Reworked Thonet Chairs Melbourne

Reworked Thonet Chairs
Melbourne

As part of this years Melbourne International Design Festival in July, Thonet hosted an exhibition of local emerging and established designer’s re-imagining of their classic café chair. We didn’t get to see them in person, but are kind of wishing we had.

The exhibition was called 18 Chairs Escape. They’re all pretty kooky - we really like the chair re-worked into a coat rack. What do you think?

[ Images care of MIDF 2008 + Thonet]

Comments (5)

brilliant!

posted by damnitpc on September 2nd 2008 at 2:00pm
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This is great! I love that these reworked forms are still unmistakably Thonet!

posted by visualingual on September 3rd 2008 at 4:46am
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I've been looking for a reputable manufacturer of Thonet chairs, specifically the Vienna Cafe Chair 18. Any recommendations?

posted by Cool Breeze on September 3rd 2008 at 5:18am
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Cool breeze - Thonet technically was 1 company, then about 5 companies that were joined, then split into about 5 separate companies again. Currently no one in the US is selling the chairs - I just did a thorough search. Only one online retailer I found: Bauhaus2Yourhouse.com Sadly, they sell a lot of cheap knock-offs, but their Thonet chairs are the real deal - and not cheap.

posted by Modfan on September 3rd 2008 at 9:15am
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Modfan: thanks. I found bauhaus2yourhouse also and was likewise slightly put off by the knock-offs, but they claim their Thonets are made in some of the original factories and are licensed. Have you used their Thonets in person?

posted by Cool Breeze on September 3rd 2008 at 10:53am
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