Louis Poulsen Workshop Pendant Lamp

Louis Poulsen Workshop pendant lamp red enamelled industrial metal lampshade 1951 design: Axel Wedel Madsen Denmark

Louis Poulsen Workshop pendant lamp white inside metal lampshade porcelain E27 socket 1950s 1960s Denmark

Louis Poulsen Workshop Pendant Lamp – Light Grey Version

Materials: Red enamelled industrial metal lampshade. White inside. Porcelain E27 socket.

Cord: 100 cm / 39.37”

Height: 24 cm / 9.44”

Width: ∅ 35 cm / 13.77”

Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 100 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
No specific type of light bulb is required; different types can be used.

Period: 1950s, 1960s – Mid-Century Modern.

Designer: Axel Wedel Madsen in 1951.

Manufacturer: Louis Poulsen & Co A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Other versions: The Louis Poulsen Workshop pendant lamp was produced in a wide range of colours and in several sizes.

Louis Poulsen no longer produces this lamp. Today it is manufactured by Made by Hand in Copenhagen, Denmark, where the Workshop series remains available in various sizes and colours.

In 1000 Lights, Volume 1, page 357, the Workshop lamp is described as a design from the 1930s, attributed to the in-house design team of Louis Poulsen and linked to the broadcast centre of Radio Denmark. That information appears to be incorrect, as the design is generally attributed to Axel Wedel Madsen and dated to 1951.

Axel Wedel Madsen

Documented information about Axel Wedel Madsen remains limited. He is primarily known as the designer of the Workshop Lamp from 1951, a model that has since become an enduring part of Danish lighting design.

Later design sources describe Wedel Madsen as a craftsman with a deep understanding of materials, techniques and detail, and some also refer to him as a technical model maker. Beyond his connection with the Workshop lamp, however, reliable biographical information remains scarce.

If you have documented information about the designer, please let us know via the contact form and help improve the accuracy of this website.

Louis Poulsen

Louis Poulsen is a Danish lighting manufacturer with roots going back to 1874, when Ludvig R. Poulsen founded a business in Copenhagen. Originally a trading company, the firm gradually shifted towards electrical supplies and lighting as electricity became more widely used. In 1896 Ludvig’s nephew Louis Poulsen joined the company, and after Ludvig’s death in 1906 Louis continued the business. In 1914Sophus Kaastrup-Olsen became a partner, and the company name changed to Louis Poulsen & Co.

A decisive turning point came in 1924, when Poul Henningsen began his long collaboration with the company. His scientific approach to glare-free lighting and reflective multi-shade systems became central to the identity of Louis Poulsen and strongly influenced modern lighting design. Since then, the company has continued to combine functional light, architectural clarity and carefully considered form, following the idea that a lamp should not merely be an object, but a tool to shape light.

Over the decades, Louis Poulsen has produced both iconic domestic lighting and large-scale architectural lighting for public and professional spaces. The company remains one of the best-known names in Danish lighting design, with a strong emphasis on the quality, direction and atmosphere of light.

Designers

The designer most closely associated with Louis Poulsen is Poul Henningsen (PH). Other major names linked to the company include Arne Jacobsen, Verner Panton, Vilhelm Lauritzen and Vilhelm Wohlert.

Over time, Louis Poulsen also collaborated with a wide range of designers, architects and studios, including Alfred Homann, Andreas Hansen, Eila & John Meiling, Henning Klok, Axel Wedel Madsen, Jørgen Bo, Ole Valdemar Kjær, Jens Møller-Jensen and Bent Gantzel-Boysen.

Among later and more recent collaborations are Louise Campbell, Øivind Slaatto, Christian Flindt, Clara von Zweigbergk, nendo (Oki Sato), Olafur Eliasson, GamFratesi, Anne Boysen, Peter Bysted, Anu Moser, Shoichi Uchiyama, Gabriel Tan and Finn Juhl.