German designers Philipp Schöpfer and Daniel Klapsing first met in 2006 as students at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. A year later, while still in school, they cofounded 45 KILO, a studio dedicated to furniture, lighting, product, and interior design. In 2012, they relocated to Berlin and opened a studio-showroom in the Mitte neighborhood. In 2013, 45 KILO established its own design brand, called MY KILOS, which produces and distributes a selection of the studio’s designs.
45 KILO’s work is marked by a functional, clean-cut aesthetic. Describing their approach, Klapsing and Schöpfer say, “We love to combine industrialized production processes and materials with crafts in a very reduced and simple visual language.” The cofounders refer to themselves as a “redesign studio”—as opposed to a design studio—“as a lot of designs are based on specific, existing models. We keep what we like about a design and update the rest.”
Standout projects to date include Egon (2010), a series of classic, tubular tables with interchangeable tops, for which the studio earned the 2010 Red Dot Design Award; Black Stracciatella (2015), a Memphis-inspired furniture and accessories collection composed of polyethylene in black flecked with white; and Busy Table (2009), a series of tables that feature angular, powder-coated sheet metal bases with a choice of tops in a variety of materials.
45 KILO’s work has been exhibited at a number of fairs and institutions including, among others, Base Milano (2016, Milan); Vitra and Artek (2015, Berlin); IN Residence at Ventura Lambrate (2014, Milan); Design Exquis at Roca London Gallery for London Design Festival (2013); Meet My Project at Maison & Objet, (2012, Paris); and My Bauhaus is Better than Yours at Apartment (Berlin, 2011), DMY (Berlin, 2011 and 2009) the Soto concept store (Berlin, 2011), Designers’ Open (Leipzig, 2011), Bauhaus-Universität Weimar (2009), and at several places during the Salone del mobile in Milan (Milan, 2009-2012).
Both designers studied at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. Schöpfer (born in Stuttgart in 1981) attended the school from 2004 to 2010, ultimately earning a diploma in product design. Klapsing (born in Göttingen in 1982) attended the school from 2004-2010, ultimately earning his diploma in graphic design.
