Kalon (pronounced like ‘Talon’ but with a ‘K’) is an ancient, philosophical concept of ideal beauty that considers moral worth and usefulness as inextricable from aesthetics. When an object is kalon, it is beautiful because there is an inherent goodness that radiates from each detail. The truly beautiful is one and the same with the truly good.
Kalon was founded not only to create products that stimulate and inspire, but to use design for positive change. Stemming from a belief in the simple beauty and emotive power of everyday objects, Kalon seeks to deepen our relationship and reverence for the things we live with. Kalon’s work maintains a strong point of view informed by American furniture traditions and modernist design, with a focus on elemental forms, natural materials, and versatility. The studio prides itself on its intense attention to materiality, which is at the core of each of their designs, as is an obsession with integrity. With a commitment to ecologically-conscious, regional production, Kalon partners with small teams of highly skilled, fairly paid craftspeople and uses timber sourced from sustainably managed forests and the highest quality natural finishes and materials. By balancing traditional craft modalities with high-tech precision manufacturing and modern forms, Kalon invites a new chapter of contemporary, sustainable design.
Since its founding, Kalon has created furniture collections that emphasize craftsmanship, materiality, and ecological responsibility, earning international recognition including the Good Green Design Award from the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum, Sight Unseen’s American Design Hot List, and Wallpaper*’s 2024 Business Design Leader honor.
Kalon was founded in 2007, by Michaele Simmering and Johannes Pauwen and is currently based out of Los Angeles, California. The Kalon Showroom, located in Atwater Village, opened in 2021 as a multi-use gathering place for the creative community of our home city and beyond.
Kalon Studios has been producing American made design with a focus on seamlessly combining a love of contemporary design, simplicity and craft since 2007.
