It started with a wooden chair

In 1949, Moritz Wagner invented the classic version of the tavern chair, a simple piece for daily use that, since its breakthrough in the 1960s, has become an iconic Bavarian furniture piece, ubiquitous throughout the world.

More than 60 years later, Wagner Living has reissued the tavern chair, with all its old assets but with a new and modern look. A recipient of the German Design Award 2018, this new edition — the W-1960 (a tribute to the decade when it hit the big time) — is also available with a special patented seating cushion, which gives the possibility to sit in motion. The third generation of the Wagner family has made sitting in motion their profession. It’s for this reason Wagner Living adopted its current motto: “Move your life — while sitting.”

“Move your life” defines the attitude of people who live their life in motion. They search for changes and new impulses—and in this way reinvent themselves. Charles Schumann, the famous Munich bartender, author, and proprietor of Schumann’s Bar, is a long-time champion of Wagner Living. After spending the early 1970s tending bar in the South of France, he returned to Germany, where he eventually opened the iconic Schumann’s American Bar in Munich. His 1991 best-selling cocktail book, American Bar, is often credited with introducing Europe to American cocktail culture, and in 2017 he premiered his first feature film, Schumann’s Bar Talks, at the Berlin International Film Festival. We caught up with the man, the myth, to speak about his unconventional career and his love of Wagner chairs.

You recently turned 75. How did you celebrate?

I flew to Japan in order not to have to celebrate.

You traveled a lot for your film. Which countries are still on your personal travel wish list?

South America is interesting. I would like to live for some time in Japan. But for me, the most important thing is to be here in my bar. I want to continue to shape the bar the way I imagine it — and only I can do that. Travel inspires.

What kinds of ideas have you been putting into action?

We are constantly changing things at our café-bar, Tagesbar, and also in Schumann’s Bar at Odeonsplatz. The space has stayed more or less the same, but our menu is constantly evolving. You will certainly find lots of ideas there.

Over the course of your life, have you ever stood at a crossroads and taken a wrong turn?

That happens to all of us again and again. But if I try to think concretely, there weren’t that many opportunities in my life to do things differently. I have done precisely what I have wanted and been able to do.

You have been a fan of Wagner Living for years.

But I am also their biggest critic. They do make beautiful objects—especially the tavern chair. For me, there is nothing more beautiful. It's simple and honest. ■