The last few days of our trip were upon us and we were off to the design centre/factory I was most looking forward to, Duravit.
Because our Duravit portion started on a Sunday, Duravit organised for us to have a leisure day which included an enjoyable lunch in Gutach followed by tobogganing down a mountain!
The day was warm and lovely, and the toboggans provided a little bit of adventure and physical exercise- which was much needed after a week of non-stop eating.
If you are not already aware, the Duravit Design Centre was designed by none other than Phillipe Starck. Driving up to the centre was spectacular, amongst the tranquil backdrop of the Black Forest emerges a sparkling silver box encasing a giant toilet. Brilliant.
Training was conducted by our lovely host, Joanna who is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about Duravit. She talked us through the history of the company including the explanation behind the Duravit logo, the wood grouse. It is a very rare bird found in the Black Forest and has been a symbol for Duravit's attachment to their roots and the respect they have for their natural environment.
The ceramic factory tour was a completely eye-opening experience. I was so surprised to see how much human contact is involved in the production. Clay pieces were being hand finished by an employee who had worked with Duravit over 20 years, the glazing was hand done, the quality controls were overseen many times by many different people. The whole production was outstanding and I have now seen with my own eyes why it is such a highly valued, quality product.
Duravit only use locally sourced ingredients for their ceramic, and recycle everything they can. They even break up and send damaged product (it was very hard to spot the damages!) to companies who can recycle the material to make roads etc.
We also visited the Duravit design centre showroom and were shown a great presentation on the Sensowash seat. Sensowash was installed in a few of the working bathrooms, so we all had a turn at testing them out. Once you've used it, you can't go back to a normal toilet!
Our last day at Duravit and Germany included a short trip to the Schenkensell furniture factory.
We've always loved Duravit furniture at Candana but to see the artisan manufacture of these pieces in person further cements our belief in them. Again, each piece is given a personal touch; hand-finishing, hand-polishing. All of the furniture is made to order in this factory, nothing is kept in stock. So when you order a piece of Duravit furniture, you will be getting something made especially for you by a German Duravit-trained skilled professional.
After this tour we headed straight to Frankfurt for our flights home.
We all returned to our respective states feeling confident about the brands, full of delicious German food and with a new group of inter-state friends.
I hope you've enjoyed reading about this trip as much I enjoyed being on it. A huge thank you to Bathe Australia and Candana for making the trip possible, and of course to Kaldewei, Hansgrohe and Duravit for your time, knowledge and hospitality.
Photos © kaety/Candana
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