Armchair type 300-139, commonly known as ‘Stefan’
I will start with Stefan, because I love this gentleman… I myself am the owner of three Stefans. It was this armchair that started my fascination with the products of the communist era.
Stefan is Polish, extremely attractive and brings to mind Danish design, especially the Kandidaten chair produced by Ib Kofod Larsen. I have to admit that Stefan is my personal preference.
Stefan’s technical name is type 300-139. It was designed in Swarzedz Furniture Factory (Swarzędzka Fabryka Mebli), Poland in the 1960s and was also produced then. 300-139 represented the premium class among Polish furniture from that period, and was mainly designated for export.
This modernist chair has a simple elegant wooden structure with a seat on elastic belts, and interestingly profiled armrests. Due to its size, it worked perfectly in small apartments. The 300-139 model can be found in the 1966 catalog ‘Furniture for small apartments’, which confirms that Stefan compact form was designed to avoid cluttering small interiors of the mass-emerging housing estates in the communist Poland.
As I recently discovered, Stefan was also manufactured as 2-seater and 3-seater sofa versions. These pieces are a real rarity now.
Product technical info
| Style | Modernism |
| Model | 300-139 |
| Designer / Date | Unknown / circa 1962 |
| Manufacturer | Swarzędzkie Fabryki Mebli |
| In production | circa 1962 until at least 1970 |
| Country of origin | Poland |
| Size (HxWxD) cm | 73 x 66 x 75 cm / seat height 43 cm |
Note: Images vinterior.co and FB