Sebastian Herkner (born 1981) studied Product Design at HfG Offenbach University of Art and Design. During his studies he began to focus on designing objects and furniture, honing his keen sense for materials, colors and textures. In the year 2006 Sebastian Herkner founded his own studio. Since that time, he has designed furniture, lamps and smaller items for manufacturers such as Ames, and Tradition, Cappellini, ClassiCon, Dedon, Ex.t, Fontana Arte, Gubi, Fritz Hansen, Linteloo, Moroso, Pulpo, Rosenthal, Schramm Werkstätten, Thonet, Wittmann and Zanotta.
Herkner also realizes interior architecture projects and museum and exhibition design. His works have won numerous accolades – among others the IF Award, the Iconic Award and the Elle Deco International Design Award (EDIDA). As Guest of Honor to imm cologne 2016, Sebastian Herkner provided the design for “Das Haus”. Maison&Objet has elected him 2019 “Designer of the Year”. What characterizes Sebastian’s design work and interests are unconditional love for traditional crafts paired with a good feel for new technologies, a true flair for color, authentic materials and textures, an unadulterated curiosity for different cultures, for embracing and integrating them, and a commitment to taking responsibility for the things and people one works with. The Bell Table Sebastian created for ClassiCon in 2012, which have become an icon of modern design, are a great testimony not only to Sebastian’s extraordinary talent, but also a keen interest in contributing to preservation of extraordinary crafts.
We in Zanat were sincerely fortunate to welcome Sebastian to our design family in 2019, again after an accidental encounter and a visit to our factory that followed it. We have had a productive collaboration during a short period of time, which resulted in an extraordinary chair and dining table, as well as set of small objects. Sebastian and Zanat share a vision of serving as ambassadors for the preservation and promotion of extraordinary traditional crafts through marriage with outstanding modern design.
