CGD

The Czech furniture producer TON has a long tradition of combining the technology of manually bent wood with innovations and design. In 2022, the brand presented a collection that reminiscences the legendary design of chair and armchair A 811 and 811 by Josef Hoffman designed in 1930. The archive designs, not in production anymore, were updated in collaboration with the famous Swedish studio Claesson Koivisto Rune. The original design, which is over ninety years old, has been adapted to contemporary requirements of aesthetics, practicality, function and series production. The original inspiration is referenced in the name – 822 (and seems to reference the year of creation – 2022) – and in proportion principles. “The original A 811 and 811 designs are excellent examples of the early modernist movement, but they also clearly reference the heritage of romanticism of the 19th century. We decided to remove that feeling,” says a member of the designers’ trio, Mårten Claesson. He and his colleagues Eero Koivistem and Olou Rune often design architectural revitalisations, in which it is necessary to deal with the past creatively in order to make it a contribution to the present. This experience helped the designers to rework Hoffman’s design. The new part for the trio was to work with manually bent massive wood, something they hadn’t tried until then. It is worth admiration to see how well the designers have dealt with using just the right amount of historical elements, which in their rendition offer a perfectly contemporary feeling. An example for all: the inclusion of traditional round perforations of the seat and backrest, which give the collection a characteristic, instantly recognizable character with a pleasant hint of retro.

The 822 collection was originally designed as a limited series for an interior of a family-owned restaurant in the former Norwegian Stock Exchange, which the Claesson Koivisto Rune studio was working on. However, TON liked the idea so much, that they supported its further development and later presented it at last year’s Salone del Mobile fair in Milan. Eventually, the collaboration between a Czech traditional manufacturer and a Swedish design studio resulted in a full collection of series-produced seating furniture that includes a chair, a bar stool available in two heights, a stool, an armchair, and a lounge armchair, with armrests and without.

Eva Slunečková

Tradition & Innovation. The almost 160-year old technology of bending wood keeps unveiling its vast creative potential and re-conquering the world due to its cooperation with the most outstanding designers. Today, the company TON even exports its collections to as exotic countries as the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean and Tasmania. One of the novelties almost perfectly representing the values of the brand is the Chips chair designed by Lucie Koldová, for which TON received the nomination for the Producer of the Year. This chair, characteristic of extraordinary airiness, premiered at the imm cologne international fair, where it almost instantly became one of the most followed and, simultaneously, most discussed items present at the entire exhibition. The 2018 Czech Grand Design Academy, among other things, acknowledged the creative way of employing the traditional technology and its contemporary interpretation. In short, Chips invites a very modern and timeless impression even though the applied technology has not nearly changed since the times of Michael Thonet. Who knows? Maybe there comes a time when people will fish for Chips around grand-grandmothers' attics, as they do today for the bent- wood chairs from the Franz Joseph era...

David Kalista

"We've hedged our bets on collaborating with designers without the usual compromises and luckily it's worked out." Milan Dostalík, CEO, TON

This traditional Czech producer's name is an acronym for Továrna Ohýbaného Nábytku (Bent Furniture Factory). Originally established under the name Thonet by Michael Thonet in 1861, TON maintains the ethos and production qualities of the original brand, developing both its products and strategy in a very progressive way. This year, TON was nominated for expanding the Merano product range and for its Stelvio dining table, designed by Alexander Gufler. This collaboration, along with their previous award for the Merano collection, are the result of TON's long-term partnerships with leading designers and their efforts to adapt its collections to reflect the latest trends in interior design. They have also excelled in their collections and creative PR campaign with the latest TON catalogue designed by graphic studio Marvil.

David Kalista