Hans J Wegner trained as a cabinet-maker before attending the Copenhagen School of Arts and Crafts, where he later lectured from 1946 to 1953. From 1938 to 1942, he worked as a furniture designer in Arne Jacobsen and Erik Moller´s architectural practice. In 1943, he set up his own office in Gentofte and collaborated with Borge Mogensen in the design of an apartment shown at the 1946 Cabinetmakers´ Exhibition in Copenhagen. Throughout his long career, he has designed furniture extensively for Johannes Hansen and Fritz Hansen. The Royal Society of Arts, London made him an Honorary Royal Designers for Industry in 1959 (source).
 
1. Choose the right material
2. Consider the construction process
3. Use a material where it is best used
4. Take material away where there is no use for it
5. Show how it is made
6. Allow for tolerances
7. Separate the bearing element from the borne
8. Show the logic in construction
9. Joints must not weaken the construction
10. If I can see a small piece of a chair leg, I can recognise it among a hundred others
11. The grain, or natural characteristics of a material, are part of the design
12. Think about the points of contact
13. The user is part of the design
14. A piece of furniture should never have a back
15. Quality costs what it costs
16. Remember what the craftsman knows...

As heard on the Ted Wells "Living Simple" podcast - "Toasting Hans Wegner".