Old dog, new tricks: Thonet-Vienna
I imagine it’s difficult for any manufacturer inextricably linked to an iconic design – what can you do to keep fresh without destroying the thing that made you famous? One example, here, comes from Thonet. Jennifer’s going to be writing about Emeco’s solution to the same kind of problem a little later. Thonet’s stand was vibrant, and cleverly combined a contemporary background color (orange) with a monochromatic display of its wares.
The display does have a certain Germanic just to clarify, (see comment below) Thonet is an Austrian company. I was referring to the display’s style, which looked Germanic to me – don’t mean to offend) rigor to it, don’t you think? But in the sea of brand! new! the classic bent wood Thonet looked as fresh as ever, particularly painted in pure white.
But rather than place all of its eggs in a caned seat basket, Thonet showed a very nice folding wooden chair – that managed to simultaneously be completely different than what you associate with that venerable firm, yet still fit with their other offerings. I’m including two pictures of it because my photographic skills are so weak.
Looks good, doesn’t it? Do you think you could find a place to put something by Thonet? Does the contemporariness of their exhibit change your mind at all about the company?
One Response to “Old dog, new tricks: Thonet-Vienna”
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[quote]The display does have a certain Germanic rigor to it, don’t you think?[/quote]
Just to avoid misunderstandings: Thonet is a company from Vienna/Austria, not Germany :)