Table pyramid with figures

In the Ore Mountains two have found each other: Jens Tuffner and Björn Köhler. Both stand for a decidedly clear, almost purist material and design concept, which they give lasting expression with this table pyramid. And at the same time they succeed here a real feat: for all the precision in design and craftsmanship, their work radiates a warmth and "buoyancy" that fills any room with a moody, Christmas atmosphere.

In Eppendorf near Seiffen lives and works master turner Björn Köhler. He has made it his mission to combine traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design - in his unconventional Christmas figures he succeeds masterfully. The choice of motifs is based on Erzgebirge traditions, but the figures are extremely reduced and at the same time so humorously designed that their colorful informality is reminiscent of Scandinavian design. As an artisan of the Erzgebirge, Köhler treats the material wood in his manufactory as it deserves: with respect and a sense of form. From sketch to lathe to paint, each figure is handcrafted from solid maple wood. Jigs (holding devices for shapes that cannot be held by hand on the lathe) are made individually for each shape so that they can be drilled, milled and sanded cleanly and true to the pattern. In every detail, Köhler and his team pay attention to precision, even the fit of grain and dimension is precisely aligned.

In Jens Tuffner from Langenweißbach (near Chemnitz) Köhler has found a like-minded. Tuffner's designs, based in furniture making, speak the same minimalist language of form and show the same respect for the material. His table pyramid brings exactly what a Christmas pyramid requires, no more - and by no means less, functional and constructed with almost mathematical precision. In the best carpenter's craft, all wooden elements are neatly dovetailed and glued. The grain is preserved by the surface treatment and underlines the striking character of the oak wood, to which the aluminum adds an appealing accent. Last but not least, the plug-in connections, for example of the aluminum rotor blades, are so precisely crafted that nothing wobbles or slips. The blades rotate cleanly and quietly and bring Köhler's Christmas figures once again so right in swing.

The fact that a famous wood art developed in the originally densely forested Erzgebirge is not only explained by the availability of the material. As a branch of industry, handicrafts became all the more important as the local mining industry rapidly lost resources and profitability. Folk art slipped into this gap, which mining - no less than Christmas - still shaped with numerous motifs. A center of wood art emerged around Seiffen, where one of the first specialized trade schools was founded in 1853 to promote handicrafts. In the so-called Toy Corner, small and large craft businesses still produce the classics of the folk art of the Erzgebirge: from hoop animals and smoking men to miner figures and nutcrackers to candle arches and wing pyramids.