BENDING, TURNING, SCREWING
In HÅNDVÆRK bookazine no. 7.
I´ll take you on a visit to the new Toni, the design company TONI Copenhagen in Frederiksberg.
December 2022
I bought my first Toni fixtures in 1998. I appreciated their understated beauty every time I used them. Then I moved and lived without Toni fixtures until 2020, when we renovated our guest bathroom. Now, they are once again a daily source of joy.
When we ordered our taps, Toni had recently changed hands, and winds of change were blowing through the old craft company’s customer service and communication. Friendly winds, with a touch of the design brand.
In HÅNDVÆRK bookazine no. 7. I´ll take you on a visit to the new Toni, the design company TONI Copenhagen in Frederiksberg.
The property in Frederiksberg houses a showroom and customer service office as well as a workshop that makes bespoke solutions and services original Toni fixtures.
‘The craft, the craftspeople and our emphasis on quality are not a marketing stunt, it’s our foundation,’ says Creative Director Bjarke Vind Normann. ‘Once you have been here, visited the workshop or learned about the many processes that go into making a fixture, the product sells itself.
If you have seen an old Toni fixture and seen how beautiful it gets with use, you understand how attached you can get to a fixture, the way you can to your leather wallet, your watch or your favourite chair – items that are not immediately replaceable.’
Later he picked me up in his car, we are going on a road trip to visit two companies with very different profiles, both located on Zealand and both important to TONI Copenhagen’s production and expansion. You are invited to join.
Is your current job what you dreamed of when you applied to The Danish Design School?
‘I never dreamed of becoming a designer,’ says Bjarke.
‘I was interested in the world and had just been accepted into the programme for International Relations in Malmö when I saw in an ad in Politiken that The Danish Design School was accepting students based on an entrance examination. That looked like fun, so I decided to give it a try. I was 22 years old.
I took the examination along with 1,200 others. Many of them had prepared through folk high school courses, and many had applied more than once. I never learned drawing, and I was not particularly interested in design.
I was accepted, as one of 56. I believe my strong suit was my contextual perspective and my capacity for reflection.
About reflections and much more in the print bookazine
Grab you copy here
Selv købte jeg mine første Toni-armaturer i 1998. Jeg glædede mig dagligt over deres underspillede skønhed. Så flyttede jeg, og i de mellemliggende år, frem til 2020, hvor vores gæstetoilet trængte til renovering, har jeg ikke haft Toni-armaturer. Nu glædes jeg igen hver dag.
Da vi bestilte vores vandhaner, var Toni for nylig blevet handlet, der blæste nye vinde i den gamle håndværksvirksomheds kundeservice og kommunikation. Venlige vinde med undertoner af designbrand.
I HÅNDVÆRK bookazine no. 7 tager jeg dig med på besøg hos det nye Toni, designvirksomheden TONI Copenhagen, som holder til på Frederiksberg.
Ejendommen på Frederiksberg C. danner rammen om showroom og kundeservice foruden værksteder, hvor der fremstilles ‘bespoke’ løsninger, og hvor man kan få serviceret sit gamle Toni-armatur.
“Håndværket og håndværkerne og snakken om kvalitet er ikke et markedsføringsstunt, men vores fundament”, pointerer Bjarke Vind Normann som er Creative Director , “har man først været i huset, set ind på værkstedet eller fået forklaret, hvor mange arbejdsprocesser der medgår i fremstilling af et armatur, så sælger produktet sig selv.
Har man set et gammelt Toni-armatur og set, hvor smukt det er blevet i brug, så forstår man, at man kan føle sig knyttet til sit armatur, på linje med hvordan man har det med sin læderpung, sit ur og sin yndlingsstol. Ejendele, som ikke bare lader sig erstatte.”
Senere tager Bjarke mig med på en køretur Sjælland rundt, for at besøge to underleverandører, som er af største betydning for Tone. Du får lov til at følge med.
Mens syrenhegn, rapsmarker og kumulusskyer suser forbi, spørger jeg:
Var det et job som det, du har nu, du drømte om, da du søgte Danmarks Designskole?
“Jeg drømte slet ikke om at blive designer”, svarer Bjarke,
“Jeg var interesseret i verden Og var netop kommet ind på Institut for Internationale Studier i Malmö, da jeg så en annonce i Politiken om, at man kunne gå til optagelsesprøve på Danmarks Designskole; jeg syntes det så sjovt ud, og tænkte, at det ville jeg gerne prøve. Jeg var 22 år.
Jeg gik til optagelsesprøve sammen med 1200 andre. Mange havde forberedt sig på højskolekurser, en ikke ubetydelig andel havde søgt ind flere gange. Jeg havde aldrig tegnet og var ikke specielt interesseret i design.
Jeg kom ind som en ud af 56, jeg tror min force var, at jeg er god til at forstå kontekst og god til at reflektere”.
Om refleksioner og meget andet kan du læse om i HÅNDVÆRK bookazine no. 7.
Køb printbookazinet i din kiosk, boghandel, museums -eller designbutik eller her online
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