In the past week three independent events have occurred which fuse together in one important tale. Firstly, while visiting a student flat in Dresden the (smow)boss noticed an obviously well used, but functioning chair reminiscent of the EA 107 by Charles and Ray Eames for Vitra. Despite assuming it to be a copy - student flat, Dresden, etc... - his professional curiosity got the better of him and thought he'd better check .. and Lo and Behold it was an original EA 107 by Charles and Ray
read moreIn the next week or so we will be introducing here some of the new products from Thonet that are now available at smow.com. But before we get that far, a small video below that explains something of the story of Thonet furniture and the production process involved in bent wood and bent metal furniture. Narrated by perennial smow favourite Nils Holger Moormann. The text is currently only in German - we are however working on a translation - and so until then sit back and enjoy the pictures.
read moreWe're just a touch late with this one, but since July 22nd the Martin Gropius Bau in Berlin has been showing the exhibition "Bauhaus. A Conceptual Model". For the first time, the three German Bauhaus institutions - Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin, Museum für Gestaltung, Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau and Klassik Stiftung Weimar - are uniting to present a comprehensive Bauhaus retrospective. “Bauhaus. A Conceptual Model” recounts the story of the Bauhaus in a comprehensive presentation of the works of its
read moreIn 1927 at the opening of the Weissenhof Estate in Stuttgart, the Dutch architect and designer designer Mart Stam presented his cantilever chair; a design which went on to became globally known as the „S 43“ from Thonet. The feeling of sitting on an “elastic column of air” (Marcel Breuer) has always fascinated producers, designers and customers alike; and with its missing back legs, sparing use of material and minimalistic form the S 43 still fits wonderfully into any home or office. Mart
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