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The foundations of Artifort were laid by Jules Wagemans. He set up business as
an upholsterer in Maastricht in 1890. His son, Henricus Wagemans, expanded the
company into a furniture factory, which had a showroom in Amsterdam by the end
of the nineteen thirties and was already well known nationally. The economic recession
of the nineteen thirties forced H. Wagemans & Van Tuinen, as the furniture
company was then known, to create a distinctive profile. Developing a catchy brand
name and logo was a start. And naturally the furniture had to be distinctive too.
The emphasis came to lie on functionality, comfort and quality combined with aesthetically
pleasing design and an innovative use of materials. 1913 the emphasis came to
lie on functionality, comfort and quality combined with aesthetically pleasing
design and an innovative use of materials. 1920 his son Henricus Wagemans takes
over the business under the name H. Wagemans & Co. The enterprise was strengthened
financially and organizationally by the arrival of Hayo van Tuinen. 1928 the new
brand name became Artifort, derived from the Latin word ars meaning art or knowledge,
and fortis meaning strong or powerful. The word comfort is also reflected in this
brand name. 1930 Indestructible technique. Artiforts breakthrough came at the
beginning of the nineteen thirties when the company started to use Epeda interior
springing. Up until then, straw, horsehair and kapok has been used as .lling materials,
sometimes in combination with iron springing. What was special about this interior
springing, which was already being used in mattresses and car seats, was that
it was woven from a single steel wire. Epeda interior springing combines a high
level of comfort with great durability. Moreover, using this interior springing
provided a major saving in production time. Business resumed after the Second
World War, but there was a big change at the beginning of the nineteen fifties.
Based on the Scandinavian example, furniture became more modern. Later, Artifort
developed its own style, partly by taking on Gerrit Rietveld as a designer. Furniture
designed by him was featured in the Dutch pavilion at the World Fair in 1958.
The production of furniture can not follow the demand. During the Dutch Furniture
Fair, Artifort only shows pictures as there is no stock of furniture. The company
increases continuous. Artifort buys the building of the St. Servatius brewery
in Maastricht and has 400 employees. A great deal changed with the arrival of
the interior and furniture designer Kho Liang Ie. His forward-looking view, his
great knowledge of design and his international contacts were not only determining
factors in the successes of the nineteen sixties and seventies but have continued
to exert their inuence up to this day. Artifort and Kho Liang Ie introduced talked-about
designs and together ensured that the name Artifort became the name for lovers
of architecture and design. In 1959, Kho Liang Ie recruited the French designer
Pierre Paulin, who introduced new techniques and constructions. Paulins designs
were fresh and innovative. His striking, brightly coloured seating sculptures
raised eyebrows at home and abroad. At the beginning of the nineteen sixties,
Artifort started to focus more on the international contract market. The English
designer Geoffrey Harcourt designed an extensive collection of contract furniture.
Internationally, the furniture seemed to be very much in demand, which resulted
in enormous sales growth. Artifort extended its activities in the contract market
even further by distributing furniture made by the Italian Castelli company, among
others. The use of Artifort furniture in large projects such as Schiphol airport
provided the brand with an undisputed place in the top 10 of the international
contract furniture market. Just a part of the collection of Pierre Paulin that
is still produced today. Orange Slice, Oyster, Butterfly, F 302, Tongue, Ribbon
Chair, Mushroom. Over the succeeding years, Artifort had to face increasing competition
from foreign manufacturers. Once again, Artiforts answer was innovation. Under
the inspiring, creative leadership of Harry Wagemans, the company continued to
attract young and established design talent. The F 598 (also called groovy) is
in different museum part of the permanent collection. 1978 the Hello There is
seen as one of the first expressions of the Postmodern design in the Dutch furniture
industry. Pierre Paulin and Geoffrey Harcourt continued to add new furniture to
the collection every year. The design of Artifort furniture continued to be distinctive.
This policy was continued in the nineteen nineties when Artifort worked with designers
such as Jasper Morrison, Wolfgang Mezger, René Holten and Jan Pesman. Artifort
continues to write history_In the light of the 21st century. Artifort continues
to devote a lot of attention to improving its production methods. New factories
have opened in Schijndel and Lanaken in Belgium where our know-how in furniture
construction is perfectly combined with the art of upholstering. The revival of
design from the nineteen sixties and seventies ensures that the Artifort classics
from those years are becoming even more popular than they were. The revival of
design from the nineteen sixties and seventies ensures that the Artifort classics
from those years are becoming even more popular than they were. Patrick Norguet
designs the famous Apollo chair. Six new products are presented in Cologne and
Milan.One of them, the first cupboard for Artifort. Artifort is back in business
and is clearly present at the international furniture Fair in Milan. Artifort
is continuing to provide space for new designers and established names who have
not previously worked for the company. Michiel van der Kley, Patrick Norguet,
Arnold Merckx, Bert van der Aa and Copray & Scholten are designing furniture
that matches Artiforts rich tradition of innovation. The Kirk chair, designed
by René Holten, is introduced in Milano. An eyecatching design. (Text:
www.artifort.com)
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