Thomas

Thomas

For the past 100 years the “Thomas” brand has represented young, uncomplicated design. Thomas picks up on the spirit of the times, turning modern food, furnishing and fashion trends into innovative product concepts for table-settings and a homey atmosphere. Thomas addresses a young, design-oriented clientele, who are open to new ideas. Thomas underlines the claim of conveying joie de vivre and progression – and hence reflecting the feeling of its target group – with the slogan “The Trend Factory”.

Historical Development

Fritz Thomas founded the “Porzellanfabrik Thomas & Ens” in the German town of Marktredwitz in 1904. Just four years later, Rosenthal was to take over the porcelain factory, which had been renamed as “F. Thomas, Marktredwitz” in the meantime. In 1960 the porcelain production was discontinued at the Thomas factory in Marktredwitz due to a lack of space. In the same year the new site “Thomas am Kulm” was opened officially in Speichersdorf/Upper Franconia. The Italian architect Marcello Morandini decorated the building’s flat façade with geometric patterns. Today the Thomas collection is produced in both Speichersdorf and Selb.

Since the 1950s Thomas has been built up consistently as a brand for young, design-oriented and straightforward everyday crockery. In 1965 the glass and porcelain collection “ABC” by Hans Theo Baumann was developed and later won many awards. The Thomas collection was influenced predominantly by Scandinavian design until the 1980s. For example, the “Scandic” form by Hertha Bengtson was awarded the gold medal of Faenza.

At the end of the 1980s Thomas adopted new design influences, mainly from London. The first “cookshops” took over from the elegantly set table. During this phase, the “Trend” service by the Lord Queensberry/Hunt School of Design had emerged to become a particular sales success. Today’s very well-known idea “from oven to the table” was implemented by Thomas very early for the industry.

Since the 1990s Thomas has been characterised by a new, functional simple design. The “Vario” form by Yellow Design has proven successful at the end of this century with its innovative design and a modern, lifestyle-oriented marketing concept. Today the Thomas is seen as a design brand due to collections like “Units”, and “Coup” the later being developed by Konstantin Grcic, a German designer.