THONET

The Thonet brand philosophy

The employees at the production plant have a high level of expertise that has been accumulated over the course of the company's long history and which, moreover, is constantly being optimised and expanded. Today, as in the past, Thonet creates innovative, long-lasting products of the highest quality and timeless formal design. Behind every Thonet product is a well-thought-out concept and several proven manufacturing steps - from the processing of wood or tubular steel to dyeing and upholstery.

The brand story

The history of the brand began with the work of cabinetmaker Michael Thonet, who opened his first workshop in 1819 in the German town of Boppard on the Rhine River. With elegant chairs made using innovative woodworking techniques, Michael Thonet soon achieved fame beyond his home region. When Austrian State Chancellor Clemens Graf von Metternich learned about Thonet and his furniture, he convinced Michael Thonet to move to Vienna, which brought great opportunities for Thonet. For example, he was able to participate in the interior design of the Palais Liechtenstein. In 1849, Michael Thonet founded an innovative family company in Vienna, which today we would probably call a start-up. The furniture was specialised on the basis of the café culture that was typical of the 19th century. Michael Thonet was successful with this move and with his products, and from then on his furniture was everywhere people gathered for conversations or other social activities.

One of the first success stories for the young company was furnishing the Café Daum, a Viennese institution frequented mainly by aristocrats and military personnel. This realization made Thonet furniture famous throughout the city. Michael Thonet achieved his international breakthrough in 1859 with the Vienna Coffee House Chair , where he used an innovative technique of bending solid beech wood for the first time. In an era long before globalisation, a product was created that was available almost everywhere in the world. The chair was based on a modular principle, the individual components were manufactured separately and could be combined as required. This method created a highly cost-effective, demand-driven production. The model was delivered to customers in a disassembled state into individual parts.

Around the same time, Marcel Breuer created his first interior objects from tubular steel. The Thonet brand entered production and began producing Breuer's designs in 1930. This was an important link between the traditional technique of bent wood and the modern bending of tubular steel. In the 1930s, the company was the largest producer of innovative furniture, with famous avant-garde architects (Marcel Breuer, Mart Stam, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Charlotte Pérriand) contributing designs. The tubular steel furniture was produced with a completely new production technology at the Frankenberg/Eder plant, where Thonet had been based since the end of the Second World War. Just as Thonet chairs had previously been depicted in paintings, they had been the silent stars of international films since the 1930s, acting in the places where the protagonists meet.

Thonet's minimalist design is perfect for cafés, offices and homes. A particularly eye-catching piece in the kitchen can be the S 33 N console chair in tubular steel from the Thonet All Seasons edition. With its light grey tubular steel frame and coppery orange synthetic mesh seat and backrest, the chair will accentuate the rest of the home's design. With its clean shape and subtle proportions, the Mart Stam-designed chair is ideal for any room and the perfect touch for minimalist interiors. The Thonet All Seasons collection allows the tubular steel products to be used outdoors and in all weathers. Thanks to the innovative ThonetProtect® finish, the chair is weather and UV resistant. It is therefore also ideal for outdoor use. However, their use in this project shows how well the vibrantly coloured models can also work as specific accents in interior design.

Tawa Yama Restaurant

In the renowned Japanese restaurant Tawa Yama in Karlsruhe, Germany, the designers used a total of 48 classic steel chairs of the S 43 model from Thonet. For the restaurant's modern, natural minimalist design, it was perfect to choose chairs with a black frame and oak seat and backrest. These small minimalist chairs are placed next to the large banqueting tables and add contrast to the restaurant. For the smaller tables, the S 43 chairs were chosen in classic black. This creates a contrast throughout the space that further enhances the natural accents of the interior.

Finally, let's consider a little more and take a look at the meeting room of the Schwaben town hall. The town of Markt Schwaben is located in Germany at the forefront of the Alps. As part of the redesign of the local town hall, its impressive meeting room was equipped with a generous customized table system, to which the comfortable S55 Evo chairs were of course not to be missed. For this redesign, the architecture studio Kressirer Ingenieure + decided to use a special version of the Thonet A 1700 Evo customised table system. The large oak veneer conference table system arranged in an open rectangle provides and offers space for approximately 30 meeting participants. The light wooden appearance of the table top visually creates a striking contrast with the brick walls of the room and reflects the light from the roof, making the entire interior appear much more illuminated.