Vor einigen Wochen habe ich es bereits angedroht und heute mache ich meine Androhung wahr – mein Feature „Im Interview mit…“ geht in die nächste Runde, dieses Mal mit Reform Gründer Jeppe.
Ich habe euch das dänische Label, das sich auf IKEA Updates spezialisiert hat, schon einmal kurz in meinen Artikel „IKEA Hacks – Die besten IKEA Upgrades“ vorgestellt. Heute möchte ich euch anhand meines Interviews mit Reform Gründer Jeppe ein wenig mehr über das Unternehmen berichten.
Gegründet wurde Reform im Oktober 2014 durch Michael Andersen und Jeppe Christensen. Seit März 2015 vertreibt das dänische Unternehmen seine stilvollen Fronten und Arbeitsplatten für IKEA Klasssiker wie Metod, Pax und Co. auch auf dem Deutschen Markt.
Die Idee war mit den besten Architekten der Welt zusammen zu arbeiten und mit ihnen gemeinsam herausragendes Design für jedermann verfügbar zu machen. Besonderen Wert legen Michael und Jeppe hierbei auf die Küche, die mehr als nur funktionales Element der Wohnung sein soll. Zudem will Reform die Menschen zu mehr Nachhaltigkeit bewegen.
Warum also seine alten Küchenschränke wegwerfen, wenn man vielleicht nur die Fronten und die Arbeitsplatte austauschen muss, um ein völlig neues Äußeres zu erhalten?!
Im Interview mit Jeppe von Reform
“Hello Jeppe, thank you for taking the time for a little interview with me. How are you?“
„I’m perfect. Thank you! :-)“
„Could you tell me how you came up with the simple but great idea to create stylish IKEA Kitchen Hacks? Have you been working in Design before? Or have you always been creative in any kind of way?”
„I actually don’t have any creative education, Im really boring and have a master in Business and Marketing :-) But I have always been really interested in great design… My first work experience in the design industry was when I was partner in a small design and production company called Furnish. Furnish was primarily engaged in creating custom solutions for companies in Copenhagen. We did both complete solutions such as restaurants/bars and boutiques, but also smaller jobs for private people. And I guess that it was here that the idea started.
We had a lot of private clients that wanted a new carpentry made kitchen, but often people weren’t willing to spend the money on such a kitchen. So we started using IKEAs cabinets for the inside, to reduce the price for the client (this is quite normal to do – nothing that we invented). So I kind of knew that there was a market for this type of product, this combined with my desire to build a scalable online business was the beginning of Reform.“
„Reform is quite young. Could you tell me a little bit about the whole birth of Reform and the team behind it? How many people are there?”
„In October 2014 I got in contact with Michael, who is the big brother of one of my childhood friends, and presented the business to him. He thought it sounded interesting and we quickly agreed on becoming partners and threw in some savings of our own. To begin with we started of with two designs from my previous partnership in Furnish.
But pretty fast Michael and I knew that we needed to differentiate the business a bit more, why we invited some of the best designers in the world to come up with a IKEA kitchen hack design. We launched the new designs at the interior and furniture fair Northmodern in Copenhagen in August 2015. We are continuously working on adding new designs from some of the best designers. We are now 15 persons spread across three offices in Copenhagen, Berlin and New York.“
“Why are you so passionate about interior design?”
„I think it’s because I believe that if you surround yourself with great design, then you can become a better version of yourself – you just become more positiv and glad – and what’s not to like about that…“
“What makes Reform so special?”
„The concept about hacking IKEA is not special at all. We haven’t invented it and a lot of companies do it. I think the special thing that we do is to offer the „hacks“ from some of the best architects and designers in the world. This means that it’s possible for people to get great kitchen design and quality for affordable prices – and that is actually quite special in the kitchen industry.“
“You are planning on opening a Reform Showroom in Berlin. Would you like to tell us a little bit more about that?”
„Yes. We have great succes with our Copenhagen showroom. The showroom is a bit different from a normal kitchen showroom. We have rented an old building from the danish railroad company situated close to Vesterbro. The showroom is three floors and we have combined officespace with showroom and we have a huge lunch and playroom. So the atmosphere is a bit different than what you might expect when you are visiting a kitchen company, but our clients are really liking the experience – so we are looking at creating something similar in Berlin, where the visitor can get a unique experience.“
“Why Berlin?”
„Berlin is a cool city, we have a lot of clients here, its close to Copenhagen and our German Manager lives here. :-) “
„And least but not last. What kitchen can I find in your homes?“
„I have a Basis 01 in white with oak handles and a linoleum worktop in the color Conifer. “
„Thank you for the interview, Jeppe! It was a pleasure and I am really looking forward the opening of the Showroom in Berlin! Hope to see you there!“
„You are more than welcome and hopefully I will see you soon.“
So, ich hoffe, euch hat der kleine Einblick in die Geschichte von Reform und das Interview mit Gründer Jeppe gefallen.
Kommt gut durch die neue Woche!
Eure Sarah
Photos: Reform
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