Founded around 1900 as a manufacturer of goods made out of Britannia alloy, the family company first made waves beyond the local scene in the 1930s when it provided the Olympic silverware for the Olympic Village in Berlin. It wasn’t until two decades later, though, that Mono really reinvented itself. Despite the boom during the years of Germany’s “Economic Miracle”, the silverware industry encountered difficulties toward the end of the 1950s. At the same time, success stories like that of Braun and Rosenthal, both founded on design, were making the rounds. Herbert Seibel, Mono’s manager and a grandson of the original founder, decided that his company would set itself apart from others through “good form”, by which he meant most of all no frills or embellishments. The result was the mono-a silverware series – designed by Peter Raacke – which was an instant hit. It became a best-seller that made the label known overnight as a synonym for good German silverware design – along with Pott, a firm that Mono is meanwhile allied with. The line of products for the table was completed with teapot warmers, candlesticks and accessories (by Fried Ulber) as well as further Raacke silverware designs, including a version for children. Later on, the modular teapot Classic, made of glass and metal, spearheaded a new style. A new type of product was being created here, something the company from the Bergisches Land region managed time and again, even in fringe areas.
Accessories like the mug pendant Dolce (by Mikaela Dörfel) or the Concave glowing bowl (by Franz Maurer) are tiny innovations at the table that make the company what it calls a “co-designer of life”. The Geminii series (by Mikaela Dörfel) was a novelty in china and stainless steel. This combination was uncommon and for Mono it meant embracing a new material. Since the 1980s – following Alessi’s example – Mono has steadily expanded its product line. Teapots were added to the silverware, along with espresso cups, candlesticks, nutcrackers, apple peelers and other well-crafted useful things. Organically shaped products renouncing edges and corners from the 1990s like the silverware mono-filio (by Ralph Krämer) or a set of candlesticks (by Fried Ulber) are as simple today as they were then. The Zeug silverware pattern (by Michael Schneider) and the knife set Cubus (by Fried Ulber) are veritable prototypes.