With the "Mono Residency", the owner-managed family business from Mettmann, Germany, launches a sponsorship project as an official ambassador of the German Design Graduates to mark the anniversary of the Mono Teapot.
Mono Residency
As an ambassador of the German Design Graduates - an initiative affiliated with the German Design Council in the service of promoting young talent - Mono is initiating the "Mono Residency", which is aimed directly at young designers. The family-owned company has been manufacturing design products for the table for over 125 years at its production site in Mettmann.
In 2023, Mono invites a 10-member selection of the last four graduates years (2018-2022) to participate in the "Mono Residency" program.
40 Years of Mono Teapot
In 1983, the company launched the first Mono teapot in collaboration with designer Tassilo von Grolman.
on the market. It was to become a design icon in the decades that followed. The Mono Classic teapot was followed by the Mono Filio and Mono Ellipse models, which can also be found in many living rooms of tea and design lovers worldwide. This 40th anniversary is both the occasion and the theme of the "Mono Residency" first edition.
New perspectives
Mono invites the participants of the residency to play, intervene, deconstruct and recontextualize. By exploring the materials of Mono teapots and their iconic appearance, the designers:in develop new perspectives on the classic. As a result of the project, ten creative one-of-a-kind pieces emerge - ten art and design objects that take up the materiality and typology of the Mono teapot and stand on their own through their originality as well as strong aesthetics.
The ten Joungdesigners
Studio Bnag (Oliver Selim-Boualam & Lukas Marstaller)
Karlsruhe State University of Design 20/21
Matthias Gschwendtner
Berlin University of the Arts 21/22
Justus Hilfenhaus
Bauhaus University Weimar 20/21
Sascha Huth
Berlin University of the Arts 19/20
Elena Kayser
University of Fine Arts Saar 20/21
Paula Mühlena
Bauhaus University Weimar 20/21
Marie Radke
Berlin University of the Arts 21/22
Silvio Rebholz
State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart 18/19
Julian Ribler
Berlin University of the Arts 18/19
Claire Wildenhues
State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart 18/19
In the summer of 2023, the graduates' design objects will be presented to the press and the public at an exclusive exhibition event in Berlin.
About Mono
In 1895, Wilhelm Seibel I laid the foundation for the family business, now in its 6th generation, with the founding of Britaniawarenfabrik W. Seibel. The Mono brand was founded in 1959 with Peter Raackes functional and minimalist cutlery design Mono A. Since then, Mono has strived to develop products with the highest standards of workmanship, material and its origin in collaboration with various designers. Mono products have received numerous awards and are part of various collections in museums of modern and applied arts.
Responsible for the project "Mono Residency" are Johannes Seibel (Mono, Creative Direction) and Matthias
Seibel (Mono, Production Management and Product Development) of the 6th generation of the family business.
About German Design Graduates
GDG is an initiative with the purpose of promoting the next generation of product design graduates as well as presenting state-approved universities, art colleges and technical colleges. The initiative was launched in 2019 by Prof. Ineke Hans, Prof. Hermann Weizenegger, Prof. Mark Braun and Katrin Krupka. GDG is funded by the German Design Council Foundation, which has been the project sponsor of the initiative since 2022. The "Mono Residency" of the German Design Graduates is supported in parts of communication and supervision by Katrin Krupka (German Design Council, Co-Founder GDG).
