Profile Rosenthal
Far left: Philip Rosenthal; left: Walter Gropius with Philip Rosenthal; Above: Andreas Gerecke, marketing director
Celebrating 100 “ years of Philip On the occasion of Philip Rosenthal’s 100th birthday, we pay tribute to this design and business visionary and show how through Rosenthal’s brand-new Anniversary Collection the spirit and vision of Philip lives on in this innovative and exciting brand
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ummiteer. Check. Sculptor of his environment. Check. Job hopper. Check. Comrade. Check. Philip Rosenthal was a multi-faceted, talented and charismatic man. He climbed the highest mountains. He drove a VW Bus and flew a plane. He loved good design. Philip discovered, promoted and commissioned the most creative minds. He was a smart businessman and an enthusiastic politician. He was committed to his employees and allowed them to share in the company. “Philip Rosenthal was a visionary entrepreneur with great ideas and a clear mission for Rosenthal: to create extraordinary design products with
Swinging Vases
state-of-the-art usability and he involved designers and employees in a process of creation,” says Andreas Gerecke, marketing director, Rosenthal. A pioneer in the porcelain industry, Philip introduced technical innovations, state-of-the-art production facilities and contemporary products transforming his father’s porcelain factory in the 1960s in his hometown of Selb, Germany, into an international company for sophisticated tableware and home décor. For example, “the studioline he developed marked a turning point in product development in the 1960s”, explains Rosenthal CEO Pierluigi Coppo. And long before design was en vogue, Philip collaborated with contemporary artists, architects and designers – the
To sum Philip up, I feel it is best to quote him: ‘I personally have not developed or come up with anything, I have simply found people and ensured that they work together.’ For me, Philip was a visionary with the ability and the luck to succeed.
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Andreas Gerecke, marketing director, Rosenthal GmbH
likes of Otto Piene, Tapio Wirkkala, Angelo Mangiarotti and, of course, Walter Gropius, architect and founder of the Bauhaus movement, who designed two of Rosenthal’s buildings as well as various Rosenthal collections. “There are two things that Philip Rosenthal and Walter Gropius had in common: a sense for forward-looking design and the belief in improving the social environment through architecture and design,” says Andreas. “That was the basis for their friendship. At the end of the 1960s, together with his architecture firm TAC, Walter Gropius designed the factory buildings in Selb and Amberg, as well as the TAC tea service. These were key projects for Rosenthal that brought a lot of
international recognition. Even now, TAC remains one of the bestselling collections of Rosenthal,” explains Andreas. Today, with more than 125 years of experience and expertise in producing innovative and stylish tableware, glassware and giftware ranges, Rosenthal – now part of the Italian Sambonet Paderno Group – has brought the precision legacy of Philip Rosenthal into the present day and is renowned globally for manufacturing innovative, ambitiously-designed and superiorquality lifestyle products, and continues to work with a diverse range of partners and designers. Andreas says: “Philip Rosenthal´s vision, to create extraordinary and functional design and involve designers in the
Anniversary Gifts... Rosenthal has collaborated with different designers to create unique vases and bowls in porcelain and glass. The Squall and Blown Vase Series, designed by Cedric Ragot, are two new vases reminiscent of a whirlwind. Designed by Silke Decker, glass vase series Swinging Vases (pictured) is inspired by delicate grasses and flowers gently swaying in the wind. Hot Spots vase series, designed by Christine Rathmann, features combinations of on-trend colours that create new moods depending on angle and light.