Everything starts with an idea. We came up with the idea thirty years ago with a film. One of the few that, in our eyes, must be seen at least once, “Once Upon a Time in America” retrospectively tied us to the period feel of 1920s New York. A time when outstanding engineers and hundreds of workers created the significant icons of classical steel architecture that are still typical of the image of the city of millions.
The point at which Sergio Leone’s epic film ignited the creative spark in our young minds to get something together couldn’t have been further from early twentieth century America: And while the late eighties and early nineties were largely colorful and garish in this country, long before retro-industrial style and vintage classics became popular in general, we developed a soft spot for the style of the era. We spontaneously christened our joint venture “Noodles” loosely based on Leone’s charismatic movie character – Noodles Noodles & Noodles Corp.
“When we started, the industrial romance of today didn’t even exist”
We started as a creative agency for the fashion industry. For jobs ranging from store and trade fair construction to photo and catalog productions, we were on the lookout for interesting locations and individual props. We found what we were looking for while rummaging in abandoned industrial areas. We collected steel cabinets, workbenches and dismantled hanging lamps and brought them to our own workshop. Enthusiastic about the aesthetics, we began to refurbish and sell the found objects. It didn’t take long until the first dealers in Düsseldorf and Cologne started selling our vintage furniture.
For the hottest club in our region we designed and built the entrance area in prison bars design. Shortly after that we came up with the idea of a bed with headboard and footboard in prison bars design. The Jailhousefuck was born! We used the first prototype to outfit a fashion shoot and decorated it with original Smith & Wesson handcuffs. The bed caused a sensation and became a sales hit. Today counts the notorious bed incl. Handcuff to the design classics.
“Our work is pure heritage”
In order to meet the spontaneous demand, we have been able to find a professional production facility: An ancient locksmith’s store in the Upper Silesian industrial area. The men in Chorzow who now began to build our beds had years of experience in steel construction. With our orders from the West, there was a lot of momentum…so that this company – which stands for industrial contemporary history – is experiencing a renaissance.
Inspired by the craftsmanship potential of men and the production possibilities of locksmithing, we developed our own collection of authentic furniture based on the found objects from our forays through factory floors. Cabinets, sideboards, shelves, stools, benches, tables – all inspired by the typical industrial design of the early 20th century and traditionally made by hand from hot-rolled steel. The distinctive dark scale of the steel became the trademark of Authentic Furniture by Noodles Noodles & Noodles Corp.
Ten years after our founding, we planned our first trade fair appearance: For the Passagen design festival, which takes place annually at the same time as the international furniture fair in Cologne, we rented an old industrial hall in Cologne’s Rheinauhafen. We couldn’t have found a better setting to authentically showcase our furniture. We presented an exceptionally staged event, where the staging of the furniture together with a great catering concept, atmospheric music program, video installations and final super party turned into a small sensation.
From the presentation concept for the furniture fair, we developed the Noodles flagship store with regular, specially staged in-house events, which quickly made our address the “it” location for the art, culture and party scene. Here we also met Karl-Heinz Müller, who, inspired by our events, came up with the idea of a new and contemporary fashion fair. In 2001 we started together a fashion fair called: Bread & Butter . A real success story that ran for 12 years.
In 2006, we left the Bread & Butter venture and reunited in 2012 to join forces and focus on the business operations of our Noodles Noodles & Noodles Corp. In the B2B area, we then equipped many “retailers” with clothing racks, shelves and tables to present denim and sportswear products in style. The fashion show Selvedgerun and the denim fair Bluezone have purchased our authentic furniture made of steel and wood for almost all of their exhibition furniture in order to provide exhibitors with uniform booth space. Other customers who have equipped themselves with our distinctive and solid furniture: BMW Motorrad, German Museum of Technology, New Heritage Festival, Messe Frankfurt, 25hours Hotel D’dorf , @Work Rostock, 24 Helmets and many more.
“Individualists in search of authentic furniture come to us”.
In our showroom on Schönhauser Allee in Prenzlauer Berg Berlin we are mainly discovered by private customers. Either people who have just moved to Berlin, bought or rented an apartment, or are building a house. And of course many international visitors from Scandinavian countries, Italy, Spain etc.. Our customers are more than just buyers, they are like us part of a community that values traditional craftsmanship and sustainable quality, Made in Europe.
On behalf of a client, we adapted the Authentic Furniture style to the kitchen area. The result inspired us to consistently expand the product line to this area. In order to be able to present and offer the kitchen theme holistically, we opened the Authentic Kitchen Showroom at Karl-Marx-Allee 75 in September 2018. Right from the start, the kitchen area has found strong appeal when presented in our showroom and at design fairs. And once again, a location steeped in history serves as the backdrop for our venture, this time the grand boulevard of the former GDR. Besides the impressive presentation of our kitchen concepts, the Authentic Kitchen Showroom is a venue for cooking events.
In addition to the two showrooms in Berlin and the presentation of our furniture at various design fairs, we also present the Authentic Furniture program online, of course, in our own webshop. Of course, we are also represented on various social media platforms. Sign up for our newsletter and stay up to date . Here we inform about news, event dates , discount promotions and much more. Feel free to visit us in our showroom in Prenzlauer Berg or Friedrichshain. Whether you’re looking to furnish your home, kitchen, cafe, office/showroom – or just want to take a look around…you are welcome!
André, Christian and Wolfgang
