The adventurous spirit of our founder is a great source of pride and inspiration for all of us at Scandinavian Designs, Dania Furniture and Scandis.

Like many business success stories, ours begins there – with an entrepreneur, a necessity, a sense of adventure and a discovered passion.

It was on a trip back to his native country of Norway, after being in the United States for a few years, that our founder began his career in furniture.

At the 1963 furniture show in Stavanger, Norway, he met with several small furniture factories that all agreed to give him modest credit on a handshake. "That's how business was done over there in those days," he recalls. 

Beginning as a one-man operation, he worked in every position the business required - from trips back to the Scandinavian furniture fairs to place orders, to picking up furniture shipments from the pier in San Francisco, displaying product in the store, advertising in the local newspaper, selling the furniture and filling out delivery orders by hand, to loading the merchandise in the back of his van to cart off to the customer. 

He still appreciates the relationships with his early customers, recounting stories of how they would insist that he sit and join them for dinner after an evening delivery, and how they became loyal to his philosophy on modern design.

This is the man who furnished mid-century modern homes up and down the west coast in the 1960's and 1970's. 

Through the years, his three sons grew up watching their father build our organization, and it was only natural that they decided to join in.

The foundation and history of this family business is based on valuing authenticity and honoring our obligations.

Our entire team embraces these principles and strives to deliver the best customer service and the finest quality products at an exceptional value.