Born in 1977 into a family of creators, Brad Ascalon became immersed in the world of art and design at a young age. His grandfather, a noted sculptor and industrial designer, and his father, an artist renowned for large-scale installations found in private and public spaces throughout North America, instilled in Ascalon a passion for design and a focus on craftsmanship, materials and longevity.

Ascalon's first passion, music, is a constant source of inspiration for his work, particularly his preferred minimalist genre. The pared-down composition helps guide Ascalon toward simple, authentic solutions that fit naturally with their environment, creating the desired ambience and impact for both his clients and their audiences.

Building on the legacy of his father and grandfather, one he detoured from once, years ago, to work in both the advertising and music industries, Ascalon has made longevity and craftsmanship the core tenets of his design work. He prefers to forgo trends in favour of solutions with more permanent value, choosing materials, forms and techniques based on a long-term view of how his objects will serve people and adapt to their lives. Rarely working with plastics and new materials, he prefers to explore the potential and warmth of traditional ones. Wood is a particular favourite and Ascalon enjoys pushing the boundaries of what the material can achieve to attain new aesthetic and functional realms.

Ascalon's Preludia series is his first collaboration with Carl Hansen & Son - and the company's first collaboration with an American designer. In terms of aesthetic, function, and craftsmanship, the Preludia series illustrates Ascalon's ability to innovate with traditional materials while staying true to his collaborator's established heritage.

The suite of tables and chairs pairs a clean, modern expression with extensive customisation options to accommodate wide-ranging user needs - and significantly expands Carl Hansen & Son's contract market portfolio.

Ascalon's pragmatism, creativity and empathy have been instrumental in positioning the designer as one of the leading American design voices of his generation. He has exhibited his work around the world, from the global design hubs of Milan, Paris, London, Cologne, Stockholm and New York, to Chicago, Los Angeles, Guangzhou and Moscow, where in 2013 he was singlehandedly invited to represent American design with an installation at Moscow Design Week