About the designer and maker: Einar Barnes (1908-1985) career began as a Norwegian Missionary in Manchuria, China (1935-1941) where amongst other things he was in charge of the missionary building projects. He then took his family to Addis Ababa (1941-1945) where he worked for the Mosvald Shipping Group, again with some building project work. Apparently once he honed his talents as a self taught designer, he went back home to Norway where he managed the Aase Dreiri furniture company (1957-1961) designing chairs and other furniture. He contacted the Norwegian furniture maker P.S. Heggen (1962) with his designs for the oval waste bin which was made for a number of years along with a rarer circular version. Assuming he was in his early 20s when he went to China, he must have been in his mid to late 50s when he designed these bins which are now sought after as mid-century design classics.
Back in the day, P.S. Heggen Møbelfabrikk made some great furniture in the 1960s, then wastepaper basket designs were considered to be only a small side-line for the company, now it is what they are known for.Note: In the 1960s a dining suite would have been considered a necessity in most houses, whereas a designer waste bin would have been an extravagant luxury, so relatively few will have been bought back in the day, and so today with supply limited and demand high, prices can be staggering compared to their original cost. (PS HEGGEN AND THE EINAR BARNES WASTE BINS THE TRUE STORY OF A MID-CENTURY DESIGN CLASSIC - pure Imaginations)Search terms: Trash can, bin, wastepaper basket.