About Michael Thonet

Thonet patented the process of bending several layers of wood veneer glued together and laminated. This new material allowed the creation of curved back-rails and legs on chairs, contoured headboards for beds and scrolled arms for sofas. By 1900, the curvilinear furniture made possible by Thonet's techniques were widely produced by furniture manufacturers in the U.S., where the process was exploited for mass production of simple, inexpensive chairs and tables. Thonet also developed a method of bending solid wood. His bent solid and laminated beech chairs with woven cane seats and backs remain among the most successful industrial designed products of all time. Josef Hoffmann, Otto Wagner and Adolf Loos, all of whom designed for Thonet, made use of his bentwood techniques to create classic chair designs still produced or copied today. One can hardly imagine the work of Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier or Charles and Ray Eames without this technology.