Einstein gegen den würfelnden Gott - Teil II: Mathematik, Biologie, Leben (German Edition)

Die heilsame Sturheit der Kirche: Eine Streitschrift (German Edition) . Einstein gegen den würfelnden Gott - Teil II: Mathematik, Biologie, Leben (German.
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Kurt Naef - Der Spielzeugmacher The Toymaker (German and English Edition)

He had received a very diversified training as a mechanic and plastics processor. He also had a good grasp and extensive knowledge of wood. In a word, they had found the right works manager. He had a wide range of interests and was a great help with the designs for the catalogues, advertising material and exhibition stands. He was a good salesman and thanks to his spontaneous nature and extensive knowledge in his field of work he found it easy to approach customers. They worked together successfully for twenty-five years. Looking for novelties Naef toys received great acclaim from the very start.

This was an important factor in their commercial success and encouraged Kurt Naef to continue looking for novel ideas. He learned a lot through talking to educators and kindergarten teachers, and gained a profound knowledge of the needs of after-school centres, kindergartens and schools.

He was convinced that anyone who played with a special toy at a very young age would also choose Naef toys later on. Proceeding from this assumption, he gradually developed a wide range of products for all age groups. He singlemindedly set about extending his range of baby toys to include toys for children up to the age of four. Later he designed toys for older children, teenagers and even for adults. Some of them were designed for people of all age groups. In the early days, Kurt Naef had designed all the toys himself. But as the company continued to grow, he found himself dealing more and more with business-related questions, despite all the help he was getting from others.

Production and sales organisation consumed ever more of his time. Kurt Naef had to abandon his favourite occupation — creating new toys — and pass on a growing volume of this work to younger employees. He found this very difficult to accept at first and constantly told himself: But Kurt Naef was not isolated: And he not only had the right touch with his own designs and quality, but also was also skilled at finding dedicated designers.

His designers were constantly coming up with new products that extended the range of Naef toys to form a harmonious whole. In the s, the widow of Wilhelm Kienzle who died in contacted Naef and asked him to produce a game — trigon — which her late husband had invented. Naef had 36 37 In den er-Jahren meldete sich die Witwe des verstorbenen Wilhelm Kienzle und bat Kurt Naef das von ihm erfundene Spiel trigon zu produzieren. Der Erfolg von trigon hatte Folgen. Bald einmal meldeten sich junge Entwerfer aus dem In- und Ausland bei Naef. In den Jahren von bis hatten solche Spiele grossen Erfolg auf dem Markt.

Damit war es vorbei, als die elektronischen Spiele aufkamen, welche Gross und Klein faszinierten. Die Verkaufszahlen der Naef Geduldspiele brachen ein. From on, Wilhelm Kienzle had been extremely interested in mathematics and designed the trigon assembly game in However, he found no way to market this outstanding product. It was not long before Kurt Naef launched the first series. The trigon assembly game was to remain a sales hit for the next 25 years. Soon, other young designers from Switzerland and other countries contacted Naef, presenting their new ideas and designs and seeking interviews.

These games had their heyday between and , until they were finally eclipsed by the emergence of electronic toys, which fascinated grown-ups and children alike. Sales of Naef games of patience plummeted. The people who applied to Kurt Naef with their designs and developments came from a wide variety of fields: For Kurt Naef and all these people, looking for and finding ideas as well as putting them into practice very often meant seizing opportunities whenever they arose and transforming them into new products. These kits introduced a new type of toy for children and adults alike.

They comprised just a few parts, came in countless variations, and displayed a new and brilliantly coloured modern design. Clahsen showed him an amazing design: Naef and Clahsen got talking and soon discovered that they were interested in the same things and shared the same goals. They also realised that working together would not only be a challenge to both of them but would also help them to Peer Clahsen move forward. In joining forces, they laid the foundation for a long and fruitful partnership.

Kurt Naef, who had contacts across the globe, was an ideal producer and partner. Toys for people with special needs Naef not only sought success and high sales. He also saw himself as the champion of those who were apparently ignored by toy manufacturers in general: Sie wussten, dass manche Kunden lieber durch Kurt und andere lieber durch Lis besucht werden wollten. Die Kunden im Ausland konnten nicht in der gleichen Kadenz besucht werden.

Im Betrieb in Zeiningen befand sich zudem ein grosser Ausstellungsraum, der von den Kunden ebenfalls besucht wurde. Bei solchen Besuchen wurde stets auch der Betrieb selber gezeigt. Kurt Naef an einem Messestand mit Kunden Unten: Einladungskarte zu Ausstellungen, Top: Kurt Naef and customers at an exhibition stand Bottom: Invitation card to exhibitions, nehmen. Und sie legten Wert auf eine aufmerksame Bedienung. Er ist Handwerker, Kaufmann und vieles mehr. Aber mit Werbetexten, disabled. Establishing a small collection for this niche was not without risks, for there was absolutely no point in producing in large series, nor in trying to make a profit.

In some cases, Naef also tried to sell these toys to normally developed children. Although this line of products was no great sales hit, it nevertheless received acclaim from specialists and the parents of disabled children. Cultivating contacts personally and playfully The Naefs visited their Swiss customers at least once or twice a year. They knew that some customers preferred to receive a visit from Kurt and others from Lis. Lis, who had a gift for languages, felt more at home in the French-speaking parts of Switzerland. On their business trips, they did not content themselves with simply presenting their latest catalogues, but also carted along suitcases packed with originals of their latest novelties.

After all, it was the toys that had to convince customers. The Naefs were happy to demonstrate the toys, since this was the best way to encourage most of their customers to place orders. But as time went by this changed. The fact that wheels were added to suitcases in the s was a slight consolation at least. It was impossible to visit customers abroad as frequently, but when the Naefs were on holiday, they always managed to arrange a stop here and there if business acquaintances happened to live on route.

Personal contacts played an exceedingly important role in their line of business. Now and then, the Naefs would also call on potential customers. In such cases, however, it was necessary to exercise restraint, especially if they already had other business contacts in the same region. Many businesses laid claim to exclusivity — a wish the Naefs had to respect. Their factory in Zeiningen also contained a large display room to attract customers.

When they arrived, the Naefs would take them round the factory. Showing customers that Naef toys were manufactured in accordance with strict quality Oben: Messestand in Frankfurt a. Kurt Naef erprobt einen Prototypen. Exhibition at Heimatwerk, Zurich. Kurt Naef tests a prototype. Twice a year, the Naefs gave presentations in hotels in the cities of Zurich and Bern.

Promoting exports meant investing a lot of time and money. Although the Naefs were very hesitant to place advertisements in newspapers and journals, they did invest in exhibition stands. The Naefs attached great importance to presenting their small firm at a decent stand. At the time, it was quite common to wind up business deals at the fairs. Every day one could see the results, take cheer, or swallow the disappointment. Entgegen allen Erwartungen wurden die Naefs freundlich empfangen. Bertoia zeigte sein Werk und setzte die Skulpturen in Bewegung. Die Antwort kam prompt: Bei weitem nicht jedes Spielzeug und jede Produktelinie waren kostendeckend.

Bereits in den er und er Jahren war bei Spielzeugen ein enorm breites Angebot aus dem billig produzierenden Fernost zu verzeichnen. They also placed great value on serving their customers attentively. In this way, they attracted customers who liked visiting their stand and wanted to come back again in the future. Business relations of this nature frequently turned into lasting friendships.

Kurt Naef saw himself as a craftsman, a merchant and a man of many other talents. But he had problems writing advertising copy, letters of invitation and the like. In , he got to know Felix Waibel in the sauna. Felix Waibel was an intelligent man and capable copywriter with a broad education. At the time he met Naef, Felix Waibel was working for a large furniture company.

Despite this engagement, Waibel said that he was quite prepared to plan advertising campaigns for Naef now and then and write copy for them. This was the start of a pleasant and — for the Naefs — valuable business relationship that would last for the best part of 40 years. Felix Waibel never billed them for his work and would say at the most: A customer of theirs owned a gallery, where they discovered sculptures with innumerable metal rods that made beautiful sounds.

These sound sculptures were made by Harry Bertoia — , an artist and furniture designer who came from Udine, Italy. After working together with Charles and Ray Eames in , Bertoia had independently developed innovative wire chairs which Knoll International managed to sell so successfully that Bertoia was able to live off the royalties and devote himself entirely to his sculptures.

The Naefs were swept off their feet by these sound sculptures and determined to meet the artist. They learned that Bertoia lived outside Philadelphia and rarely received visitors. Even so, they were told there would be no harm in trying. Contrary to their expectations, they received a warm welcome. Bertoia worked in his studio, which was located in an old factory containing vast numbers of his sculptures. He showed them his work and set his sculptures in motion. His two Swiss visitors were overwhelmed by the optical and acoustic impression created by the moving sculptures.

Bertoia enquired into their line of business and Kurt Naef, prey to an old habit, took one of his catalogues out of his waistcoat pocket. While they were talking, Kurt Naef asked him how much his sculptures cost. They chose two sculptures and were as pleased as Punch. A second pillar It became increasingly apparent that they needed a second pillar to their business, because manufacturing toys called for huge investments that made this particular line of business uneconomical. Not all toys or product lines cover their costs.

Ultimately, there are upper lim- 44 45 ten, waren immer billiger als das in kleinen Serien produzierte Holzspielzeug. Die beiden wurden handelseinig. Die Zusammenarbeit verlief lange freundschaftlich und erfolgreich. Beide Firmen konnten gegenseitig voneinander profitieren: Jussila produzierte einfache Spielsachen aus naturbelassener Birke und die vorteilhaften Preise verschafften der Firma Naef einen grossen Markterfolg.

Der Hersteller war Garry Kvistad. Auf der Messe in Frankfurt am Main wurden die Muster am Naef-Stand ausgestellt und siehe da, am ersten Tag und in den ersten zehn Minuten waren die ersten verkauft. Erfolgreiche Produkte rufen Kopisten auf den Plan. Wer keine Ideen hat, ist versucht, diese zu klauen. Auch die Glockenspiele von Woodstock wurden sofort kopiert. And the price can make the difference between success and failure. As early as the s and s, a wide range of cheaply produced toys was entering Europe from the Far East. There was no point in competing with their low prices, for the mass-produced plastic toys that flooded the market would always be cheaper than wooden toys produced in small series.

And although it was easy enough to convince customers of the functionality and high quality of Naef toys, it took a lot of persuading to explain to people that their advantages justified the high price. In , the proprietor of the Pastorini toyshop in Zurich informed Kurt Naef that the toy-maker Antonio Vitali was looking for a buyer for his company. Vitali toys were, at the time, an ideal addition to the Naef collection, and both businessmen reached an agreement. Vitali would be taken over by Naef and continue operating. Vitali undertook to go on producing its speciality — sculptural wooden animals — in its own workshop; Naef would produce those Vitali toys that matched its own programme.

They got on well, and their cooperation proved to be a success. The two companies benefited from their business relationship: However, in friction between the two proved damaging to their business relationship and ultimately led to their terminating their cooperation agreement. The two collections spoke very different languages. As one customer put it, the Naef line was a little like a city lady, whereas Jussila was more the down-to-earth country girl.

On his travels through the United States, Kurt Naef discovered countless new products that were unknown in Europe. He signed agreements with some companies that made Naef their sole agent for Europe. At the time, he was one of the few wholesalers in this sector who also took small manufacturers seriously and visited their studios and exhibition stands. After Naef Spiele had made a name for itself in the toy sector overseas, offers starting arriving in Zeiningen.

Their toys were made by Garry Kvistad, who had worked as a teacher before he decided to make his hobby into his job. A few samples were exhibited at the Naef stand at the trade fair in Frankfurt am Main and — lo and behold! Encouraged by this success, the Naefs sent an initial order to the Woodstock company while the fair was still in progress. For the best part of twenty years, these chimes were the best-selling item in the Naef range. Successful products spawn imitators. People who lack ideas are tempted to steal from others.

Handelsware liess sich kurzfristig einkaufen und weiter verkaufen, im Gegensatz zur hauseigenen Produktion. Diese war mit viel Aufwand und Risiken verbunden. Die Naefs taten also gut daran, das eine zu tun und das andere nicht zu lassen. Das zweite Standbein, der Handel, war sehr erfolgreich, die Lagervolumen nahmen zu und bald einmal mussten Lager und Spedition baulich erweitert werden. Faxlibutz war der Name einer drolligen, zusammensteckbaren Figur.

The toy set Bottom: One of several ways of putting together the figures seine Figur im Spielzeughandel zu vermarkten und stiess auf Kurt Naef. Zollo ist eine Geschichte der er Jahre. The move to Zeiningen and the higher costs associated with the new building greatly increased the pressure on costs and sales alike.

In contrast to goods produced in house, merchandise can be bought at short notice and resold. Producing goods in house involves high costs and risks. A purchase of one-hundred-thousand francs can be settled within a few minutes. Developing and producing toys for the same sum would be far riskier and more time-consuming.

Furthermore, it is not easy processing wood to create toys of the kind of quality demanded by Naef. Had they not become involved in trading, the Naefs would never have found the money to finance so many experiments or developments and to make their own wooden toys. Moreover, some customers only bought merchandise produced by other companies to start with, and only ventured to buy Naef toys some time later. Consequently, the Naefs were right to follow both lines of action. Obviously, they would have preferred to display only their own products at trade fairs and exhibitions and thus present a uniform range.

However, in the daily run of business, wishes must often bow to the dictates of necessity. Trading in merchandise, their second pillar, proved to be very successful, so that the warehouse and the forwarding department soon had to be physically expanded. The Bauhaus, Faxlibutz and Zollo Kurt Naef knew from books the toys that the Bauhaus masters had designed and made during the s and s. In , during a visit to Hans-Maria Wingler, the director of the Bauhausmuseum in Berlin, Naef realised that there was a considerable demand for highquality reproductions of these toys.

Later on, the jumping jack and the finger puppets by Margaretha Reichardt were added to the collection. Naef would have loved to produce further reproductions, but in negotiations the heirs made exorbitant claims that would have made it impossible to produce them profitably. His partnership with the Bauhaus has been running smoothly now for forty years. These classic toys are very popular and are bought by people interested in museums and design. Faxlibutz was the name of a comical figure designed to be fitted together. It was the brainchild of Hans Gygax from Basel, a very creative and original mind.

Hans Gygax was looking for a way to market his figures in the toy trade and came across Kurt Naef. Manufacturing Faxlibutz was no problem whatsoever, and it sold very well through the new sales channels established outside the book trade. Zollo came out in the s. The shop at the Museum of Modern Art in New York sold this toy a kind of sculptural toy comprising inter-connectable parts intended more for 48 49 ab etwa als Neuheit an.

Die bunten, futuristisch wirkenden Teile des durch Higashi und Glaser Design entworfenen Spiel liessen sich zu fantasievollen Gebilden zusammenstecken. Sie kamen mit Eisenbahn und Bus in diese damals doch eher abgelegene Ortschaft. Die Damen schauten sich die Umgebung und den Betrieb genau an und fotografierten viel, denn sie wollten eine umfassende Dokumentation ihrer Reise durch Europa nach Hause tragen.

Nach dem Austausch der Visitenkarten wurde rasch klar, dass dieser Besuch etwas Besonderes bedeuten musste: Sie waren an den Naef-Spielen sehr interessiert und wollten versuchen, diese nach Japan zu exportieren. Anschliessend traf jeden Monat ein Bericht aus dem fernen Land in Zeiningen ein. Frau Nishikawa hat beharrlich und mit grossem Erfolg den japanischen Markt gepflegt und erweitert.

Inzwischen ist die Marke Naef in Japan ein Begriff. The colourful futuristic pieces designed by Higashi and Glaser Design can be clicked together to form imaginative shapes. The sales price was high, but so was demand, and as time passed, demand exceeded supply. To meet the demand, Zollo toys were subsequently made of plastic in China. It no longer suited the Naef collection and was dropped from the range. They had travelled by bus and train to the remote village. In those days, a visit by two Japanese women travelling alone was quite an extraordinary event. The women had a good look round the surroundings and the plant.

They also took lots of photographs, because they wanted to return home from their trip through Europe with a comprehensive record of everything they had seen. After everyone had exchanged visiting cards, it soon became evident that this was quite a special occasion. The words Niki Tiki a company name indicated that they had something to do with the toy industry. Not only that, the two visitors also proved to be competent negotiating partners. They were very interested in Naef toys and wanted to try to export them to Japan.

However, Kurt Naef felt that it would be next to impossible to export his high-priced products successfully to a country that produced so many cheap toys of its own. Politely, the two ladies made it perfectly clear that they knew the situation in Japan much better than he did, and argued there was a good chance of selling Naef toys to a specific segment of customers. Their arguments convinced the Naefs, who then concluded an agreement with Niki Tiki that granted the latter the exclusive right of sale in Japan.

The agreement also contained a note stating that the company first had to do thorough market research, and that orders were not to be expected within the next twelve months. No sooner said than done: The two Japanese women were graphic designers and had very good contacts in Japan with architects, graphic designers and artists, who became their first customers in their home country.

After a few years, one of the two partners chose to devote herself exclusively to her artistic profession. From then on, Toshiko Nishikawa continued running the toy business on her own. She has enjoyed a successful partnership with Naef for thirty-five years now. Nishikawa has steadfastly cultivated and increased her share of the Japanese market, making Naef a well-known brand in Japan. Both sides have benefited from their partnership, which has created a strong bond between them. Kurt Naef holds Toshiko Nishikawa in great esteem as a person and as an extremely competent business partner in her line.

Indeed, it was her dedication that made the present book possible. Eine ganz neue Kreation war ein Spielobjekt mit zusammensteckbaren Rahmen und farbigen, aufsteckbaren, 6 x 6 cm messenden Platten. Panton hatte in seinem Garten und Haus Tierfiguren und geometrische Objekte aus den Prototypen dieses neuen Spielsystems aufgestellt. Kurt Naef liess sich von der Idee begeistern.

Auch die Bezeichnung war rasch gefunden: Pantonaef — die Kombination von zwei bekannten Namen. An den traditionell besuchten Messen zeigte Naef beides nebeneinander — Holz und Kunststoff. Heute ist es Naef klar geworden: Von manchen Designern kamen aus ver- Pantonaef In , the Naefs and some friends were invited to an evening meal.

Their host was the internationally renowned designer Verner Panton, who lived near Basel. He had made a name for himself with his avant-garde designs for furniture and interior fittings. Completely new was a modular toy consisting of interlocking frames and colourful plates 6 x 6 cm that could be attached to the frames. Naef was very impressed by what he saw: Panton placed some of the animal figures and geometrical objects that formed the prototypes of this new system in his garden and house.

Kurt Naef was delighted with the idea. He saw an opportunity to sell the product through modern furniture outlets, since their international clientele was familiar all over the world with the name Panton. Panton had invested considerable time and money in getting the product ready for series production. There were a number of prototypes to choose from. Kurt Naef became involved, and took care of the packaging, the leaflets and the advertising campaign, which was aimed at winning over a new circle of customers. By combining their surnames they soon arrived at a new name too: Yet Kurt Naef soon became aware that customers who bought the wooden toys were not interested in the new product.

He displayed the products — wooden and plastic — alongside one another at traditional trade fairs. But nobody was really convinced by the idea. In retrospect, Naef realised that he should have displayed the Pantonaef products on a separate stand. With a heavy heart, he decided to stop producing and selling these toys. The extensive stocks of Pantonaef toys were liquidated. Nowadays, however, these very same Pantonaef toys are highly sought after among collectors and fetch high prices at auctions. The Naefs have also benefited from the fact that they originally pioneered products in niche markets and were always one step ahead of their rivals.

Insgesamt machten aber auch sie die Kollektion Naef zu dem, was sie heute ist. Sie reichten ihre Ideen und Prototypen ein und einige gingen mit Erfolg in Produktion. Diese Zusammenarbeit brachte nicht allein fachliche Anregungen, sondern auch wertvolle Freundschaften. Solche Anpassungen wurden immer mit den Entwerfern besprochen und sie mussten bereit sein Konzessionen einzugehen. Mit ganz wenigen Ausnahmen verzichtete Naef auf Patentierungen.

Einige klassische Spielzeuge werden noch heute produziert, andere erlebten eine bloss kurze Lebensdauer, dies oft zum Leidwesen des Erfinders. Immer wurden solche Entscheide diskutiert, oft wurden sie verstanden, manchmal aber auch gar nicht gut aufgenommen. Es ist im Nachhinein schwer zu sagen, weshalb ein Produkt scheitert, aber lehrreich war es immer. Die Kreation kam bei den Kunden sehr gut an, leider auch bei der kopierenden Konkurrenz. Lora war ein sonderbares Tier, fuhr gerne mit im Auto, durfte sich im Haus und Garten ever reason, only one or two of the many ideas a designer submitted were produced.

On the whole, however, these products made the Naef collection what it is today. His extremely diverse and frequently complex designs, which were commercially quite successful, broadened the character of the collection. They also played a vital part in awakening an interest in both design and in toys for adults in addition to the existing ranges for children. As Naef toys spread, Japanese designers also became interested in the small company from Switzerland. They submitted ideas and prototypes, some of which were manufactured and became successful products. Such cooperation projects not only spawned new ideas, but also led to valuable friendships.

Sometimes, designs submitted to the Naefs had to be adapted to suit the manufacturing methods at the Zeiningen factory before they could be produced for the market. Such adjustments were always discussed with the designers, who had to be prepared to make concessions. Cooperation took place on a license-fee basis. With very few exceptions, Naef rarely insisted on patents.

Some classic toys are still being produced today; others have enjoyed but a brief lifespan, often to the chagrin of the inventors. Decisions were always discussed, and although they were often understood, there were times when they were not received favourably at all.

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In retrospect, it is difficult to say why this or that product failed, although it is always instructive to find out. Among Naef products were also the popular designs of animal families, cut out of wood, by Sabu Oguro. These creations were a big hit with customers, but also — unfortunately — with imitators too. Of course, customers knew that the wooden animal families designed by Sabu Oguro and manufactured by Naef were artistically and qualitatively perfect.

However, countless imitators swamped the market with a bewildering array of watered-down versions of this design. As a consequence, Naef had no choice but to abandon this collection of animal families after producing them for fifteen years. In the early s, the Office for Culture staged competitions to renew and promote Die Vache-Rouge aus farbigen Holzteilen The Vache-Rouge, made of pieces of coloured wood Swiss souvenirs. Here, too, Kurt Naef succeeded in manufacturing some successful products in cooperation with designers.

The winner of another competition was the Swiss Swingers designed by Hansueli Steger. Naef won other prizes too, including one for a cowshed with the four Swiss cow breeds. These products sold quite well in shops like the Schweizer Heimatwerk, and also stood out well among the masses of souvenirs displayed in other shops.

Felix the donkey and his friends Kurt Naef had always loved animals, even as a boy, and the two Naefs bought a parrot. Lora was an unusual animal: He was soon joined 56 57 frei bewegen und fand immer wieder sein Zuhause. Bald kam Ari dazu, ein Hund der damals noch nicht so verbreiteten Rasse Labrador.

Besonders Kinder hatten Freude an Felix dem Esel. So wanderten sie denn entsprechend verkleidet am 6. Ohne Ferien lebten nun die Naefs nicht mehr. Naef fand einen Nachfolger und verkaufte seine Firma. Er schrieb im November in seinem Abschiedsbrief an Freunde und Kunden: Ari was a real friend to the Naefs and kept his owners healthy by insisting on his daily walks. This was a good thing, because the walks got them out of the firm, the house and the stresses and strains of business for a while.

Many new ideas were born on these peaceful little excursions. As the company owned a lot of land, it only seemed natural to take on some more pets. Lis gave Kurt two sheep for Easter. Later, she gave him a donkey they called Felix. Even though he was surrounded by animals, Felix the donkey felt lonely. He became so noisy that they finally found him a girlfriend named Brigitte, an Iceland Pony.

They later added a few dwarf goats and chickens to their little zoo. Children, in particular, were fond of Felix the donkey. On 6 December, wearing the appropriate costumes, they walked through the village towards the kindergarten. Bringing up the rear was Felix the donkey, packed with toys. When they got to the middle of a busy crossing, Felix did what donkeys are so fond of doing — he bucked and refused to take a single step further — he would go neither forwards nor backwards. The two men stroke him and tried to coax him — but to no avail.


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And the well-meant tips given by farmers did not help either. Felix refused to budge an inch. It was only when the two Nicholases took the load off his back and bore it themselves, that he cheerfully set off again towards the kindergarten, where the three of them were greeted with laughter. One day, after Kurt Naef had thanked his bank manager for a loan and promised to work even harder now that he had new commitments to meet, the manager gave him some rather surprising advice. These wise words made a powerful impression on Kurt Naef: From then on, the Naefs no longer went without their holidays.

In any case, holidays in faraway places gave them new ideas, broadened their horizons, provided insights into different customs and, on occasion, even introduced them to new customers.

Playon At the end of the s, Kurt Naef — now in his sixties — was suddenly confronted with some profound changes. His lifelong partner, Lis, had left him. He could no longer run his business as he had done in the past. In , he found a successor and sold his company. It was a time to part ways, to embrace change.

In November , he wrote his farewell letter to his friends and customers: I feel, therefore, that the time has come for me to take steps to ensure the continuity of the 58 59 Playon in Rheinfelden. Shop and gallery, interior by Wogg company Playon in Rheinfelden. Die Einzelfirma Kurt Naef wird auf den 1. Januar umgewandelt in die Naef AG.

Mit meiner alten Leidenschaft als Spielzeugmacher werde ich mich wieder ganz der Entwicklung neuer Produkte und dem Marketing sowie der Pflege der Kundenkontakte widmen. Kurt und Lotti begannen damit, etwas Neues aufzubauen. Das Spielerische musste weiter gehen, das war klar. Er sucht sich einen neuen Spielgrund, in einem Lokal an guter Lage an der Bahnhofstrasse in der Stadt Rheinfelden, seinem bisherigen Wohnort.

Wirtschaftlich war Playon keine Goldgrube, ganz im Gegenteil. Ein Zeitungsinserat machte die beiden neugierig: Bei der ersten Besichtigung war es Liebe auf den ersten Blick. Das Haus im Dorf Aydoilles stammte aus dem Together, they will ensure the continuity of our successful product line and of my own business principles. I shall continue to work for the new company for at least three years.

With my old passion for toy-making, I shall once again devote myself solely to developing new products, marketing, and cultivating contacts with customers. He had the good fortune to meet his old school girlfriend Lotti Engeler again. Lotti was a widow and the mother of a grown-up son and a daughter. Kurt and Lotti forged plans to do something new together.

With his company sold, Naef could not simply turn his back on a lifetime of working with toys. He needed the element of play, there was no question about that. So he found somewhere else to play: He grasped this as an opportunity to extend the worldwide network of customers he had built up over the years and to share his experiences and ideas in direct contact with his customers.

The Naef collection took priority at Playon, and this involved direct consultations with customers. In , Kurt and Lotti had the shop fitted out like a gallery, with new windows and casual modern furniture — a complete contrast to most shops. Each individual toy was given enough space to create the desired impression. It was a model shop, and it attracted lots of new customers — as well as old business friends — from all over Switzerland, and elsewhere. But Kurt Naef was neither able to stem his curiosity or his thirst for new ideas nor could he forget all that he had learned in talks with customers.

To excuse himself, he said that other pastimes like playing golf and sailing could not be had for free either, and that all he wanted to do was to go on working with toys. Lea Hoffmann from Rheinfelden worked in the shop for ten years. She had an excellent eye for high quality, educational toys and a way with customers. In , he had to give up Playon, much to his own regret. Moving to France As it was a time of upheaval in both his private and business life, gaining some distance seemed to be the obvious thing to do. In Switzerland, real estate prices had reached prohibitive levels, which prevented him from buying a house there.

When they went to view the building it was love at first sight. The house they had found in the village of Aydoilles dated back to the fifteenth century. It was very spacious and had a large garden. Elf Jahre dauerte diese Idylle. Doch wurde mit zunehmendem Alter der Unterhalt von Haus und Garten allzu beschwerlich. Erneut kreativ Dieser Umzug brachte noch einmal ein neues Lebensumfeld. Zwei davon liegen ihm besonders am Herzen: There was space enough for everything: The town of Epinal was only eight kilometres away.

The couple grew their own vegetables in their garden. The Naefs had an open house for family and friends, received a warm welcome in the village, and soon felt at home in their new surroundings. This idyll lasted eleven years. But as they grew older, maintaining the house and the garden became too much for them. Creative again A new move, a new environment. Remarrying had made Kurt Naef a grandfather of four grandchildren. He now had an opportunity to test his ideas and prototypes for toys in a family setting. He never complained of boredom — only that he never had enough time to do all the things he had set his mind on.

His final purchase was a wood lathe. He had never learned the trade of turning, so in he unceremoniously attended a course in turning at the Ballenberg open-air museum at Lake Brienz in the Bernese Highlands. In his workshop, he made not only new toys but also furniture for his grandchildren and himself. Kurt Naef still had a huge stock of parts from his previous job, and he gradually set about transforming them into toys and other items.

Dieter Hattrup

He feels that there was nothing nicer than producing a good piece of work and seeing how children and adults respond to it. He has also made small editions of some of his new toys. And he still attaches great importance to making special toys for people with disabilities to help improve their haptic perception and sense of balance. His old company has recently moved from Zeiningen to Zofingen, into the rooms of a former paint factory. Kurt does not interfere with the way Hanspeter runs the business unless he is asked, even though he found it difficult to stand back at first.

He now has his hands free, as he puts it, and he and Lotti have time to go on train trips around Switzerland, to visit places they have never seen before, and occasionally to call in on customers, acquaintances and friends. Kurt Naef has been involved in the toy business for more than fifty years now: He has always given a lot of thought to this work and written a great deal about it too. Now and then, Kurt Naef comes out with terse sentences that are right to the point, and characterise the way he thinks and acts.

Two, in particular, mean a lot to him: Die Buchstaben A und E sind nun miteinander verbunden In , the logo was changed slightly. Wir verstanden uns auf den ersten Blick und auf das erste Wort. Wir wussten beide, worum es bei einem SpieIobjekt geht. Cubicus, Cella, Diamant, Angular, Plenus und andere. Gemeint war hier das vorwiegend auf sich selber bezogene, nicht spekulative, in der Regel geometrisch konzipierte Objekt, welches zerlegt oder arrangiert vom Geist der Ganzheit bestimmt sein sollte. Diesem Grundsatz, ja Axiom, folgte ich bis zum heutigen Tag. Bei Kurt Naef spielt das Konstruktive eine Hauptrolle.

Es beginnt damit, dass mit dem Konstruktiven zugleich eine kreative Ethik z. They would only be given, as a playing field, the path of imaginary observation in their efforts to determine where and how they might get a mental foothold on the exterior of this erratic block or even glimpse into its interior.

We hit it off from the start since we both understood what was important in toys. It was the first threedimensional strategic brain game marketed at the time; I had designed it in and began producing it myself just a few years later. Our encounter released a powerful impulse into the world, affecting much more than toys. Over the years, I have designed many other toy classics for Kurt Naef, including the creations marketed internationally as objeux — the Cubicus, Cella, Diamant, Angular, Plenus, etc.

From the start, my objective, which Kurt supported with an enthusiasm that matched my own, was to create a tangible play object with a constructivist content that contrasted with the popular abstract toy — under which I am subsuming all those objects that can generally be described as emulative and representational sheep, trees, houses.

I was interested in objects that were primarily self-referential, non-speculative and geometrically designed, objects that were intended to be taken apart and rearranged in keeping with the spirit of the whole. When combined, all the parts of a take-apart object, including the object itself, form a unity. All the parts are meant to form a more sublime, comprehensive whole, like the solution of a mathematical equation.

For Kurt Naef, constructing plays a crucial role. Objektspielen ist eine ernste Sache. Or, to be more precise, it introduces these things to creative play-people, to those passionate object-players of all ages who are motivated not by winning or losing, but by the constructional aesthetic element that, at least for the duration of the game, promises an uplifting, encouraging educational experience as opposed to one that is restrictive.

The building block in the Naef-Spiel, designed by Naef himself, was part of this plan from the start — a block with two right angles incised on opposite sides in a bow-tie design. Playing with objects is a serious matter. It unites the subject of the mover with the object of that which is moved — uniting form, figure and performance as equals. The so-called gestalt hovers over everything as a composition yet to be discovered. In a process of mutual attraction, the perceptions of the object-players and the performers merge with the truth immanent to the played object, with its figures and forms.

The pleasure, joy and seriousness involved in playing the game, as well as its temporary aesthetic events and conditions, forge an intimate bond that is disrupted only by curiosity about another object. Play, no matter how one defines it, is a manifest secret linked to the creation of the world. However, play will shrink the most sublime form into a narrow discourse or it will wither into an empty shell if the pulse of a human being does not fill this form through play and animate the object.

Zudem kennt Japan kaum derart ausgefeilte und hochwertige Maschinen zur Herstellung von Holzspielzeugen in Kleinserien, wie sie die Firma Naef benutzt. In Japan hingegen ist die Menge und Vielfalt an Spielzeug enorm. Nahezu jede Fernsehfigur wird mit unterschiedlichsten Produkten vermarktet, die Spielzeugentwicklung unterliegt voll und ganz dem Einfluss der Medien. Oft handelte es sich um besondere und einmalige Produkte. Katsuhito Oyobe Forms of Play Although Japanese product design has its roots in the economic boom of the s, the designs for the wooden toys sold by Atelier Niki Tiki convey entirely different values.

The quality and character of these toys reflect a child-parent relationship in Europe — particularly in Germany and Switzerland — that differs from that in Japan. Further, no Japanese company has the high-quality, sophisticated machines Naef uses to produce wooden toys in limited series. Even so, the number and diversity of toys on the Japanese market is enormous. A wide variety of products is used to market nearly every television figure; the media has a powerful influence on toy developments.

For more than thirty years, Atelier Niki Tiki has primarily been selling German and Swiss toys, which are distinguishable by their design, high quality, colours, texture and even their smell. She noticed that, compared to Japanese families, German households had fewer, yet better quality toys, and that these toys were often special or unique models. Nishikawa wondered whether it might not be possible to market toys in Japan using the same philosophy. She approached Naef and six other manufacturers — including Dusyma and Konrad Keller — and secured exclusive sales rights for Japan for a period of two years.

The manufacturers initially feared that their products would be pirated, but were won over once Kurt Naef agreed to take part in the venture. After Nishikawa returned from Europe, I visited her in Nishi-Ogikubo, where I first laid eyes on European toys — planes, ships, animals, cubes and marble tracks all made of wood. I remember the special pleasure of touching the colourful playthings, and I admired their excellent craftsmanship and special character.

In conjunction with its planned salesroom display, the company organised an exhibition at the Musashino Art University, Tokyo. Called Forms of Play, the show was unveiled in November and juxtaposed wooden toys from Europe with traditional Japanese paper kites and abstract wood carvings from the region of Hakone.

Kyoto is famous for its numerous temples and shrines, and even today there are a large number of local craftsmen who make furniture and handicrafts using traditional techniques. In the ensuing period, various retail companies began selling European toys, yet Atelier Niki Tiki maintained its head start in terms of time and personal contacts. It was able to establish itself as the leading importer of toys from Europe. Qualitativ hochstehende Spielzeuge aus Europa stiessen und stossen in Japan auf grosses Interesse.

Anschliessend fand diese Ausstellung im Zweijahres-Rhythmus statt und erreichte eine Zahl von ausgestellten Produkten von insgesamt 71 Herstellern. Diese Publikumsmesse wurde zu einer reinen Fachveranstaltung. Das Treffen entwickelte sich sehr lebhaft und intensiv. Kurt Naef sagte damals: Damit kann das Interesse an der Kinderwelt verloren gehen. Die Erwachsenen lieben insbesondere den Cubicus. Unbeirrt verfolgt das Atelier Niki Tiki auch heute seine Philosophie, nur hochwertiges Spielzeug anzubieten.

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Then and now, high-quality European toys sparked great interest in Japan. On display were roughly 1, products from forty-one manufacturers in Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden and many other countries. The exhibition was held biannually afterward, and in it featured some 2, products from a total of seventy-one manufacturers. Then it it became a trade show for professional visitors only.

Naef told his audience: In doing so, it may actually lose interest in the world of children. We want to be an exception. We want to determine what is important and necessary for children, and to create toys on the basis of their needs. Children intuitively understand the abstract shapes of Naef toys and see a selfcontained world in the individual fragments including cylinders, triangles and circles. They live out their fantasies, creating arenas, temples, squares, labyrinths and even whole cosmoses. Adults especially love Cubicus.

But Cubicus contains the network nodes of a cosmic world-view, encompassing all forms of play. Even today, Atelier Niki Tiki steadfastly adheres to its philosophy of offering only high-quality toys. To cite its modest, yet decisive position: Der tiefe Eindruck, den ich dabei erlebt habe, bleibt unvergesslich. Zwar hatte zu jener Zeit Japan die Depression nach dem Krieg hinter sich, doch war eine Welt, wie sie die Naef-Spiele darstellten, noch unvorstellbar.

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I marvelled at the sophistication of European toys, and it left a deep and lasting impression on me. At the time, Japan was well on its way to recovering from the post-war economic depression, but a world as conjured up by Naef toys was unimaginable. It was also unimaginable that, seven years later, I would begin marketing these toys in my own country.

The toys that Naef produced left such a powerful impression on me that, after that first encounter, I was obsessed with the idea of making them available to children in Japan. In , I finally summoned up courage and visited Kurt Naef in Zeiningen. At that time, Japan was notorious for both exporting cheap toys and copying products. A young woman with no commercial experience or domestic contacts was now journeying to Europe from this ill-reputed country, and it is truly remarkable that Kurt Naef accepted her offer warmly and put her in charge of the Japanese market.

Since then I have been driven by the desire to return this trust and to make Naef toys available to as many Japanese children as possible. He has always stood by and supported our company. There are people in Japan who rashly say that Naef toys are too expensive, yet concede that they are well designed and of excellent quality. There are also people who are keen on buying Naef toys for their children — not only because of their high quality, but also because children have a sense of what makes toys good.

In my opinion, an important factor in the rise of Naef toys in Japan is that the Japanese appreciate and respect excellent craftsmanship. Today, parents and salespoeple who value Naef toys are forging ties between children and Naef. Furthermore, a growing number of Japanese kindergartens own Naef toys.

Many Naef products — the Ligno, Naef-Spiel and the Cubicus, to name just a few — are more than forty years old. To me they are proof that high-quality products will survive the passage of time. The name Naef will remained forever in the hearts of all those Japanese for whom beauty is a precious commodity and who appreciate beautiful things. Sie wuchsen nach und nach in die Welt der Erwachsenen hinein. Der Produzent hingegen hat sich vorwiegend an die wirtschaftliche Effizienz seines Unternehmens zu halten.

Technische Entwicklungen machen Schlagzeilen und werden umgehend durch die Spielzeugindustrie aufgegriffen. Die Industrie passt sich umgehend aktuellen technischen Entwicklungen an. Der Nachbar hat es auch und die Kinder wollen es. Kurt Naef Commodity or Imagination? For millennia — and well into the twentieth century — adults had no cause to devote much thought to toys. Large families provided children with sufficient activities and stimulation, and as the children grew, they gradually entered the world of adults. There were always skilled hands about that could make a simple doll or carve a wooden animal, and these objects were all that was needed to keep kids busy for hours.

As in all other areas of life, industry, developing at a rapid pace, transformed the nature of toy-making. Toys were soon being mass-produced for an anonymous market. Family structures were changing too, transforming parents into purchasers and consumers who increasingly acquired toys outside the home.