ABOUT

MIKE LAUSTSEN

When telling the story about Mike Laustsen furniture it is impossible not to tell the story of Mike and the Laustsen family. Mike is the son of Danish immigrants and creating furniture is in their blood. It started with a Great Grandfather who was a builder and furniture maker in Denmark in the late 1800’s. His parents immigrated to NZ in 1963. His mother was an upholstery machinist in her brother’s business and her knowledge and experience in this field has been invaluable. His father is a highly skilled furniture maker, who produced a piece for the Danish Royal Family. This is where Mike comes from, he is proud of his Danish heritage and the traditional skills he has learned from both his mother and father and that is why quality and traditional craftmanship are important to him, it’s his family’s legacy.

Master Craftsman

Where it began for Mike

Enticed by his parent’s furniture making and his love of sawdust, Mike began his own journey at 11, he wanted to create his own furniture and his father offered to help under one condition “you must keep what you produce, and never let it go”. He did, and that original piece made from both Kauri solid timber and kauri veneer remains in Mike’s home today, as a visual reminder of his passion for furniture making. He sold pieces of furniture for pocket money from 13, but began his apprenticeship in earnest at 17 in the family business. He quickly showed potential and entered a global trade competition in 1989 called “Youth Skills” where he won The National Furniture Competition. He went on to represent New Zealand in the World Youth Skill Olympics in Birmingham, England that same year.

Mike carried on working with his father for 25 years, producing one off pieces of furniture to clients, architects and designers’ specifications. While they didn’t always “see eye to eye”, he loved the work and continued learning from his father, forming a craftsman bond along with their family one. While Mike enjoyed producing other’s designs, he was also contemplating his own designs where he could show his skills to their full potential.

After another trip to Denmark in 2018 Mike was inspired to ‘act’, creating a dining table which he named “Flyde” (Danish for float), where the top appears float above the legs. Mike was encouraged to enter this into the Interior Awards 2019, winning the award of ‘Craftmanship’, followed up with the Designers Institute Best Awards in ‘Furniture’ 2019 where it won a silver award. Buoyed by this feedback, Mike created another design called “Mantis” also a finalist in the Designers institute Best Awards 2020. It’s no secret that Mike is inspired by his Danish heritage and what has come to be known as Scandinavian design. He is also inspired by a love for his traditional wood working craft, choosing to use traditional methods and techniques that have taken his family generations to learn.