Startup with a Background

S+ makes furniture that adapts: to measurements, to colours, to special requests. Besides a well-known collection, the company has also developed a stunning new system that has been re-thought from scratch.

By S+ Systemmöbel for

S+ Systemmöbel

May 21, 2014 | 10:00 pm CUT

Thomas Merkel, the designer behind S+, seen here with the System "M" shelf

Even young companies can have a history – and S+ Systemmöbel is one such company. Since 2013, S+ has been continuing the business activities of the firm sdr+, which was established in 1995. The reason: the licences for part of its product range were due to expire. Now the company is run by Thomas Merkel, whose furniture designs already featured in the sdr+ catalogue, together with a new group of partners. All the latest S+ products originate from Merkel, an enthusiastic designer who has already received numerous awards.

One table – lots of possibilities. "M05" is available in four system components: square, round, oval and rectangular

The tables "M04" and "M05" illustrate his design maxim of restraint, whereby concentrating on the essentials gives rise to perfectly understated constructions. More than anything else, however, Thomas Merkel is particularly pleased with his new wall-mounted system by the name of "M", which can be used to generate both shelves and sideboards. Made completely of metal and produced entirely in Germany, the system is available in RAL colours and is just as suitable for any kind of domestic setting as it is for the more exacting conditions of the contract sector. With this product, customers remain flexible. The shelf consists of just three main components: a vertical wall profile, shelf supports and the shelves themselves. Everything is available in various standard sizes and can be exchanged or added to at anytime. And because the system is so well thought-through, it's easy to reconfigure the arrangement too.

The "M04" table collection shows restraint both in terms of its form and the thickness of its materials. Designer Thomas Merkel has thus created a lightweight look that's suitable for use in a variety of different areas

This same flexibility and variability are the major advantages of the System "M" sideboards as well. They too are modular, offer a wealth of equipment features and can either be hung from a horizontal wall profile or be fitted with feet. And it goes without saying that individual adaptations are possible too: this is, after all, a company that is dedicated to handmade craftsmanship. "We can produce customised solutions quickly, straightforwardly and for a fair price," says Thomas Merkel. He is also pleased that S+ runs a proper warehouse, thus ensuring that many of the components are available to customers at short notice. System "M" is great fun.