partnership

Danish Design House GUBI Partners with Hong Kong Retailer WOOL

Scandinavian furniture specialist WOOL has announced an exclusive partnership with Danish furniture brand GUBI, bringing the latter’s extensive collection of furniture and lighting to the city for the first time.

The partnership marks a significant expansion of GUBI's presence in Asia, offering Hong Kong customers direct access to their curated collection of 20th-century design icons and contemporary pieces.

A Century of Design Heritage

GUBI's journey began in 1967 when Lisbeth and Bjarke Olsen established the company as a textile and furniture design studio. The brand's distinctive name and logo, featuring two guppy fish, emerged from a serendipitous connection to their son Jacob's birth, coinciding with their pet guppy fish spawning.

Under Jacob Gubi Olsen's leadership since 2001, the company has evolved into a global design curator, employing what they call a "treasure hunter" approach – rediscovering and reissuing forgotten design classics while nurturing contemporary talent.

GUBI has earned recognition for its ability to bridge historical design with contemporary aesthetics, curating pieces from the 1930s through the 1970s while simultaneously developing new classics. The brand's portfolio includes works from renowned designers such as Pierre Paulin, GamFratesi, Gio Ponti, and Paavo Tynell, creating an intercontinental dialogue between Italian, French, Finnish, and Danish design traditions.

The Chinese Hat Lamp & Basket Lounge Chair

Seine Table Lamp

Daumiller Armchair

Iconic Pieces on Display

The exhibition at WOOL's Hong Kong showroom features several significant pieces, including:

The Pacha Lounge Chair (1975) by Pierre Paulin, known for pioneering low-level living
The Beetle Chair (2013) by GamFratesi, inspired by insect anatomy
The Chinese Hat lamp (1935) by Paavo Tynell
The Multi-lite Family (1972) by Louis Weisdorf
The Obello lamp (1971) by Bill Curry
The Basket Collection (1967) by Joe Colombo

Notable among these is the Pacha Modular Sofa by Pierre Paulin, designed in 1975. Paulin, who began his career as a ceramist and stone carver, created the piece to evoke the sensation of "sitting on clouds." The design pioneered low-level living by eliminating traditional chair legs, representing a significant departure from post-war furniture design.

The Beetle Chair, created by GamFratesi in 2013, exemplifies GUBI's commitment to contemporary innovation. The chair's design draws inspiration from beetle anatomy, featuring a two-part shell that combines rigidity with flexibility. Recent updates to the collection include the use of recycled-plastic composites, demonstrating GUBI's adaptation to modern sustainability requirements.

Paavo Tynell's Chinese Hat lamp from 1935 showcases the brand's preservation of historical designs. Known as "the man who illuminated Finland," Tynell's 9602 Floor Lamp features a distinctive large, airy lampshade available in various materials, mounted on a rattan-covered stem with a polished brass base.

About WOOL

WOOL, established in 2017 as a B2B furniture agency, has positioned itself as a specialist retailer of Scandinavian and European furniture in Hong Kong. The company advocates for conscious consumption through their motto "a movement towards less," focusing on quality over quantity.

The retailer's portfolio includes partnerships with prominent Nordic and European brands such as Audo Copenhagen, &Tradition, Frama, and now exclusively, GUBI. This latest collaboration reinforces WOOL's role as a bridge between Nordic design heritage and Asian market appreciation for contemporary classics.

GUBI's complete collection is now exclusively available through WOOL in Hong Kong. Further information about products can be accessed through WOOL's official webshop.