NABYTEQUE means furniture - or "How a passion became a profession"

The raw concrete rooms are filled with pleasant music. Directly behind the entrance door, newly arrived furniture is stacked on shelves up to the ceiling. Hellerau furniture, Karl-Marx-Stadt stickers, lamps from the former Czechoslovakia, armchairs. Right next to it, Paul, a trained sports therapist, is busy sanding. To the right is a showroom and the paint shop with its unmistakable smell.

How did the idea for your furniture business Nabyteque come about?

Kris: We originally knew each other from Dresden, where we worked together on music projects. Then we both moved to Leipzig to study and spent a lot of time in our circles exchanging ideas and looking for new projects. We wanted to be independent and at the same time we knew that, despite having a Master's degree, the jobs wouldn't come our way. The idea for Nabyteque came about completely unexpectedly. Neither of us come from this field, but we discovered during a conversation at a party in 2017 that we both have a soft spot for furniture from the 1960s. We exchanged ideas and suddenly the basic idea was born: To restore old furniture.

And then you turned your passion into a profession?

Kris: The project turned everything upside down. We broke off our studies, put together a small team of amateur craftsmen and rented a hall in Markkleeberg. We were extremely lucky that there was a small joinery right next door. Jochen worked there - a classic GDR carpenter in his late 60s - who had learned the trade from his father. He knew the furniture of the 60s and 70s and was able to answer all our questions. He was a great mentor.

How did you come across the Czechoslovakian furniture pieces?

Kris: I came across pieces of furniture on the agrathat didn't look German to me at all. I didn't know them from the repertoire of common GDR models. Zeulenroda, Möbelwerke Oberlausitz - there was a lot of repetition. But at agra, it was a new discovery: everything was a bit more constructivist, more geometric, more jagged - I became really curious. Even the veneer contrasts: a cabinet with a light oak door and a walnut door next to it, or the body veneered in walnut and the door in oak. That hardly ever happened with GDR furniture. This playfulness with the colors - as with the classic Jiroutek models - clearly not GDR! Then I looked into it and we started to include Czech furniture in the range.

And then you just went to the Czech Republic and picked up old furniture?

Björn: We were at a festival near Pilsen anyway and passed a dealer on the way back. He had a huge hall full of furniture, we felt like children in a toy store: Unknown, unusual and impressive pieces as far as the eye could see. That's how we got to new series bit by bit and constantly discovered new furniture.

Kris: The excitement and enthusiasm that comes with such a discovery - that's what drives the whole thing.

What does a day like this look like when you pick up new furniture?

Kris: We have our fixed routes, pick up the items and usually drive back again within a day. It's a shame that it's always so stressful and rushed, but unfortunately there's no other way at the moment.

Björn: We've been to almost every corner of the Czech Republic, but usually with a tight schedule. It would be really nice if we could take a week to have a closer look at certain places.

Do you notice any differences between the Czech and German perception of aesthetics?

Björn: In the Czech Republic, it's very popular to make everything super modern. Retro is more of a niche there. In Germany, this trend has reached the center of society, but in the Czech Republic, people are more into "always everything new and fresh".

Kris: I really always wonder why this is not more present in the cultural-historical reappraisal and why things are sometimes not appreciated by the Czechs. The Czech Republic can certainly compete with the more well-known greats, especially when it comes to furniture design and 20th century craftsmanship.

Is there a particular model that is particularly well received? The U-300 series.

Kris: Especially the closet and the chest of drawers with the glass top.

Do you also sell GDR furniture?

Kris: If so, then only certain series or ranges that we like ourselves and that we know can be restored well.

Björn: For example, certain furniture series from Deutsche Werkstätten Hellerau.

Is there a collection story that you won't forget so quickly?

Kris: There has been everything you could imagine. The craziest was actually the collection from the former Czechoslovakian Minister of Defense Martin Dzúr. His house in Prague 6 had to be completely emptied. We actually only wanted to pick up the sofa, but then we were told we could take whatever we wanted.

You are saving Czech culture!

Björn: There is actually no Eastern Bloc country that can be compared to Czechoslovakia. They were the luminaries when it came to furniture. Above all, the origins of functionalism in the Czech Republic and the points of contact with Bauhaus are so exciting! The whole western world is talking about Bauhaus and at the same time, architecture and design history was also being written in tiny Czechoslovakia. Halabala, Slezák, Gottwald... The most beautiful furniture was designed and produced. The 1930s are also very present in the cityscape there: pharmacies, terraced houses, the interior design of the houses - I could talk about it for hours. And everything is still preserved and has not been renovated to death. History that is integrated into everyday life.

Kris: Some companies also had official licenses to manufacture designs by Mart Stam, Marcel Breuer and Mies Van Der Rohe. The exact model designation varied depending on the manufacturer, but the Czech-produced versions are still "originals". It is worth mentioning that these designs inspired a veritable flood of imitations and their own tubular steel concepts. When will Czech design ever be reported on abroad? It's so long overdue! It's a bit as if the enthusiasm for such things only comes when they no longer exist or are actually torn down.