"A legacy to be proud of." These are the words with which Thonet welcomes you to their website and they truly have meaning to them. The company is one of the oldest standing furniture brands, having been founded in 1836! This company is 180 years old, something that most of us can't even comprehend. That is an enormous amount of time for a human being and Thonet knows this, they know how lucky they have been in making such great change in the world over centuries, not even decades.
Micheal Thonet was the original founder of the so-called "Bentwood" furniture company at the time, but the name Thonet quickly came in to replace that, in honor of the one who started it all. The company has always been focused on chairs and tables for office and public spaces and that shows very well on their website, where their collections are aptly named "Modern Heritage" and "Legacy", in order to separate the new from the traditional. Things have always looked up for this incredible company, who's now stronger than ever before, and the future will only look brighter and brighter, thanks to their proven methods that worked for centuries upon centuries.
Founded on authenticity and unparalleled craftsmanship, Thonet is not just a brand but history in itself. Founder Michael Thonet not only started a company but perfected a method of bending wood that is evident in every piece of furniture that carries the brand.
Made in Germany, there is no doubt of Thonet products’ quality and excellence.
There is a fantastic story behind the furniture pieces too.
It was Thonet who discovered the properties that made wood complicated to work with but truly satisfying and magnificent. He explored its limitations in terms of flexibility and developed a new design that brought out wood’s appeal and extended its beauty and function beyond novelty.
The new process Thonet developed propelled the company forward and into the global market within a short amount of time. It became known in the global distribution network as a major furniture manufacturer.
From painstakingly carving European beech to make furniture, Michael Thonet, with his newly developed bentwood process, was granted by the Austrian court the right “to bend any type of wood, even the most brittle, into the desired forms and curves by chemical and mechanical means”.
He was also granted the patent for bentwood table and chair legs with curvature affected through steam or boiling liquids.
In the 1930s, furniture made of tubular steel was added to the brand’s collection, resulting in a major expansion. The products were works from designers associated with Bauhaus. These included Marcel Breuer, Mart Stam, and Mies van der Rohe.
Some of Thonet’s notable pieces are the No. 18 chair that was launched in 1876 and the tip-up chair for theatres in 1888. The former showcased the beauty of the bentwood process that is evident in the curves and loops, while the latter revolutionised theatre seating throughout Europe.
The wood bending process that Michael Thonet developed provided a shining example that good design makes anything achievable. What is even more amazing is that it embodied the concepts behind mass production.
To date, Thonet continues to develop new design and manufacture furniture items that represent their tradition of design quality and innovation.
Managed by the 5th generation of Thonets and in partnership with well-known contemporary designers and architects, such as Naoto Fukasawa, Lepper Schmidt Sommerlade, Hadi Teherani, and Stefan Diez, the company continues to supply the furniture world of designer items that are stamped with excellence in every inch.
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