Thonet launches chair photography contest

Furniture design company Thonet is launching a photography competition to mark the 150th birthday of the café chair No 14, which is now known as the 214 chair.

Anyone who owns the original model is invited to send in a digital photograph of their chair, and to tell a short story about it.

Furniture maker Michael Thonet first introduced the bentwood 214 chair in Vienna in 1859, and it has remained in production ever since, making it the chair with the longest production run in history.

James Irvine and other Thonet designers will be on the judging panel to decide the best and most original pictures of the 214 chair.

Prizes include a trip to Thonet’s headquarters in Frankenberg, Germany, where the competition winner can attend a workshop on bentwood manufacture. The best 214 photos of the 214 chair will feature in an anniversary publication.

The competition launches on 15 April (when a dedicated microsite for entries, www.214×214.de, goes live) and the closing date for entries is 31 August. For more information, visit www.thonet.eu.