This fall, KLAUS, the retail store run by Klaus Nienkämper, will relocate its headquarters to 296 King Street East and also launch a globally accessible online retail platform. Under the new brand Büro Klaus, Klaus will be developing and manufacturing products for today’s marketplace including evolved edits of iconic made-in-Canada Nienkämper furnishings, and new products designed in collaboration with exciting designers. He will also carry a curated selection of international furniture and lighting brands.
“For over 50 years clients have come to visit our King Street Showroom to experience furniture and lighting that is consistently stylish, quality and unmistakably luxurious. In response to today’s abundance of products and relentless digital shopping, our aim with Büro Klaus is to enrich your life with a curated selection of authentic and enduring furniture and lighting, and the flexibility of both online and in-‐store service,” says Nienkämper.
Büro Klaus marks a new chapter in the Nienkämper family’s 52-year story as a leading retailer and manufacturer of high-quality contemporary furniture in Canada. In 1968 Klaus Sr. founded the Nienkämper showroom on King Street East, introducing contemporary European design to Canada, and establishing a hub of the local architecture and design scene which evolved to become known as the King Street East Design District. Nienkämper furnished many important Canadian institutions including embassies, the office of the Prime Minister and the Royal Ontario Museum, to name a few. In the early years, Klaus Sr. collaborated with local designers and manufacturers to produce modern contract furnishings, which he began to manufacture in his own Toronto factory – a tradition that continues to thrive internationally today. Klaus, a multi-brand retail concept was launched in 2000 introducing Europe’s leading iconic furniture and lighting brands. Büro Klaus will continue the Nienkämper tradition of collaboration and experimentation to introduce new, Canadian made design icons.