Welcome to the House of OUT
**From Berlin-Kreuzberg, David Wendt, Christoph Steiger and Reinhard Weßling, aka OBJEKTE UNSERER TAGE, bring furniture for a new generation into the world - which can now also be found in the MAGAZIN range. A visit with three enthusiasts who believe in design made in Germany and finely balance bold colors ** Text: Leonie Rolinck
The name initially leads you on the wrong track. Objects of our time are not only about the present, but above all about the future. The furniture of the Berlin designers are not temporary friends, they are family and are conceived to outlast phases of life. It is above all their Berlin environment that shapes the founders' design decisions. David Wendt, Christoph Steiger and Reinhard Weßling have found their home in the capital and their furniture should feel like it. Christoph, who worked as a management consultant before starting Objekte unserer Tage, likes to be inspired by 'too cool for school' -Objekten. But: "Do I really want to live with furniture that is off-putting and cold? Our designs invite you to have a good time." Reinhard comes from a marketing background, and David studied product design before founding the company. With serious intentions and a good dose of self-confidence, the three of them launched an entire collection in 2015. A table, a chair, a sofa. That's more or less how it started with "OUT", the three already thought of the euphonious abbreviation when coming up with the name - objects of our day can certainly become a tongue twister abroad. The first collection also included a shelving system, a side table and a mirror. In order to bring the furniture to the streets, David canvassed production facilities throughout Germany, but the response to the boys from Berlin was muted. Until things worked out in southern Germany. OUT still works with the company in Bavaria to this day, and the long-standing relationship has many advantages, such as the fact that they could be sure of their supplier when many companies relocated their production to Germany in 2022 due to the war and domestic demand skyrocketed. For every discipline, from woodworking to upholstery, they have a family business with specialized master craftsmen at hand. They are all subject to German regulations, which are stricter than elsewhere. "You can have ten certificates, but the standards to which our designs are manufactured in Germany are not comparable," explains Reinhard. "A producer here even has to take care of the trout in the neighboring stream." OUT also shares this commitment to Germany as a production location with MAGAZIN - design made in Germany is part of the self-image of both companies.
The team at Berlin's Haus of OUT, as they call the inviting company headquarters not far from the Landwehr Canal, is manageable. The aim is not to get bogged down in organizational structures, but to focus on the essentials - the design and the visual language. The atmosphere in the team is informal, most of the employees have been part of the company for years, and in the evenings they watch the Eurovision Song Contest together. You can sense that Objekte unserer Tage is a joint project that is democratically organized and unites different perspectives on a product. "We don't always agree right away, but all three of us are open to good arguments," says Christoph, "and when we think of something, we get going and have fun pursuing these ideas." The common goal is clear: to move OUT forward.
David, Reinhard and Christoph particularly enjoy sitting together at their waxed solid wood tables, as this type of finish can be repaired again and again. Meyer, a design from the very beginning, is light as a feather - and yet as stable and resilient as a table needs to be. According to OUT, the pieces can be used for 20 or even 30 years, and can even be passed on. Stains or blemishes are sanded off and re-waxed with the appropriate care set. "The first big purchase is often a solid wood table - a piece of furniture where people come together and experience family life, whatever that may look like. Friends, children, parties, glass edges - it can withstand all of that," says Reinhard. They must know, because the constant quality control takes place at home with the three of them. The word family is indeed broadly defined at OUT: "Our customers are very different, but they all have one thing in common: they love furniture that combines sustainability and design standards and is anchored in the here and now," says Reinhard. In terms of color, the three from OUT like to go all out. Nevertheless, nothing is randomly colorful, the color nuances are conceived over months and elaborately produced. It seems as if the furniture develops into different characters, just like the three of them. They keep coming back to Berlin, to the cosmopolitanism and energy of the city, which is closely linked to the brand identity. Objects of our days promises fun and lightness, and it's true, you feel at home in the Haus of OUT.
Pictures: Fritz Buziek; © OUT
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