Carl-Axel Beijbom (1909-1971)
The story of the striking elmwood tables from C. A. Beijbom began when Carl-Axel Beijbom, who ran the family farm Simlingegården in the south of Sweden, found an elmwood plank in the attic in the early 1960s. It was unusually beautiful and inspired Carl-Axel Beijbom, an artist at heart with an eye for beautiful and interesting objects, to make it into a table top. Beijbom discovered that elm trees that grow around where people live or in an avenue and consequently are regularly trimmed, develop a certain kind of lively veins.
Carl-Axel Beijbom was an inspiring person with the ability to gather people around him. Guests and neighbors who saw the table asked to have one made for them and word about it spread from mouth to mouth. Beijbom was quick to realize the potential and sold the farm animals, turning the barn into a wood workshop. Beijbom’s tables, mostly in the form of coffee or sofa tables became high in demand, however the production was limited and every single table was made to order. The C. A. Beijbom workshop was active from the mid-1960s until the turn of the century, with production peaking during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Carl-Axel’s sons Christer and Peter continued the manufacturing after Carl-Axels passing, well trained in the trade by their father. To this day they get requests for new tables, but they gracefully decline.
Source: Interview with the designer’s family