smow x Thonet

David is one of the four founders and managing directors of the smow online shop. There from the beginning David has built up the logistics and customer service structures and is now responsible for the product range, purchasing and HR areas.

In conversation he explains what the online shop means to him and what connects smow with Thonet.

For David, working at smow means above all communication with equals; that everyone can contribute and develop together. The passion for design is what all smowies have within them, often almost unconsciously. It's not about status symbols, but about a quality that lasts for generations, about craftsmanship or about a timelessness.

"When the smow online shop was founded 15 years ago, we wanted to invest in a sales model that could offer design icons to everyone in a sustainable and long-term manner," explains David in an interview. Whereby Thonet is a great role model: the manufacturer has been producing iconic design products for over 200 years.

David comes into contact with Thonet every day: he breakfasts every morning on his Thonet S 34 – a Bauhaus chair with a tubular steel frame and leather covering. In addition to the timeless design, David especially loves the history of the product and the philosophy of Thonet.

Staying on the ball continuously and in the long term is also David and smow's credo. For the online shop's 15th birthday, David wishes that the current way of working will be retained, that things will continue to be questioned, that mistakes will be allowed and learned from, and that projects will continue to be tried out that don't always promise immediate economic success... if it doesn't work, just try the next one.