Formland

In 1969–70 Danish designers Sidse Werner and Leif Alring unveiled their Formland lamp series at Fog & Mørup’s Amagertorv showroom. Avid parachutists, they translated parachute forms into the lamps’ silhouettes. For the launch they even had a one-off made in silver, gilded inside, weighing about 2.5 kg and valued at about 10,000 kroner (≈ €1,339 at today’s DKK→EUR rate).
The same profile also appeared at the festivities as red glass tumblers with a matte white plastic “cap,” and the series was shown at the May furniture fair in Copenhagen; at the time their studio was at Kattesundet 12.

Construction & light quality
Formland combined a lacquered metal body (in white, red, turquoise, yellow) with a domed diffuser in butyrate (cellulose acetate butyrate). The material choice was explicitly highlighted in period coverage as enabling a light-transmitting, non-dazzling top—allowing you to see the filament without glare.

Art-direction & marketing
The parachuting motif used for the launch tied directly to the designers’ (and Fog & Mørup design chief Jo Hammerborg’s) airborne interests; later commentary based on family correspondence notes Hammerborg’s close involvement with the project and his role as pilot in the campaign imagery.

Materials note (butyrate)
Period sources describe butyrate’s optical clarity, toughness and UV resistance as reasons for its use in lighting diffusers of the era—matching the Formland brief for soft, glare-free illumination.

Fog & Morup Formland Table Lamp – 1970 Catalogue Picture

Promotion for this lamp series at the parachute jumpers flying club of the designers.

Sidse Werner (1931–1989)

Danish architect–industrial designer trained in Copenhagen (School of Architecture & Industrial Design); worked several years in Nanna Ditzel’s studio before opening her own office in 1970. In 1969 she received the Danish National Bank’s Jubilee grant to study plastics in the USA, which fed into her later work across furniture, textiles, glass and lighting. Notable pieces include the Coat Tree and Series 9 umbrella stand for Fritz Hansen, glass and lighting for Holmegaard (e.g., “Troll 1 ” table lamp, late 1970s–80s), and—with Leif Alring —the Formland lighting series for Fog & Mørup (c. 1969–70). Her work was exhibited internationally (London, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, etc.)

Leif Alring

Danish designer/architect active from the mid-1960s into the 1970s. Worked across furniture, interiors and objects: Modula System unit furniture for PH Møbler (advertised 1966); a folding bar cabinet for C.F. Christensen (1964); co-designed the Formland lamps with Sidse Werner for Fog & Mørup (c. 1969–70). He also appears in Danish press for interior/discotheque commissions and designed the steel trophy sculpture for the Anders Bording Prize.

Butyrate

Butyrate plastics, most commonly Cellulose Acetate Butyrate (CAB), are a type of thermoplastic derived from natural cellulose that is known for its clarity, impact resistance, and weather resistance. They are used in a wide range of applications, including lighting, signage, packaging, and medical devices due to their toughness, high gloss, and ability to be thermoformed. Butyrate plastics are transparent with a high gloss, making them ideal for applications that require optical clarity, such as back-lit signs. It provides UV stabilization, which is important for outdoor applications to prevent degradation from sunlight.

Fog & Morup Formland Table Lamp – Promo Picture

The two designers with Jo Hammerborg behind the controls of the plane to promote their Formland lamp series.

Jo Hammerborg

Johannes (Jo) Hammerborg was born on 4 February 1920 in Denmark. He grew up on the outskirts of Randers in a middle-class family, trained as a silversmith and, during 1940–45, served in the Danish resistance as a saboteur. After the war he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and worked as a silversmith at Georg Jensen.

In 1957 Hammerborg became head of design at Fog & Mørup, a role he held until 1980. A pronounced idea-driven designer with a clear philosophy of form, function and restraint, he was a key force behind the company’s most creative and commercially successful years. He personally designed around 180 lamps for Fog & Mørup and also collaborated in refining others’ models; several of his designs received international awards. After a series of mergers beginning in 1980, Fog & Mørup eventually ceased production of his designs in the late 1990s.

Outside his professional life, Hammerborg was an avid and versatile athlete, a pilot and a pioneer in parachuting. He died in 1982, aged 62, in a parachuting accident.

Fog & Morup Formland Table Lamp – 1970 Catalogue Picture

Promotion for this lamp series, probably also at the parachute jumpers flying club of the designers.

Fog & Mørup

Ansgar Fog (1880–1930) and Erik Mørup (1879–1972) founded their business in 1904 as a metalwork wholesaler. Two years later they moved to Copenhagen, shifted their focus to lighting production, and over time acquired several electrical and lighting companies. Fog & Mørup emerged as a key force in lighting design in the early 1960s, following the appointment of Jo Hammerborg as head of design in 1957.

Notable designers and architects who worked with the company include: Claus Bonderup, Torsten Thorup, Sidse Werner, Sophus Frandsen, Jørgen Bo, E. Balslev, Peter Avondoglio, Karen Clemmensen, Ebbe Clemmensen, Hans Due, and of course Jo Hammerborg.

Lyfa

In the late 1970s, Fog & Mørup merged with Lyfa, another leading Danish lighting producer. In 1980 Jo Hammerborg retired. A few years later, Lyfa–Fog & Mørup was taken over by Lyskær, and the name changed to Lyskaer–Lyfa.

Lyskaer–Lyfa produced lights until 1991, when it was incorporated into Horn Belysning A/S of Aalstrup, Denmark, which was itself taken over in 2005 by Nordlux of Ålborg and, to a large extent, dismantled.

Horn Belysning

Horn Belysning A/S was founded in 1952 as a family business, initially named E.S. Horn. In 1963 it became Horn Belysning (Horn Lighting).

The company produced lighting for IKEA and several other European retail chains. It designed products and also imported lighting from China. In the 1980s Horn was the second-largest lighting company in Denmark.

In 2005 the name changed to Lightyears, which today is owned by Republic of Fritz Hansen.

Fog & Morup Formland Table Lamp – 1970 Catalogue Picture

Catalogue image of a table lamp, a big floor lamp and a pendant lamp, all in yellow.

Fog & Morup Formland Table Lamp – 1970 Catalogue Picture

Black & white advertisement.