Recognized as an important Danish modernist designer—working at a time when women were a rarity in the design world—Grete Juel Jalk was born in Copenhagen in 1920. She trained in cabinetmaking at Copenhagen's Design School for Women between 1940 and 1942; she went on to complete her education at the Danish Royal Academy under highly influential designer Kaare Klint. In 1946, she won first prize at the annual Cabinetmaker's Guild Competition; five years later, she received wide acclaim for her designs exhibited at the 1951 Milan Triennale
