The Story Behind Lorenz Laurent
I trained as a cabinetmaker. Not as a detour, but because I was interested in how furniture holds together. I did my apprenticeship at F/List, a company in Lower Austria that builds interiors for private jets and yachts. There, a joint of half a millimetre is a mistake.
That shapes the way you look at things. You see a piece of furniture differently when you know how much work goes into the edge that nobody notices.
Why I don't build anything myself
This is the point where most brands start to fib, so I will say it directly: Lorenz Laurent has no workshop. I make nothing myself. There is no craft workshop in the back yard, no workbenches, no wood shavings in the photos.
The reason is simple. Setting up my own production would mean committing to one material and one category. What interests me is the other side: finding, among everything available worldwide, what is genuinely good. That is different work, but it is work too.
What the training is actually good for
A trained eye sees things in a product photo that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Whether an edge is banded or the material simply stops there. Whether the board thickness suits the span or the table will sag in two years. Whether a frame is welded or screwed together, and what that means for wobbling after the third move. Whether a back panel is set into a groove or stapled on.
Then there is the weight. A figure in kilograms reveals more about a piece of furniture than any description of its material, because it cannot be talked up. Where it is missing, that is usually deliberate.
I select by these criteria, not by what happens to be working on Pinterest.
What Lorenz Laurent is not
Not a range so broad that nobody knows what is in it any more. No invented stories of origin. And not a shop that declares every object a one-off.
Some of the products come from series production. Where that is the case, it says so. I consider that a more important way of earning trust than any story of craftsmanship: if someone is honest about what is industrially made, you believe them when they speak of handwork.
Where the pieces come from
The range comes from around twenty countries. The most strongly represented is Sri Lanka, above all through a series made from recycled paper. France, Spain and Portugal follow roughly level, along with Indonesia for teak and Turkey and India for rugs and natural stone. Individual pieces come from Italy, Denmark, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Finland, Latvia, Morocco, Brazil, the Netherlands and China.
This list is not an end in itself. These are countries with an established tradition for the material in question. Teak is worked where it grows. Rugs are made where the craft has been at home for generations. Natural stone comes from the regions where it is quarried.
The point is the order: the selection follows the material, not the country. A country of origin alone is not a mark of quality, and a European stamp does not turn a poorly made piece of furniture into a good one.
China is on this list too, and it stays there. Part of the series production comes from there. It would be the easier route not to mention it, but it would be the wrong one.
How pieces are selected
A piece has to survive three questions. Is the material what it claims to be? Does the construction keep the promise of the form? And does the object change a room, or does it merely fill it?
The last question is the one most products fail. A lot is well made and yet interchangeable. I am looking for the opposite: pieces you do not want to replace after five years, because you have not grown tired of looking at them.
The brand grows slowly, and that is intentional. Better one product fewer in the shop than one that would make me flinch if someone asked about it.
What it comes down to
A home should not consist of things bought by chance. It should consist of pieces that are allowed to stay.
Frequently asked questions
Does Lorenz Laurent Home make its own furniture?
No. Lorenz Laurent is a curated shop without its own production and without its own workshop. All pieces come from selected manufacturers.
Who is behind Lorenz Laurent?
Marcel Doppelreiter, a trained cabinetmaker who served his apprenticeship at F/List, an Austrian company that fits out the interiors of private jets and yachts.
Which countries do the products come from?
From around twenty countries. The focus is Sri Lanka with a series made from recycled paper, followed by France, Spain and Portugal. Others include Indonesia for teak and Turkey and India for rugs and natural stone.
How are products selected?
By material, construction and presence in the room. Specifically: edge finishing, board thickness, joints, weight and the question of whether a piece lasts longer than a season.
Are all products handmade?
No. Part of the range comes from series production, some of it from China. Where that is the case, it says so in the product description.
