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The 20th century home furnishings industry was dominated by Scandinavian design. Notable furniture designers included Bruno Mathsson, Alvar Aalto, Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen. Yngve Ekström was a truly special Scandinavian designer and was born in the town of Hagafors in Smaland - a region of Sweden - in the year 1913.

It is no surprise that Yngve Ekström was drawn to the business of furniture design, as Hagafors is the city in Sweden with the longest tradition in the art, thus it was a popular pursuit to undertake. As with many Scandinavian designers, Ekström studied more than just wood crafting, but also such pursuits as art history, painting, drawing, and sculpting. Many of the elements of these different pursuits can be found in his designs.

He and his brother (Jerker) created Swedese in 1945. The company has become one of the most respected producers of modern furniture and decor in the world. He continued to be active in the company until he passed away, leaving a career that spanned more than forty years. Swedese produced items that were elegant and artistic home pieces. Their clean lines and utilitarian construction also helped their items find plenty of use in high end offices and business applications.

The Lamino is probably Ekström's most famous design, it came into production in the 50s and is still produced, and popular, today. The Lamino chair received the accolade of being named the best Swedish chair in the Twentieth century, and was so named by a Swedish design magazine in 1999. The chair has also received the Design Innovation award from the I.M.M. in Cologne in 2003.

This chair has attractive curves viewed from the side as well as seen head on and often is sold with a matching ottoman (Lamino med pall). It can be made in a wide variety of woods for the frame and the upholstery can also match nearly any desire or taste, from sheepskin to woven cloth webbing. The versatility and simple good looks have contributed to the long popularity and the chairs sell well in the two to three thousand dollar range for new models. Earlier examples have sold for much more.

Yngve Ekström not only continued to design until his death in 1988, he also continued to be at the helm of his company. This ability to manage and produce new innovations only added to his legend. His chairs add to many styles of decor and look exceptionally good with hardwood floors. While his designs were often breakthroughs when created, most have become true classics.