Heimat: Hornbach presents a new kind of table – and a new type of retail campaign

“If you want to own furniture that fits your life perfectly, you have to build it yourself.” D-I-Y chain, Hornbach, is continuing its campaign which uses the fact that its audience loves to make things. The campaign, The Werkstück Editions, by agency, Heimat Berlin, is a series of furniture, its films explanations about the furniture’s design and functionality. The furniture in the campaign is for sale at Hornbach. It’s exclusive, but it’s accessible. It’s affordable, but you have to make it yourself.

The campaign began last year, with a lounge chair. Sigurd Larsen’s Lounge Chair (Werkstück 001) inspired countless D-I-Y enthusiasts to build it and triggered a widespread public discussion about the democratisation of design.

The second edition features the Itsuri Table, designed by Japanese architect and designer, Yo Shimada, founder and lead designer of Tato Architects in Kōbe, Japan.

Behind the design are the current social challenges, especially the scarcity of living space in cities. It therefore has a modular design, so it can be used in different ways and smaller spaces.

Yo Shimada’s design reflects a social development which Japan has long known, and which European cities are now experiencing. The modular table can be adapted to the features of a room or a situation by allowing you to extend it and slide it back, thus changing its size and function.

“For me as a Japanese designer, the challenge was to offer something new to Europeans – something that they might not expect,” Shimada explained. “I asked myself, how can I use materials readily available at a DIY store, to contribute something Japanese to European DIY culture?”

The minimalistic Utsuri Table is unique not only in its function but also in its design. Most tables attract attention by the colour, texture or design of their top surfaces, whereas here, it is the underneath which catches the eye. Neon colours on the underside of the table tops reflect subtly on the various levels of the table’s top surfaces, which are painted white. The name, Utsuri, comes from this special key design element, meaning, roughly, reflective.

“The Werkstück Edition project is more of a vision than a conventional marketing campaign,” noted Marlon Fischer, the Heimat creative director responsible for the project with team partner, Felix Pfannmüller.

“At the end, you have a finished piece of furniture, but before you get there you have all this interdisciplinary collaboration between the architect, carpenters, customer and agency – but above all, the DIY enthusiasts out there.”

The Werkstück 002 has its own assembly book which contains carefully illustrated, step-by-step instructions on how to build the table, as well as lists of materials and tools; it also tells the whole story of how it was created and the idea behind this piece of furniture, and a website.

“We want to give our customers the opportunity to use their craftsmanship and bring high-quality design to life,” commented Thomas Schnaitmann, head of marketing and marketing communication at Hornbach Germany, “and the Werkstück 002 is not without its DIY challenges. If you’re expecting a construction kit you can knock together quickly, this is not for you. It takes time to build the Utsuri Table and it requires precision work. But we totally trust our customers to do it.”