Swiss Furniture Brands: USM

Let’s explore Swiss furniture brands including USM, Vitra and Dieteker. I really didn’t know much about them before moving here. Switzerland is well known for their luxury watch brands (Rolex, Hublot, Breitling, Patek Philippe), Swiss chocolates (Sprungli, Laderach, Lindt, Nestle) and cheeses, as well as Swiss army knife brand, Victorinox, but they also have some venerable home brands. USM Haller (founded in 1885) Vitra is Swiss owned (founded in 1950), de Sede (founded in 1962), Franke and Laufen, to name a few.

I’ve since discovered Lagenthal porcelain, and Dieteker, to name a few…

USM Modular Furniture:

But since I have arrived in Switzerland, I have become obsessed with USM Modular furniture. USM stands for Ulrich Schärer Münsingen, indicating the founder, a locksmith, and the town where the company is based. USM is so well made, and so versatile in any imaginable space or scenario that it is passed down between generations of Swiss families. You can often find used pieces through Facebook marketplace, but pieces really retain their value.

Made of sheet metal with chrome plated steel tubes, and brass connector balls, they are durable and offer so many configurations with drawers and doors, colors, open shelving, desks, filing cabinets, nightstands, you could honestly furnish your whole house with the stuff. And not only that, aside from the high price tag, it would be incredible for college age kids who tend to move often and don’t take care of their furnishings.

The stuff might get scratched, but it cannot/ will not be destroyed. Many stores specialize in selling the goods second hand, but don’t expect the price to drop much at all. We looked into this when we arrived, but decided to go the Facebook marketplace route and collect a few items at a time.

Currently we have a desk and filing cabinet purchased new (before I found out about its popularity on FB) and secondhand we’ve purchased two smaller cabinets, one used for a tv cabinet, and the other for our printer.

I hope to pick up a few more USM pieces before my time here is over. Below you will find some more inspiration photos.

USM Haller Pieces:

Swiss Furniture Brands, Vitra:

I don’t know that I could pretend to sum up the contributions of Vitra to the design world, but needless to say, they are collaborators with some of the most talented names in mid century furniture design: Ray Eames, Frank Gehry, Panton… you might as well look them up.

Dieteker:

I was out on one of my antiquing days, when I came across these dining chairs. After conferring with a few friends, who also love the brokies, I realized what I was dealing with. These chairs are by famed furniture maker: Dieteker. If you come across any of their designs, you absolutely must purchase them.

I went back to buy the Ray 22 dining chair x6. They are stackable, and made of solid birch wood. They are absolutely gorgeous in person and only get better with time. Here I made a mock up to go with a dining table I own: