Mobiles are mesmerizing – that is one of the reasons you see them so often above the bed of a baby or child. In the past mobiles were hung by village women over a baby’s cradle to protect the children from the evil eye and soothe them. Today, we think that mobiles help chase away the mental “evil eye” of tension and are mesmerizing and calming for adults. Plus they are fun and a great way to add some color and pizazz to your home.
We carry Flensted Mobiles – some of the best mobiles in the world. We also encourage you to visit their website if you find a mobile that we don’t currently carry as a dealer we can special order mobiles for you.
Flensted Mobiles is a company in Denmark that began in 1955 with two straws and three paper storks.
That was what Christian Flensted cut out and assembled in 1953 for the christening of his daughter, Mette. The result was the stork mobile, which was not just a fun, ingenious and personal gift, but was the prelude to Flensted Mobiles.
A year after Mette’s christening Flensted Mobiles was established and to this very day the stork mobile is still in production.
Christian Flensted founded the firm, along with his wife Grethe, in the three-room flat in Aalborg, where the family was living. The dining room table was the workplace and storage room was under the sofa.
According to the Flensted website:
Christian Flensted became known as ‘Uromageren’, a Danish play on the word ‘Uro’, which means both ‘restless’ and ‘a mobile’ – i.e. both a maker of mobiles as well as someone whose mind is constantly in motion. This nickname corresponded well with his creative capacity to create elegant, classic designs – and unique, extraordinary mobiles that can both set their surroundings in motion and create a balance of mind. For when it comes to mobiles, rest and restlessness make a happy couple.
The company was growing and in 1956, the Flensted family returned to their native island of Funen. Here the family and firm settled in a farmhouse with adjoining workshop near Tommerup. The place was christened ‘The Stork’s Nest’ after the first mobile.
By 1972, production had increased so much that another move became necessary. This time it was to the former school ‘Frederiksminde’, close to Brenderup and also on Funen. This old, historically interesting building is still the home of Flensted Mobiles.
In 1982 Grethe and Christian Flensted decided to pass the mobile baton on to their son Ole. (No Ole’s not married to a woman named Lena but wouldn’t that be wonderful?) Flensted Mobiles was now being run by Ole and his wife, Aase.
They continue to operate the company ever since paying respect to its ideals and creative angle on the world. The founders gave room to the new owners so they could leave their mark on the company. New mobiles came onto the drawing board, and new markets were opened up, but the basic traditions that made it a great company were still part of its operation.
The Flensted website states Ole and Aase have been “mobile-married” for 35 years and have never had a dull moment! Aase is called “Mamma Mobile” and Ole likes to be close to the entire process, from the first concept and sketches to the finished mobile and that he is often as restless as a mobile.
[Ole Flensted] follows in the foot-steps of his father as a designer of mobiles, and is here making the final cuts to a new design. Ole dreams of being able to concentrate on his wild ideas: making mobiles all day long. But thousand of things must be done every day.
The mobiles are assembled by skillful and much appreciated homeworkers scattered around the beautiful island of Funen. It takes time, patience, dedication and care to make a mobile. Each mobile is carefully assembled, and balanced by skillful hands. They are packed so that they are ready to hang. The Flensted mobiles are not only designed in Denmark, but also made in Denmark with dignity and frankness.
The Flensted Mobile Centre has created their mobiles to be in perpetual motion, while maintaining a constant and harmonious balance. Flensted Mobiles are designed for the home. Like an aquarium, a mobile catches and holds the eye, and to watch its calm subdued movements brings serenity of mind, and fosters one’s thoughts and creativeness. In a room where there is no apparent movement of air, invisible air currents will ceaselessly bring the mobile alive, and it will never remain absolutely still. As the Ole Flensted, says: “A good mobile can continue in motion for 10 minutes after a cat has exhaled nearby”.
Here you can see some of Flensted’s mobiles and watch them being created: