Bodum

The Danish Bodum company was founded in 1944 by Peter Bodum, importing glassware from Europe into Denmark. It produced its first coffeemaker, the Santos, in 1958. This was designed by the architect Kaas Klaeson and is still in production. In 1974, the company began the production of its highly successful cafetieres with the Bistro model that sat on a distinctive cork base.

The Bodum company has always invested in design, reflecting a humane Scandinavian modernism. It has expanded its range of glassware products and has also moved into plastics and a limited number of related appliances, such as the Osiris (1981) stove kettle and the Ibis (1998) electric kettle.

The company remains in family ownership; the present manager is Peter Bodum’s son Jorgen. The company has a number of shops throughout Europe and a design company, Pi Design, based in Switzerland.