Gubi Olsen

Behind the Designer: Gubi Olsen

To understand the global revival of mid-century design, you must understand the legacy of Gubi Olsen – not only as a designer, but as a curator of design history. Best known as the co-founder of GUBI, the Danish design house that reshaped how we value and rediscover 20th-century furniture, Olsen brought together bold creativity, deep research, and an unwavering belief in timeless design. His eye didn’t just define a brand – it helped restore cultural memory.

Born in Denmark in 1947, Gubi Olsen emerged at a time when Scandinavian design was transitioning from its golden age into a more experimental future. Alongside his wife Lisbeth, he founded GUBI in 1967 with the ambition of producing their own furniture and lighting – designs that merged Danish craftsmanship with modern forms and materials. Their early work was elegant and sculptural, grounded in simplicity but always pushing gently against the boundaries of tradition.

But Olsen’s lasting impact didn’t come solely from what he created – it came from what he revived. Over the years, he developed a deep fascination with forgotten design classics. In a world increasingly focused on novelty, he turned his attention to legacy. Digging through archives, tracking down estates, and studying overlooked talent, Gubi Olsen helped bring pieces by designers like Greta Grossman, Jacques Adnet, and Mathieu Matégot back into the spotlight. Through meticulous reissues and sensitive licensing, he made these names – and their work – accessible again to a global audience.

This approach was visionary. Long before the design world embraced the idea of “curated heritage,” Olsen was already treating furniture as cultural archaeology – something to be rediscovered, not replaced. He helped reframe vintage not as old, but as enduring. This perspective has had a profound influence on how design is marketed, collected, and valued today.

Olsen’s own designs reflect this same mindset. Pieces like the Gubi 3D Chair – a minimalist shell chair created using pioneering moulded veneer techniques – show his ability to merge innovation with warmth. Ergonomic, lightweight, and visually fluid, it embodied the philosophy he lived by: that good design should feel both new and familiar, striking and usable. It was also a statement of Danish adaptability – a design nation always looking forward, but with deep roots.

At Design Preowned, Gubi Olsen’s influence runs even deeper. The company was founded by Edward Gubi, his grandson and the third generation in the Gubi design lineage. With Design Preowned, that legacy continues – reinterpreted for a new era focused on circularity, restoration, and responsible design stewardship. If Gubi Olsen built the bridge between past and present, Design Preowned extends it toward the future.

What’s unique about Olsen’s legacy is that it’s not frozen in time – it’s living. His understanding of materials, his reverence for the makers who came before him, and his instinct for timeless form continue to guide our curatorial and restoration work today. Whether we’re bringing a vintage Matégot piece back to life, or reviving a Danish chair from the 1960s with new purpose, we’re operating within the same framework he championed: respect, longevity, and design with a soul.

Over the years, we’ve restored numerous GUBI originals and curated pieces from the broader design universe that Olsen helped revive. Each one represents more than aesthetic value – it represents continuity. We believe, as he did, that design isn’t just about objects; it’s about memory, material integrity, and the stories that furniture can tell across generations.

In a marketplace dominated by trends and disposability, Gubi Olsen’s work – and his vision – reminds us that true innovation often means looking back with fresh eyes. His life’s work helped elevate the idea that restoring and rediscovering is just as vital as inventing something new. That belief lives on in every piece we touch, repair, and rehome.

At Design Preowned, we’re proud to carry his name – and even prouder to carry his philosophy forward. Gubi Olsen taught us that the future of design doesn’t start in the factory. It starts with care.