Thoughts on Hans Wegner's Shell Chair  

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http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=wegner+shell+chair&o...

I believe the shell chair is...
I believe the shell chair is by Getama. I think this allows a productive digression into first, second and mass producer cabinetmakers/producers/manufacturers.
The shell chair is lower end Wegner. (I am not knocking Getama or the chair. You won't understand that unless you are Scandinavian.) The point is, there is upper end Wegner and lower, just as there are for almost every Scandinavian designer.
The reason is the scandinavian ethos. Scandinavians to a man believe in egalitarianism. Good things should be made available to everyone. While at the same time, acknowledging that craftsmen are not created equal.
So you have Wegner, Mogens Koch, Ole Wanscher, Finn Juhl, Yngve Ekström, Nanna Ditzel, Kindt-Larsen, even Madsen/Larsen and Ib Larsen all making two tiers of furniture. Some for the rich and then good stuff for the rest of us.
Wegner is the perfect example because his production was so big and broad that it spanned the whole spectra. For me, his best stuff was for Carl Hansen, Peder Pedersen, Johannes Hansen. Finn Juhls best stuff was by Niels Vodder. Wanscher's best was by A.J. Iversen, Kaare Klints best stuff was Rud. Rasmussen. Of all of these guys, Wegner was the only real cabinetmaker. He KNEW wood with his hands.
The very bottom end, and I say this respectfully, is IKEA. IKEA symbolizes the "good furniture for everyman". Sadly, "everyman" has become so broad that quality has suffered. Fritz Hansen, Getama, Swedese and France and Sons kinda form the mid ground.

My humble experience:
I sat in one the other day and it was very, very comfortable. I would not mind owning one.

Spanky is right
It's a handsome design and surprisingly comfortable.
That's two thumbs up.

Yep
Killer design in every aspect.

The rising sides
to the seat surely assist in sitting and in getting out of the chair ?

You have to get up
out of it once you're settled?
Why?

Every once in a while
... you need to move to a different seat lest you risk soiling the seat cushion.