The duo, who are thoughtful in their answers, (“we’re overthinkers” says Simmering) started Kalon from their Los Angeles home in 2007. “For years, we owned very little furniture. We were quite picky about what we brought into our home from a design, ethical and budgetary standpoint, so for years we lived without it,” Simmering says gently. “We began to make our own furniture, and one day we were getting some pieces cut and someone asked us where we were selling them. We honestly had never considered that, but after we thought, well maybe we could.”
Since starting the business their approach to making furniture remains much like their own accumulation process – slow and considered. The emphasis here is on pieces that will look beautiful, age well, can be produced sustainably, and which tell a story about where they have come from, perhaps even saying something about their owners.
“There was a period when designers believed that the pieces they were creating could make lives better. We very much believe that still,” Simmering explains. "Johannes and I have always been fascinated by objects, and we really believe that the pieces we live with have a very real impact on how we experience things physically, and maybe they even have a subliminal influence on how we value things too. So, when people come to our shop we want them to see beyond how a piece looks to consider how it was made, the appreciation of natural resources, craftsmanship and the value of the human hand. If people bring those sorts of objects into their homes it signals a certain set of values.”