As often it was a lucky coincidence that led to the founding of the “wooden radio company for FINE ECODESIGN” in 2007: In his job as a brand expert Oliver Errichiello visited an international trade fair in Jakarta where he saw a radio made out of wood in a totally unique design. Between all the surrounding mass products it was a handcrafted small radio that catched his attention and he decided to simply buy one – but the designer refused to sell it: Singgih Kartono first wanted to make sure that his customer would understand his product and its philosophy – including long-term oriented social and ecological goals.
A few months later, after many Emails had been exchanged between the small village of Temanggung/ Java and the German city of Hamburg, the Indonesian designer was convinced that his new friend understood everything and Oliver was convinced that this radio could make a difference: not only for his own living-room but for the world. He was catched by the idea that excellent design, sustainability and a social background could walk hand-in-hand and decided to support the idea.
So he started doing intense PR-work for the radio in Europe with the claim: “It takes 16 hours to create a fine radio!” A huge success story began and journalists from all over the world wrote about this outstanding example of eco-design from Indonesia. The radio received several design awards worldwide – thanks to its great design and the professional branding of the product.
After this experience Oliver Errichiello and his long-time companion, Dr. Arnd Zschiesche, both well-known experts in the field of brand positioning and managing directors of the “Buero für Markenentwicklung” decided not only to support Kartonos ideas but to establish their own company: “wooden radio FINE ECODESIGN”. They transferred the idea behind the wooden radio into a brand vision for premium eco-products: it is the combination of first class design and professional branding with a clear focus on fair social standards that makes the company outstanding. To show Europe that eco-design is a real power, each product must comply to their standards:
The design must be appealing – without any compromise.
The quality must meet all European requirements.
The background of the product is checked for its social and ecological impact.
If wooden radio gives a project a “Go” all marketing-channels are used to promote the product and offer it to nowadays nearly 200 exclusive partner-shops throughout Europe – from Iceland to Portugal!
Today “wooden radio FINE ECODESIGN” is proud to represent visionary artists and their products from all over the world: Handmade furniture from Rio-based designer-team Fernando Mendes de Almeida and Roberto Hirth, retro alarm-clocks ALBA ME from Montreal, made by Mike Giles and Devon Barette, beautiful printed organic cotton FAUNA cushions by Ross Menuez and mobiles out of recycled maps from Nathan Lee and Trevor Coghill from Vancouver. The product-range has expanded slowly while wooden radio is constantly scouting out for new products from all over the world: Products that are able to make a difference – just to prove: “Eco Rulz!”
