"Muji manufactured by Thonet"

"Muji manufactured by Thonet" is a collection of simplified, stylised Thonet icons made of bentwood and tubular steel.

Thonet, the oldest furniture brand in the world and the German manufacturer of high-quality furnishings, is producing a simplified form of bentwood and tubular steel furniture for the Japanese retail chain Muji. The products are manufactured completely at Thonet’s headquarters in Frankenberg, Germany to the company’s customary high quality standards.

The first models are reminiscent of those bentwood chairs that were the cornerstone on which the Thonet success story was built.The most famous bentwood chair, No. 14 (still featuring in the latest Thonet collection under the product designation 214) is celebrating its 150th birthday and, as such, is probably the oldest industrial product still in production today. The chair is sold alongs idea range of tables that has a convincingly understated elegance thus marrying perfectly with the expressively styled chair. The English designer James Irvine, now domiciled in Milan, and also creative director at Thonet, is responsible for the reinterpretation of the bentwood furniture.

In addition to the bentwood tradition, the "Muji manufactured by Thonet" collection also features the second revolutionary trend associated with the Thonet brand, namely the company’s tubular steel furniture tradition dating back to the 1920s. An iconographic tubular steel cantilever chair is sold alongside a desk and a range of side tables that have a convincingly effortless style and cool beauty, as did the models onwhich they are based. This collection was created by the German designer Konstantin Grcic.

In Europe, the "Muji manufactured by Thonet" collection is to be distributed as from spring 2009. It is to be marketed via Muji’s own chain of stores.  The collection is to be enhanced in the near future to include further models.