Chief designer Timothy Jacob Jensen appointed design icon of the Danish national classic; Aalborg Christmas Aquavit 2019

Thursday 31 October 2019 09:30
Professor Timothy Jacob Jensen has been honored in his home country Denmark. Aalborg Akvavit, the renowned Danish spirit brand appointed to the Royal Danish Court, has named him Design icon 2019 of this year's Christmas Aquavit. Timothy Jacob Jensen, who has been teaching design at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi for years, was selected due to his lifelong contribution to Danish and global design history.

The Danish national classic within spirits

Aalborg Jule Akvavit is a luxury spirit, which has been the Danes' preferred accompaniment for Christmas feasts for centuries, produced according to old recipes from the late 1800s.

Every year sees a new, unique motif on the Aalborg Jule Akvavit bottles, and in 2019 Aalborg Akvavit and iconic Danish designer Timothy Jacob Jensen have united the many Nordic Christmas traditions in one bottle.

Collaborating with his long-time creative associate, graphic designer Rikke Boe Nielsen, Timothy Jacob Jensen has designed a motif celebrating the natural flow of the seasons and the way the universe resets darkness and makes room for light and life again.

The inspiration springs from Timothy's early years apprenticed to his father, Jacob Jensen, and a closer look reveals the sun symbol as a modern monogram of Timothy Jacob Jensen's initials.

"To me, December is connected to the winter solstice. I've always been fascinated with the way everything begins anew and daylight starts returning. This is why my personal sun symbol seemed the obvious choice for the motif on this year's Aalborg Jule Akvavit. It is rooted in the very first task I was set as apprentice to my father, Jacob Jensen: drawing lines and circles. The circles symbolise the cycle of life while the vertical and horizontal lines represent life and death respectively. This design is the perfect embodiment of my fascination with the winter solstice and the birth of a new year," explains Timothy Jacob Jensen.

A Christmas classic and collector's item

Aalborg Jule Akvavit is a bold Christmas classic made each year following the very same recipe as at its introduction. Each year, the bottle features a new, unique motif, and the bottle design itself changes every four years. This is why the Christmas aquavit has become a special collector's item.

"A new year means a new bottle motif. To contrast the manifold impressions of Christmas, we have chosen to emphasize the simple lines so characteristic of Timothy Jacob Jensen's designs. This year, we've focused on the natural change of the seasons and the fact that daylight is slowly but surely returning. There was no doubt in our minds that Timothy Jacob Jensen should be the one to design the motif for the Aalborg Jule Akvavit 2019, since we find that his iconic style lends the bottle a special expression while simultaneously complementing the extraordinary skill that goes into making our aquavits, not least the Christmas edition," says category manager at Aalborg Akvavit Lajs Kaznelson.

Timothy Jacob Jensen – a friend of Thailand

Timothy Jacob Jensen started his design career as an apprentice to his father, Jacob Jensen, in 1978. In 1990, he bought Jacob Jensen Design and established sister studios abroad in Shanghai and Bangkok while building up the iconic design brand JACOB JENSEN(R).

Since Timothy's first visit to Bangkok in 1989, he has developed a close and warm felt relation to Thailand. From 2012 until 2018, he was Chief Designer at the studio Jacob Jensen Design KMUTT Bangkok, operated in close collaboration with King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi. This gave him the opportunity to tutor young creative Thai design students and live in the capital city. Timothy Jacob Jensen has worked with several Thai brands such as Toshiba Thailand, VRH and Cotto. Also, on a personal level, he has built strong bonds. Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, former Minister for Tourism and Sports and Per Enevoldsen, founder of Pandora are some of his close friends in Thailand.

"Thailand has grown to become my second home country, and I am excited to be able to spend some time here in the coming month. The Thai friendliness is not to be found anywhere else," he says.

Timothy is the most awarded Danish designer and has left his distinct mark on design history with his work for Bang & Olufsen, Ecco, Gaggenau, Lufthansa, Steinway Lyngdorf, Vertu and Volvo, to mention but a few.

In 2018, Timothy sold his shares in Jacob Jensen Design and has since established his new enterprise, Timothy Jacob Jensen Studios, by the Limfjord in Hejlskov, Denmark.

Read more at https://timothyjacobjensen.com/timothy-jacob-jensen/

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20191029/2625105-1

Caption: 2019 Aalborg Christmas Aquavit designed by Timothy Jacob Jensen