Presentations
Euroluce. 2017 Hall 11 Stand C22 Salone del Mobile Milano Fiera Milano Rho Milano Design Week, Milano, Italy 4 - 9 April, 2017
ICFF 2017 Stand 1646 (L3) New York Design Week Javits Center, New York, USA 21- 24 May, 2017
Kalmar Werkstätten believes that producing great design demands flawless execution. Our company is founded on Austria’s rich craftsmanship tradition and, under the creative direction of Garth Roberts, we champion it into the future. Imagination, skill, and quality infuse every step of our work.
Indeed, at Kalmar Werkstätten, craftsmanship is not an excuse for gratuitous material selection or ornamentation. Our products are pared to the essence—sleek in geometry and delicate in their proportions. And by creating these forms in soulful, meticulously fabricated materials, we infuse rigorous minimalism with warmth and humanity.
This approach produces a remarkably versatile lighting object. Kalmar Werkstätten’s strong design language may command attention. Our table and floor lamps, pendants, and sconces may also blend in discreetly and effortlessly. While this effect changes according to the interior, in every space our products invite use with beautiful illumination, tactile finishes, and honest construction.
Kalmar Werkstätten is an extension not only of Austrian culture and modernist expression, but also a very personal history: For 130 years Kalmar has been a place of time-honored artisanship and progressive experimentation. Shortly after Julius August Kalmar founded the company in 1881, he presented custom cast-bronze works at Gewerbeausstellung Wien that immediately won acclaim for their forward-looking perspective and meticulous construction. And in Kalmar’s next generation, Julius Theodor Kalmar aligned the company with the groundbreaking Austrian Werkbund movement.
Stripped of ornament and legibly fabricated, Kalmar’s Werkbund-era luminaires feel particularly relevant to 21st-century conditions. In 2009, under the creative direction of Jonathan Browning, we launched Kalmar Werkstätten to identify the most relevant works from the Kalmar archives, to once again share with the world. As co-creative directors, Garth Roberts and Nicolo Taliani subsequently reinterpreted the best Werkbund schemes for today’s residential and commercial interiors.
Today Roberts helms Kalmar Werkstätten singularly, conceiving new designs that make reference to Kalmar’s rich past while anticipating the social and cultural trends that will shape future interiors. He also champions our philosophy of revering materials: Whether common or opulent, every material serves a unique purpose and conveys special emotional meaning. Roberts chooses materials for both function and character, and our master craftsmen—many of whom represent the same generations of tradition that exist within the Kalmar Werkstätten products—handle those selections with intense care. Based on our ongoing efforts, Kalmar Werkstätten lighting today is as classic as it is contemporary. By stewarding a specific regional legacy of creativity, we are shaping a new legacy for design.
Billy BL Ilse Crawford Edition was re-created by London-based designer Ilse Crawford for Kalmar Werkstätten. Crawford adds sophistication, humility and warmth to the utilitarian design of the floor lamp. In the variation, a rosewood stem standing on satin-brass feet replaces the unstained oak and colored lacquer of the original. The lampshade features a duotone finish, matte black exterior with satin brass interior, creating an ambient feel. Like its table version, Billy BL highlights both industrial and anthropomorphic qualities.
BILLY BL FLOOR LAMP ILSE CRAWFORD EDITION BILLY BL FLOOR LAMP ILSE CRAWFORD EDITION
Billy BL Ilse Crawford Edition was re-created by London-based designer Ilse Crawford for Kalmar Werkstätten. Crawford adds sophistication, humility and warmth to the utilitarian design of the floor lamp. In the variation, a rosewood stem standing on satin-brass feet replaces the unstained oak and colored lacquer of the original. The lampshade features a duotone finish, matte black exterior with satin brass interior, creating an ambient feel. Like its table version, Billy BL highlights both industrial and anthropomorphic qualities.
The Fliegenbein SL is the standing lamp addition to the Fliegenbein family, expanding the character and functional applications of the range. The new luminaire revises the proportions of the original Fliegenbein BL, with a truncated overall height and an elongated shade. The effect is of a lantern: the design’s signature bent legs now peek out from under a silken pleated expanse that emits intimate, diffuse light. By pairing a modest size with bold visual gesture, Fliegenbein SL makes an inviting companion to an armchair or lounge. Its tubular steel may be finished in light and dark gray or brown matte lacquer, and the electrical cord is wheat-colored.
FLIEGENBEIN SL STANDING LAMP FLIEGENBEIN SL STANDING LAMP
The Fliegenbein SL is the standing lamp addition to the Fliegenbein family, expanding the character and functional applications of the range. The new luminaire revises the proportions of the original Fliegenbein BL, with a truncated overall height and an elongated shade. The effect is of a lantern: the design’s signature bent legs now peek out from under a silken pleated expanse that emits intimate, diffuse light. By pairing a modest size with bold visual gesture, Fliegenbein SL makes an inviting companion to an armchair or lounge. Its tubular steel may be finished in light and dark gray or brown matte lacquer, and the electrical cord is wheat-colored.
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SPINNE The Spinne lighting system allows for pendant lamp lighting without ceiling hardwiring. The system’s components, available in brass, copper, nickel, black finishes, elegantly guide the cable from socket to desired suspension point as if it were a thread of a spider silk. The cone-shaped glass shade, with satin-finish, emits a warm ambient light. The textile cable provided allows for various suspension lengths for a variety of interior settings.
To the untrained eye, it seems impossible that the Spinne was not plucked from the Kalmar Werkstätten archive. This all-new pendant lamp operates without ceiling electrification, its system of metal and cable guiding power from the nearest wall outlet to a cone-shaped glass shade, and indeed, few ceilings were electrified during the days of the Austrian Werkbund. Moreover, archival photography of the Kalmar workshops show lamps strung across the ceiling not unlike the way the Spinne relates to its interiors. The new pendant’s elegant textile cable and satinfinished shade look of a piece with historical Kalmar Werkstätten products like the Dornstab floor lamp or Reibe sconce, too. Yet the Spinne suggests a contemporary attitude in the manner the adjustable cable wraps jauntily around a wall-mounted plate, or in the LEDs glowing from within the glass. The mind revels in the ambiguity. Kalmar Werkstätten’s Garth Roberts conjured this mystery with designer Erik Berg Kreider, and the company will launch it at this year’s Salone del Mobile. For Roberts, the Spinne is a natural extension of the Creative Director position he accepted in 2011 Nicolo Taliani. Now leading the brand by himself, Roberts reinterprets Werkbund schemes for today’s residential and commercial interiors and, as in the case of the Spinne, he channels the function, materiality, aesthetics, and artisanship of the past into entirely new works. Journalist David Sokol caught up with Roberts on the eve of the Salone del Mobile to discuss the Creative Director’s tenure with Kalmar Werkstätten. Here they also discuss how Roberts reconciles his wider-ranging goals as a designer to reinvent the ordinary, and to provoke and delight consumers in equal turns. We met some years ago, because I had been assigned to write about an ingenious dining table of yours. That was the Raw Table—part of a small first collection of pieces representing my personal viewpoint on design. It required a lot of energy to bring the collection to reality, and it met some skepticism along the way. How so? In the case of the table itself, people wondered at the rough-hewn top and simple steel legs, and how this crudeness was contrasted by refined edge details and precise craftsmanship. Yet you shrugged off the critics, and that point of view perseveres to this day, no? It is this contrast or tension that I wanted to highlight in my work, and often still do. You work in multiple cities. Does the globalnomad life suit you? I like all things that come with the urban environment. I also feed off change. It is this desire to embrace the new that fuels my design point of view—my seeing things in a new way. When I change locations, I have a chance to reconsider what is normal and what I might have been taking for granted. Why were you drawn to Kalmar Werkstätten? In 2009, I started consulting Kalmar Werkstätten with Nicolo Taliani, and I set at creative direction in earnest about two years later. Over this period, Kalmar Werkstätten endeared itself to me. I observed how the product has a uniqueness and quality that is very much its own, as most fans do. How does Kalmar Werkstätten’s process differ from a straightforward reissuing of archival designs? I want to highlight the timelessness of the brand. This does not only mean realizing products that sell well, but also—and more important—showing that the brand’s tradition and ethos are as relevant today as ever. We do not try to make replicas, out of reverence for the original designs as well as secondary markets; replication would be saying that the Kalmar Werkstätten ethos is irrelevant to current design. The point is to superimpose the ethos onto present-day design briefs, and to show that solutions that are conversant with the Kalmar legacy still yield amazing results. How would you say Kalmar Werkstätten has evolved since 2009? In 2009, Kalmar Werkstätten was producing lamps derived from the archive; there was no message in the objects beyond the Werkbund aesthetic. Today the message is clear, and thanks to that message, Kalmar Werkstätten has the freedom to expand its design language. Could you say more about that message— put another way, if you were to articulate the principles that guide your creative directorship of Kalmar Werkstätten, what would they be? When I accepted the role as Co-Creative Director and then Creative Director in a solo capacity, my charge was to reestablish Kalmar Werkstätten in the context of modern design lighting. To me, this did not mean to design products or to imprint my signature onto Kalmar Werkstätten. Rather, it meant structuring the brand to resonate with today’s architecture and interiors, and with the people who create and live in them. This meant also knowing when not to design.
When not to design? Are you referring to the fact that some Kalmar Werkstätten products have your name on them and others don’t? As Creative Director, I try to guide the brand as a whole. This includes letting some individual designs be: if the piece is generated with or by someone else, then my job is to maximize support and ensure the success of that design and the larger brand. When I sign my name to a piece, on the other hand, it embodies my intentions as both a Creative Director and a designer. How do your guiding principles for Kalmar Werkstätten come to life in your latest product for the brand, called Spinne? The Spinne was a project between designer Erik Berg Kreider and myself. I really enjoy collaboration—undertaking the design process with another creative mind is incredibly rewarding. The introduction of a new format of lighting, as well as new designers and new materials, inspired Kalmar Werkstätten to expand the brand to include Spinne. That development will definitely continue into the future. How did you make the Spinne sympathetic to Kalmar Werkstätten’s Werkbund roots, and how did you differentiate it as contemporary? I took the opportunity to advance the brand’s material palette, by offering the lamp in anodized aluminum as well as the more traditional copper. The LED technology and the typology of the Spinne were also new Kalmar Werkstätten. Needless to say, the design collaboration also allowed for a new design voice to be heard within the Kalmar aesthetic. You have longstanding creative relationships with other incredible brands, like Serralunga and Mabeo. How do those collaborations compare to what you do with Kalmar Werkstätten? I take each brand in their context—although for each brand I have to understand that the level of design and approach has to be consistent. Your work with Serralunga and Mabeo also clearly conveys a message—elevating the reputation of rotational molding in Serralunga’s case and adapting Tswana culture into the language of Mabeo’s furniture. Would you say all your work, irrespective of brand, has the same set of guiding principles? My approach is to find something within a brand or a manufacturing method that needs to be brought to the surface, and to be questioned or re-examined in the process. The result has to have a highly refined aesthetic, but I don’t work merely from a stylistic point of view. A product must challenge the perception or interaction of the participant. If not, then what’s the point? I don’t want to make landfill for the sake of saying I finished a project. I intend it to mean something to me, to advance my current idea of design. How many new products will you be showing at this year’s Salone del Mobile in total, and how do you support your multiple brands during a typical day of the fair? I will have four to five new projects or product extensions this year. It is difficult to schedule appointments during the fair, but you tend to manage what you can handle. Is it easy to return to the routine work of design, after the frenetic energy of the Salone del Mobile has calmed down? Shellshock is an understatement. But in my case, I am going to enjoy a denouement from this year’s “design rush” in New York. Why do you think the world has been so receptive to Kalmar Werkstätten? The brand has a unique voice. And it does not pander to hype.
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1. DORNSTAB _OAK AND BRASS 2. DREISTELZ _NICKEL 3. KILO_NICKEL TL 4. FLIEGENBEIN TL _BROWN IN SITU 5. KEULE 1 _HAMMERED CRYSTAL 6. HASE BL _BRASS 7. HASE TL_BRASS 8. BILLY BL _BLACK 9. BILLY TL _ILSE CRAWFORD EDITION 10. FLIEGENBEIN TL _DARK GRAY 11. FLIEGENBEIN SL _BROWN 12. BILLY TL _ILSE CRAWFORD EDITION IN SITU 13.ZWEIG _BLACK BRONZE 14. BILLY DL_GREEN IN SITU 15. ADMONT 6 _WENGE AND BLACK BRONZE 16. POSTHORN PENDANT _BRASS 17.FLIEGENBEIN PL_BROWN 18. REIBE _NICKEL 19. KREMS _NICKEL 20. BILLY WL _WHITE
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1. Dornstab _Oak and Brass 2. Dreistelz _Nickel 3. Kilo_Nickel TL 4. Fliegenbein TL _Brown In Situ 5. Keule 1 _Hammered Crystal 6. Hase BL _Brass 7. Hase TL_Brass 8. Billy BL _Black 9. Billy TL _Ilse Crawford Edition 10. Fliegenbein TL _Dark Gray 11. Fliegenbein SL _Brown 12. Billy TL _Ilse Crawford Edition In Situ 13.Zweig _Black Bronze 14. Billy DL_Green In Situ 15. Admont 6 _Wenge and Black Bronze 16. Posthorn Pendant _Brass 17.Fliegenbein PL_Brown 18. Reibe _Nickel 19. Krems _Nickel 20. Billy WL _White
The Keule suspended luminaire is available in 1 | 2 or 5 pendants, in several versions. Each pendant is a tapered unit terminating in a bell shape. The frosted opal glass and embossed-crystal cones are fitted with three pins; the transparent crystal cone does not require pins. A blackened-bronze attachment ring may encircle any pendant, and the frame is finished in that treatment or in matte black lacquer.
KEULE 1 KEULE 1
The Keule suspended luminaire is available in 1 | 2 or 5 pendants, in several versions. Each pendant is a tapered unit terminating in a bell shape. The frosted opal glass and embossed-crystal cones are fitted with three pins; the transparent crystal cone does not require pins. A blackened-bronze attachment ring may encircle any pendant, and the frame is finished in that treatment or in matte black lacquer.
This second limited re-edition with a marble base infuses Kalmar Werkstätten’s beloved Kilo design with warm, sumptuous personality. Here, a polished nickel stem springs from a cylinder carved of black Nero Portoro marble. The pairing is crowned in an elegant silken shade, which seems to defy rules of balance. The contrast of volumes is the primary source of Kilo’s character, and it makes the table lamp suitable for delicate surfaces. The unique material palette maximizes visual impact in all spaces. Produced in a series of 100.
KILO TL NERO PORTORO KILO TL NERO PORTORO
This second limited re-edition with a marble base infuses Kalmar Werkstätten’s beloved Kilo design with warm, sumptuous personality. Here, a polished nickel stem springs from a cylinder carved of black Nero Portoro marble. The pairing is crowned in an elegant silken shade, which seems to defy rules of balance. The contrast of volumes is the primary source of Kilo’s character, and it makes the table lamp suitable for delicate surfaces. The unique material palette maximizes visual impact in all spaces. Produced in a series of 100.
Producing overhead ambient light that filters through a pleated silken shade and a frosted glass diffuser, Fliegenbein HL expands the Fliegenbein family into ceiling applications. Like the table and floor versions, the pendant’s voluminous shade has classic appeal, while the dialogue between shade and slender armature injects modern personality into a space. HL also features single and double tubes—available in light gray, dark gray, or brown matte lacquers—in its shade and mounting plate that harmonize with the overall Fliegenbein series’s signature splayed leg. A wheat-colored electrical cord dancesaround the fixture’s braidedsteel suspension wire.
FLIEGENBEIN HL HANGING LAMP FLIEGENBEIN HL HANGING LAMP
Producing overhead ambient light that filters through a pleated silken shade and a frosted glass diffuser, Fliegenbein HL expands the Fliegenbein family into ceiling applications. Like the table and floor versions, the pendant’s voluminous shade has classic appeal, while the dialogue between shade and slender armature injects modern personality into a space. HL also features single and double tubes—available in light gray, dark gray, or brown matte lacquers—in its shade and mounting plate that harmonize with the overall Fliegenbein series’s signature splayed leg. A wheat-colored electrical cord dances around the fixture’s braided-steel suspension wire.
Main Office J.T. Kalmar GmbH Bennogasse 8 1080 Vienna AUSTRIA T. +43 1 4090880-0 F. +43 1 4090880-80 kw@kalmarlighting.com
Kalmar Werkstätten Press And Marketing Contact Maria Schneeweiss T. +43 1 4090880-68 press@kalmarlighting.com
Kalmar Werkstätten Sales Contact T. +43 1 4090880-0 kw@kalmarlighting.com
Imprint J.T. Kalmar GmbH Bennogasse 8 1080 Vienna AUSTRIA T. +43 1 4090880-0 F. +43 1 4090880-80 kw@kalmarlighting.com www.kalmarlighting.com J.T. Kalmar GmbH _ Registrierter Firmensitz: 1080 Vienna, Bennogasse 8
Managing Directors August Calice, Thomas Calice FB Nr: 106893x HG Wien_USt-IdNr. ATU 40835101
Creative Direction Garth Roberts
Art Direction Alessandro Manzi
Artwork / Illustration Giò Pastori
Copyright © J.T.Kalmar GmbH All rights reserved