The first results of the cooperation between the Japanese trading house Muji and Thonet were presented at the Tokyo Design Week in November: "Muji manufactured by Thonet" is a collection of simplified, typified Thonet icons made of bentwood and tubular steel. All models are produced by Thonet in Frankenberg, Germany. English designer James Irvine, who is living in Milan, is responsible for the bentwood furniture's reinterpretation, and German designer Konstantin Grcic is in charge of the tubular steel designs.
In Germany and Europe, company owned Muji stores will exclusively distribute the collection as of spring 2009. In the near future it will be complemented with more models.
> more ...

This elegant and functional sledge is reduced to an absolute minimum in its form and use of materials. It has excellent sledding properties: precise directional stability, ideal gliding properties and steering ease. The cantilever seat acts like a shock absorber and smoothes out the bumps as you glide down the slope.
The ideal gift: see it and try it now at your specialist dealer.
> more ...

This chair is Michael Thonet’s masterpiece and marks the beginning of modern furniture design. The chair 214 is still produced using the traditional bentwood technique at Thonet in Frankenberg, Germany. It is definitely the oldest classic in furniture history. "The design of this chair, its efficient use of materials and its clear lines communicate a sense of lightness, which overlaps the extreme stringency of the design idea and its revolutionary component. In addition to all functional properties, this object has one more special feature: the Thonet 214 radiates an unfathomable sensuality, which arouses one’s desire for it." Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. In the anniversary year, all chairs are marked with a special label.
> more ...

2009: 90 years of Bauhaus

Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus in 1919 as an art school in Weimar. It was something entirely new at the time. It existed from 1919 until 1933 and today it is considered the birthplace of the avant-
garde and classic modernism in all areas of free and applied art worldwide.
A major exhibition will take place at the Gropius Building in Berlin for the anniversary (July 22 – October 10, 2009). The exhibition will travel to the Museum of Modern Art in New York later on (November – January 2010).
In 2009 Thonet is a partner of the Bauhaus organizations in Dessau, Berlin and Weimer. In an agreement with them, we will produce special editions of the chair S 43 by Mart Stam. More information to follow.

In 1819 Michael Thonet established a building and furniture joinery in his hometown of Boppard on the River Rhine. It marked the beginning of our company. During the 1830s he experimented with veneer strips boiled in glue, and after several years he invented the "furniture made of solid bentwood."
Prince Metternich, State Chancellor of the K.u.K. monarchy, called him to Vienna in 1842. This was the beginning of the success story of Thonet, which owned seven sites in today's Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, and branch offices in all of the world's important capitals. In 1889, production began at the Frankenberg facility in Germany. First, bentwood models were produced there as well. In 1930, the production of tubular steel furniture began.
World War II brought a cruel break in production: the facilities in the Eastern European countries were disappropriated, and the Frankenberg facility was destroyed by an air attack. After the war the recon-
struction phase began; new models were developed, and distribution was expanded internationally.
Today, Thonet has its head offices in Frankenberg; the company is still owned by the family.
Numerous activities will take place to celebrate these anniversaries, for example, there will be a big event in the fall of 2009. We will keep you informed.
> more (download pdf)

The "Still-Life" chaise is being re-issued 20 years after its creation. This unique piece of furniture, which is mainly conceived for use in living environments, will be produced in a limited edition of 100 copies starting in 2009. Its timeless and individual design impresses with the combination of simple sitting element and generously curved frame. The nickname "Still-Life" stands for the dual function of chaise longue and rocking chaise longue; for this purpose, the chaise longue is removed from the frame and the frame is flipped over. Relaxation and flexibility are combined with reduced, dynamic lines and make it a functional and representative interior design object.