Erik Magnussen gained university education as a potter at the Kunsthåndværkerskolen in Copenhagen after which he remained in this field. He begin to work in the Danish porcelain factory Bing & Grøndal. Here he specialized mainly in the applied design of simple, geometric shapes. Subsequently, he designed furniture and accessories, the most famous of which is probably the stackable chair Z.
Although hundreds of designs come from the pen of Erik Magnussen, the most famous is his work for the Danish brand Stelton, for which he designed the EM77 collection. The collection, which bears the designer's initials along with the year of its creation, is known for its iconic ABS plastic thermoses, which boast excellent thermo capabilities and an intelligent pouring system. Thermoses with a timeless, minimalist look are popular all over the world and to this day they are among the bestsellers of the brand.
In addition to Magnussen thermoses, for Stelton he also designed a set of accessories and the well-known stainless steel candleholders. Magnussen's work has been awarded many times – for example, he won the "Designer of the Year 1983", "Red Dot" awards for design innovations in 1997 – and several times his designs also received the prestigious iD Prize.
Although Erik Magnussen's products are designed primarily for mass industrial production, they strive for perfection in every detail. Magnussen is undoubtedly one of the greatest Danish designers and his work is a great demonstration of the precision of Scandinavian design.
