About Us Team out-sider Distributors Designers Partners It all started

It all started

out-siders journey began in an unusual location – in the middle of a Bedouin tent at Amager Beachpark in the heart of Copenhagen. Back in 2007, a group of friends, designers, businesspeople, and other like-minded individuals gathered to explore and discuss the ideas behind the new ‘out-sider’. This gathering resulted in a refined vision and an action plan. out-sider now had 2 employees, Alice and Ib

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Ib, the founder of out-sider, is a passionate enthusiast, creative thinker, and innovator. After working with renowned companies such as Bang & Olufsen, Thorn Lighting, and Louis Poulsen Lighting, he founded his own company, out-sider a/s, in 2007. His journey as a young inventor from engineering education to entrepreneur reflects his courage, originality, and ability to think differently

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Heroes and Inspiration

Ib usually gets inspired by heroes, one of them being cartoon character, Gyro Gearloose. This influence is evident in out-siders’ approach to the market, our products, and our core narrative—both then and now

The Wilderness on Amager

Our choice of premises naturally had to reflect our ideas, thoughts, and plans. Therefore, we chose an office in an entrepreneurial factory on Amager, earlier industrial area which turned into an attractive area in Copenhagen. A significant part of our identity was created through, what we called, the “Showspace” instead of a traditional showroom. A wilderness in the middle of Amager’s urban development areas was transformed with trails, beach sand, and a sail reminiscent of the Roskilde Festival. Additionally, a large container adorned with graffiti, specifically designed for out-sider, served as our light laboratory

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Challenging Traditional Benches: 4 Steel Legs and Planks

In his quest to challenge conventional urban furniture, Ib Mogensen also had a vision.
In 2007, Ib stated: ‘98% of all benches consist of six long wooden planks and four steel legs – it cannot be right that we cannot do better.’
In early 2007, Ib was contacted by Aarhus Festival Week and Aart Architects to develop a new seating furniture for the festival, held annually in August. The collaboration between these two parties and out-sider resulted in the creation of the circular bench, LOOP. It was designed so that many thousands of guests could sit on 50 red rings scattered around the city of Aarhus. The rest is history…

LOOP - A Part of Danish Design History

In 2006, the Danish Design book, published by Gyldendal/Thomas Dickson, showcased 95% Danish indoor design icons and only 5% outdoor. The outdoor design icons included were almost unknown and had almost no sales outside of Denmark.
Ib Mogensen declared: ‘I will change that.’ He proclaimed, ‘When the next edition of the Danish Design book is released in a few years, our contribution will be in it. We all know the great Danish design icons from the 1950s and 1960s, but unfortunately, outdoor furniture has been greatly underrepresented. I want to change that.’
In 2017, the new edition of the Danish Design book was published, and out-sider’s outdoor product “LOOP,” was included! ‘It was our vision to create an outdoor design icon on par with the many classic indoor furniture pieces. And we succeeded – we are proud of it.'”

 

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Technology and Urban Furniture in a Brand New Symbiosis

out-sider was founded based on Ib Mogensen’s experience in the lighting industry. This formed the foundation for a significant part of the strategy and philosophy behind out-sider – namely, integrating light into outdoor furniture. To challenge the status quo even further, the goal was to utilize solar-powered lighting, thereby completely avoiding the need for cables, energy consumption, and installation

Today, approximately 17 years after the company's inception in the Bedouin tent, out-sider is an international niche company, grounded in the same fundamental principles as in 2007 but now executed primarily through two innovative outdoor furniture families, LOOP and PLATEAU, along with a range of other urban space products. Many of these incorporate integrated technology with solar cells as the energy source. We continue to work passionately to inspire consultants and architects with furniture that enriches, excites, and leaves a positive impact in urban spaces for the benefit of all users, young and old, tall, and short

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