chronicles their home in bystřice pod hostýnem where a bentwood furniture factory has been operating for 160 years designer and businessman michael thonet revolutionized the production process in 1861 +-160 years – the original and expansion of bentwood furniture from bystřice pod hostýnem all images courtesy of TON stories are shared with the factory’s anniversary the bentwood factory in bystřice pod hostýnem the curation is split by defining moments and fortunes for the factory: furniture revolution this begins with the fact that iconic bentwood furniture has continuously been manufactured in bystřice pod hostýnem up to present day it was original set up by michael thonet to produce the iconic number 14 chair it reflects the products’ timeless nature bender and polisher employees in around 1900 this notion speaks more than just factory itself; the phenomenon of bystřice pod hostýnem and its production is down to the community it is surrounded by beech forests – its core material – but is also a hub for community: the employees and their families there is a reason why TON is said to be hand-crafted for generations the factory currently has its sixth generation of workers there often double paged photographs reinforce this image six generations of workers have created iconic bentwood furniture from the factory a 360-degree video, where people can watch bentwood furniture being manufactured through a combination of manual technology and machines, can be viewed here. more details on the ‘+- 160 years’ book by TON can be found here the 160-year history of the factory twists and twirls as much as TON’s timeless furniture the local forest provides the core beech material for the factory as ply the factory is a hub for the community: its employees and their families the TON merano chair designed by alexander gufler collection designed by kaschkasch explores minimalist woodwork name: +- 160 years author: adam štěch format: 8.4 x 10.6 inches (21.5 x 27 cm) / hardcover / 259 pages publisher: TON ISBN: 9-788027-094554 language: czech AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style In a book that is as atypical as it is enjoyable the theorist and design curator Adam Štěch tells the story of TON the Czech company that has been making its mark on the sector for six generations Beechwood has been worked uninterruptedly in Bystřice pod Hostýnem since 1861 It was here that Michael Thonet and his five sons set up what is still a leading family firm producing bentwood furniture robust account was entrusted by TON to Adam Štěch a Czech journalist and authority on 20th century design and architecture enabling him to explore the roots of his country and its culture he got to grips with the foundations and the soul of TON + - 160 Let Years isn’t simply limited to these sixteen decades it also explores what came both before and after It starts in 1796 with Boppard: the year and birthplace the forefather of this family of entrepreneurs After being apprenticed to a carpenter and being attracted by the opportunities offered by working with wood Thonet was above all determined and with a precise objective in mind: creating curved elements not by joining pieces together but by altering a longitudinal fibre which secured in the desired position and then dried is a first timid example of his abundant future catalogue Thonet’s skills as a cabinetmaker came to the attention of the Austrian Chancellor Klemens von Metternich who encouraged him to move to the dynamic city of Vienna that Thonet handed over the company to his five sons he opened his first factory in what is now the Czech Republic followed in 1861 by that in Bystřice pod Hostýnem Both areas have plentiful forests of beech the wood he loved and which he used to produce his first prototypes These areas are also in favourable logistical positions thanks to the proximity of the railway and large pools of hardworking Thonet wasn’t just a singularly talented businessman he also had a pioneering vision as regards the presentation and promotion of products winning many awards at a number of international fairs produced by Danhauser in 1820 and subsequently on an industrial scale by Thonet in 1859 compared with 8 pieces and 20 screws these days Worldwide sales accounted for 10 million pieces by 1914 Thonet patented his innovative technique for bending solid wood in 1856 causing a multitude of specialist factories to spring up there were almost 100 in the Austro-Hungarian Empire alone including his competitor Jacob & Josef Kohn which worked with renowned architects such as Joseph Hoffman following the great post-War economic recession and the merger of a number of competitor companies into Mundus-Kohn Gebrüder Thonet also joined forces with the group the biggest furniture company in the world Various events led to a number of changes of ownership and names including the current one – an acronym of Továrny na ohýbaný nábytek which means ‘bentwood company’ in Czech – which was adopted in 1953 What has never changed and shines clearly out of the 160 pages is the atmosphere of the company created by its workers and their singular approach to and love of craftsmanship One interesting thing – around 20 hands work on a single piece which starts in 1796 and runs in chronological order right up to the future features a number of interviews that break up not just the story of the company but also the elegant concise black and white artwork with coloured pages It begins with stories from one of the leading collectors of and expert on Thonet furniture Jiří Uhlíř and then moves on to the founder of the Vitra Design Museum also a collector of modern design and the foremost expert in bentwood furniture; Petr Josinek who undertook a number of roles at the company an international name on the creative team The interviewees also include some of the workers the human capital to which the company has always attributed particular value and recognition evidenced by their working conditions onwards The book is a large family album exciting curiosity and containing several surprises – from the portraits of the groups of workers to the unexpected photo taken on the top of Mont Blanc where two mountaineering employees on an expedition sponsored by the company in the mid-90s raised an iconic No The pieces produced over the last 160 years are symbols of modern living their elegance achieved by simplicity and lightness The Origin and Expansion of Bentwood Furniture from Bystřice pod Hostýnem Calia Italia’s is a family history closely bound up with the values of its region The leading international furnishing and design industry event will be back at Fiera Milano Rho from 21st to 26th April next year mute and earthen shades inspired by nature imaginative variations on interlacing cords or fibers: these are the salient features of the outdoor offerings presented at the fair by companies in the sector There are three major classic car rallies in the Czech Republic but after the snow melts the season of driving unofficially opens with the 7 Castles Trial passes by seven castles on a 200-km course in central Bohemia This year, the whole weekend became a road trip for us, as we drove 1,500km in three days: from Budapest to Prague, the trials route, and the retracing it all for the way back home. As a first bombshell, on the way to Prague we ran into a car museum in Nová Bystřice which I can only recommend due to its great pre-war American car collection This collection showcases a little taste of how colorful the Czech classic car scene is the variety of cars on the 7 Castles Trial itself was also remarkable One of the main sponsors of the rally was the Škoda Museum itself and they not only lent the museum space for a stylish finish and dinner but opened the doors and let some of their treasures out for a sunny drive too The field’s oldest vehicle was a Škoda Superb 3000 OHV from 1939 which you might assume to not be very competitive (even in regularity racing) due to its size and driving capabilities but this car won one of the 1/100 challenges of the day (wherein passing the line .1 seconds too soon or too late "earns" you a point) This gothic giant is powered by a 3.1-liter straight-six and less than 300 examples left the factory Škoda even produced an all-wheel-drive version for the Wehrmacht Two quite funny-looking utility vehicles also appeared in the Škoda Classic fleet while the other rather looked more like an off-road test mule and only 2,500 units left the assembly line Initially it was designed by using parts from the UK but the Trekka went into production based on the Škoda Octavia one with canvas top and one with the plastic hardtop which we were happy to follow on the Czech roads during the Trial the Škoda 1101 VO Tudor is a rear-wheel driven machine as well odd for a car that looks the way it does; none of them had great off-road capabilities The VO Tudor was designed for military purposes and produced between 1948 and 1951 on the basis of the Škoda 1101 a basic model that served as the “people’s car” after WWII The 73 participating teams gathered on early Saturday morning in the beautiful park of the Břevnovsky Monastery, in the outer districts of Prague. We planned to participate with a friend’s 1971 NSU 1000 C, but its engine rebuild wasn’t finished in time, which meant we had to deploy my trusty Opel Kadett C, which collects the kilometers without a moment of hesitation After the field passed through the morning traffic jam and left Prague behind we hit the best roads you can wish for in spring time the lilacs and rapeseed fields welcomed us in their full bloom and in some areas we drove through white tunnels of the flowering trees The Czech roads are in great condition and the organizers did their best to show us some of the natural and architectural treasures of the Central Bohemia region along the way The road books had some background history on each of the castles we visited and a few of the sections of the Trial even brought is into the gardens of a few of them where we were met by the typical tourists who were quite happy to see our convoy of classics the 7 Castles Trial finished in Mladá Boleslav a historically significant town on the banks of the Jizera river Here we enjoyed a private tour of the museum where I especially loved the prototypes and sports cars depository with all sorts of examples of the Czech brand’s colorful racing (and especially rallying) history On top of all the great experiences of the day we won the team’s competition together with our Czech friends and achieved third place both in the mechanical stopwatch and in the overall ranking The next event in the Czech regularity racing calendar is the Carlsbad Classic in the middle of July followed by the South Bohemia Classic in September comments need to be approved before they are published Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker many pieces make a whole but there is only one TON designboom walks through TON’s home in bystřice pod hostýnem – the origin of every single one of their furniture pieces from its timber to the factory and workers with the place celebrating 160 years, the long history of TON can be perfectly likened to their chairs – full of twists yet seamless and a product; michael thonet built the bent furniture plant in bystřice pod hostýnem TON – an abbreviation of továrna ohýbaného nábytku translating to bent furniture factory – has manually curved furniture in the same workshop ever since michael thonet compartmentalized each section of the modern chair the new system revolutionized the industry ‘it was like henry ford’s model A in the chair industry,’ explains alexander gufler ‘a lot of things have changed over the last 160 years but the factory people and chairs have been constant,’ continues their art director bystřice pod hostýnem became the center of the company he understood the need to care for employees; he built houses for them and their families there is a personal connection throughout the company even with fathers and sons working together in teams in the factory there is a reason for the setting of TON – step out of the factory into bystřice pod hostýnem and you will immediately be surrounded by beech forests the woodland is the source of material for their making although best known for it – look at chairs 002 18 or 30 to name but a few – TON are wood experts rather than just wood benders this place has made products that were never before possible and furnishing accessories have always been handcrafted to last generations whilst wood-bending has remained unchanged other techniques and technologies – and even the product line-up – has been updated to fit the modern day their portfolio is shifting from chairs to seating topologies that offer a wider scope of usability each single piece of their furniture is guided by a mission of timelessness in style ‘we are in the middle of a process,’ begins alexander we are using the coronavirus crisis to reinvent we were highly focused on chairs and a few tables we are transitioning towards more seating topologies this is instead of creating one chair after another which then basically eats away from one another our product portfolio is becoming more clean.’ and the style of the designs that ensure TON’s products can be passed down for generations the brand is even planning to introduce a repair service where customers can bring in old or greatly used TONs and they will fix it from the cane weaving to bent wood structure the concept aims to increase longevity ever more so meaning your parent’s or grandparent’s treasured chair can be reinvigorated ‘longevity plays a part in creating an emotional connection between our products and customers we want users to keep them for as long as possible TON is the opposite to a fast furniture approach our customers receive something special that they can pass on for generations,’ notes alexander TON could produce and repair their iconic designs forever it seems but heritage always comes hand-in-hand with innovation the challenge is how to present something new with such a long their answer is to turn to contemporary designers to reinterpret their unique techniques and traditions it can be a long process to understand their history and 2021 brings about this exciting change ‘it is a long hand-in-hand process,’ comments alexander ‘the designers need to be willing to make the journey with us some were creatives we wanted to work with for years but weren’t able to; others were completely new to us but instantly a perfect fit we like to have a personal relationship with everyone: employees craftsmanship of people and chairs have been constant,’ repeats alexander gufler emanating from their home in bystřice pod hostýnem their factory is right by the forest they source from meaning the products – whether an icon or a novelty from 2021 – really do come from one place it is a rarity nowadays; it is why there is only one TON brand: TON location: bystřice pod hostýnem Stránky podporuje redakčný system ActiveWeb spoločnosti Lomtec.com