The Eckstein project.
A swiss start-up conquers the design world.
The Eckstein’s driving force.
It is 2012. The designer and architect Jonathan Hartmann-Pisoni reflects on his new idea of “Systemhostel” in his flat in Einsiedeln, Switzerland. He wants to update the established concept of youth hostels with his new ideas. As simply thinking gets you nowhere, he starts to build a few ideas. Then the idea becomes a present for his sister. A piece combining the system concept with a bold, stylish design.
The Eckstein’s eureka! moment
Hello Jonathan, my name is Eckstein! The Eckstein moves from the conceptual into Jonathan’s head. And off he goes. With a small living room and kitchen, he uses the table for all cutting and assembly work. The draining board next to the kitchen sink and all other work surfaces serve as a drying area for the 90 panels. There is nowhere left to eat. Jonathan’s motto: everything must be done as perfectly as possible. He repeats the paintwork seven times, and the construction process takes weeks. Then, finally, it is finished: the original Eckstein.
Eckstein’s opening night
The Eckstein inspires a renowned Ticino architect. He exhibits it in his office – where he makes “bella figura” and it raises countless eyebrows. Encouraged, Jonathan goes a step further and launches the first crowdfunding for his Eckstein. However, due to a lack of social media skills, he has limited success. Inspired by the tattoo of tennis star Stan Wawrinka “Always tried, always failed, no matter, try again, fail again, fail better!” Jonathan does not give up.
Eckstein's exploration of the world.
Jonathan puts all his effort into his project. He designs, tinkers, tests and solves sustainability issues. He travels to Germany to evaluate aluminium tiles. He stalks a yacht part manufacturer so persistently that they finally deliver him the perfect and very resistant plastic holder for the aluminium tiles. In Austria and Germany he puts together the non-toxic range of paints and coatings. In Switzerland, Jonathan finds partners for the wood construction, the cutting work and the powder coating, who are soon as passionate about the project as he is. By the way, Jonathan has also done research in New Zealand, Chicago and Iceland, but is far too modest to say anything about it.
The Eckstein’s first production run
Now jump to summer 2020. After eight years of intensive development work – they arrive in Jonathan’s studio: the first ten Ecksteins! Lo and behold: they are even more beautiful than he ever imagined. They work perfectly. You want to take them all home with you. But they still have a few jobs to do, such as becoming stars on the website: As a Shooting stars on the homepage, and as poster-children in the Eckstein crowdfunding campaign. Visit Kickstarter With this campaign, Jonathan inspires investors to finance the first large-scale series production.
Become part of the Eckstein story!
The Crowdfunding for our Eckstein project will start soon. With your contribution you will become part of our story and history!
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