MASTER OF CRAFTSMANSHIP

The showroom in Saanenmöser in the Bernese Oberland in the Swiss Alps comes across as quite unassuming really from outside. Step over the threshold of Zbären Creative Kitchens – then enter an utterly unexpected world! A state-of-the-art interior design showcase for house interiors unfolds before your eyes! Small wonder that when you speak to architects and interior designers in Gstaad this is the name that always comes up – especially when it comes to kitchens and timber. The two brothers who run the business come across as young and dynamic and in an interview with Art of Snow’s publisher and Editor-in-Chief Daniel Chardon soon reveal what their family DNA is made up of: clarity, directness, precision and an eagerness to get stuck in!

Thank you for your time Benjamin Zbären, so how did it all begin? Grandfather was a farmer who got into carpentry including burial services for extra income. When the old tradition of hands on craftsmanship became rare in the seventies, our father stood strong and had the brilliant idea of keeping his unique skills, specialising in kitchens. At first an import business, ultimately he produced his own kitchens from select materials and pure artisanship at a time that coincided with a building boom in the area. Word got out among architects that the business on the Leek mountain slope was up to the task of projects that were out of the ordinary – and soon it was bursting at the seams expanding to a production facility in the valley in 2010. Initially we brothers didn’t know whether we wanted to follow in our father’s footsteps, but with the business expanding so rapidly we decided to take the bull by the horns. Today we employ 35 people – having taken charge of the company in 2006.

Insel aus rohem Messing, Abdeckung in weissem Quarzit, lackierte Schranktüren.

Who are your customers? Anything from local farmers to the likes of New York star architect Peter Marino or Paris star designer Alberto Pinto.

Would you say the customer is king? On the level of star designers clients let them have their say. Such trusted experts come to us with precise visions, drawings and specifications.

By default this means that clients from around the world come to you with completely disparate ideas? We’ve done it all, from Asian to traditional French kitchens. It also teaches us to work with all kind of materials be they brass, steel, bronze or wrought iron. We have a whole network of specialists to resort to.

Küche in Eiche schwarz, Abdeckung in Nero Assoluto Stein, Akzente und Beschläge in patiniertem Messing.

I heard about your success story in the Engadin region? Yes, we were involved in the Norman Foster UFO-style project. But today our enquiries take us even further afield to London, the Bermuda Islands, New York – and currently Moscow.

What do you see as your biggest challenge today? The collaboration with all parties – at the end of the day light planners, furniture designers, painters, shipping companies, customs clearers, just to name a few, are involved in building projects. Fine tuning the timing is key as is adhering to budgets and making provision for language constraints.

Aufwändige Schnitzkunst

And the relationship with the client? The client still wants to “feel” a project and its materials. Even though the multitude of materials and technologies like lighting, installations etc. today is endless, a feel for the material is still crucial to every rendering or 3D visualisation. The personal contact we are always establishing in a project is trustbuilding and keeps clients coming back for more.

Your craftsmanship can be quite laborious? Yes, for some kitchens it takes up to 2500 hours for production, preparation and installation – we talk about hourly rates. Even a carver for a wall can easily clock up a thousand hours. Hence the calculations can become quite complex but we’ve got trustworthy suppliers in the area supporting us perfectly.

Zbären is quite unique really, what is your secret? We’re forever thinking outside the box – even if we don’t always know what we’re taking on at the outset at the end of the day it’s all about tailormade high-quality craftsmanship – that is our unique selling position. 

Küche in Fichte Altholz, Abdeckung in schwarzem Naturstein

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ZBÄREN KREATIVKÜCHEN AG | 3777 SAANENMÖSER | SWITZERLAND