Theodore David "Ted" Nierenberg (May 20, 1923 – July 31, 2009) was an American business executive and entrepreneur who created Dansk International Designs, a company that sells Scandinavian Design-style cooking and serving utensils and other home furnishings, established after discovering the simple but elegant design style on a 1950s trip to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. Nierenberg was born on May 20, 1923, the son of businessman Albert Nierenberg and his wife Rose. He majored in engineering management at

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

's Carnegie Institute of Technology, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1944. After graduation, he worked in the family business that manufactured metal nameplates for appliances.Fox, Margalit
"Theodore Nierenberg, Founder of Dansk, Dies at 86"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', August 3, 2009. Accessed August 4, 2009. On a trip to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

in May 1954, Ted and his wife Martha Nierenberg visited a museum in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, where he saw a set of unique cutlery on display that combined

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

handles and

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

, created by artist and

industrial design Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in adva ...

er Jens Harald Quistgaard.Fox, Margalit
"Jens Quistgaard, 88, a Designer of Popular Tableware, Is Dead"
''

'', February 2, 2008. Accessed August 4, 2009. Nierenberg tracked down Quistgaard and spoke with him in an effort to convince him to manufacture the cutlery, but Quistgaard insisted that the pieces could only be

forged Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compression (physics), compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die (manufacturing), die. Forging is often classif ...

by hand, one piece at a time. Nierenberg was able to convince Quistgaard that the pieces could be mass-produced, leading to Dansk International Design's first product, the ''Fjord'' line, which has been one of the firm's enduring bestsellers. Dansk was established that same year by Nierenberg and his wife in the garage of their

Great Neck, New York Great Neck is a region contained within Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, on Long Island, which covers a peninsula on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore and includes nine incorporated villages, among th ...

home, with Quistgaard as its founding designer. By 1956, Nierenberg was not certain that American consumers were ready for the spare styling and brought some early samples of stainless steel flatware with sinuous carved wooden handles to a Manhattan store, and was so surprised that the company bought several hundred units on the spot that he almost walked in front of a bus driving down the street.Reif, Rita
"Accessories Designed by Dane Proving Popular in U.S. Homes; Jens Quistgaard, Son of Noted Sculptor, a Born Craftsman"
''

'', October 10, 1958. Accessed August 4, 2009. By 1958, Nierengard and Quistgaard had expanded Dansk's wares to include teak magazine racks and stools, stoneware casseroles and salt and pepper shakers, and flatware with split cane handles, with ''

'' that year as "creating a stir" as "some of the most popular accessories found in American homes". Dansk relocated to

Mount Kisco, New York Mount Kisco is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village and Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The town of Mount Kisco is coterminous municipality, coterminous with the ...

, and was known for its sleek, functional products often made of exotic woods such as teak, combined with enameled metal and stainless steel. Dansk was purchased in June 1985 by Dansk Acquisition Corp. in a deal initiated by

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

Personal

His woodland garden and its Japanese maples, was described by ''The New York Times'' as being "widely considered among the finest gardens in the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

". ''The Beckoning Path: Lessons of a Lifelong Garden'', a book of Nierenberg's photographs of his gardens, was published by Aperture Press in 1993.Higgins, Adrian
"Planting Seeds of Thought; A Rated Guide to the Season's Books on Gardens and Gardening"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', December 16, 1993. Accessed August 4, 2009. Nierenberg died at age 86 on July 31, 2009, due to

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

at his home in

Armonk, New York Armonk is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town of North Castle, New York, North Castle, located in Westchester County, New York, United States. The corporate headquar ...

. He was survived by his wife, two daughters, two sons and ten grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nierenberg, Theodore 1923 births 2009 deaths Carnegie Mellon University alumni Deaths from pancreatic cancer in New York (state) Businesspeople from New York (state) People from Great Neck, New York People from Mount Kisco, New York People from Armonk, New York