ven though our countries sound very similar, Australia
and Austria are worlds apart,’ says Emma Aiston, one
half of Adelaide-based design duo Daniel Emma, on
collaborating with the Viennese horn workshop Petz.
For Wallpaper* Handmade, Aiston and her partner
Daniel To worked cross-continentally with the
workshop’s fifth-generation owner Thomas Petz to
produce a collection of five brass-handled horn combs.
‘The time difference worked in our favour. It meant we
could work during the day, then send some proposals
or questions by the end of it,’ says To. ‘Our questions
were answered by the time we were back at work.’
Modern communication might have kept the four-
month-long working relationship between Petz and
Daniel Emma smooth, but back at base in Vienna it’s
a distinctly analogue affair. The workshop tinkles and
whirrs with the sound of machines once used by
Thomas’ grandfather Friedrich. Petz has operated since
1862 near Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace, and remains in
the same spot today. In its heyday, it bustled with a
team of five craftspeople producing horn combs. When
plastic variations started becoming popular, Thomas’
grandparents attempted to diversify by using horn to
produce everything from salad tongs to jewellery and
pieces for Carl Auböck. But Thomas’ father chose not
to enter the family business and the Petz horn yard
eventually folded in the 1980s. It lay dormant until2008 when Thomas, then 23, decided to revive his
grandparents’ pride and joy and began his training in
the forgotten craft. ‘My grandparents were the last in
Austria to work with the material in this way,’ he says.
‘I learnt the craft from my grandfather when he was
about 80 years old.’
Today, Thomas runs the Petz workshop alongside
his girlfriend Daniela Dockal, who came on board full
time last year. They import the material from Africa,
where the long, thick tips are sustainable by-products
of the meat industry. In the workshop, the tips are cut
off, then the horn tubes are flattened into ‘sheets’ and
stored for up to three months in order to prevent
warping. Once ready, templates are drawn and shapes
cut out using a saw and a sander. The combs’ teeth are
added by machine and then everything is given a final
polish in pumice stone mixed with water. Petz has got
the entire process down to 30 minutes.
On the other side of the world, Daniel Emma had
never worked with horn before. ‘We are always up for
a challenge and we relished the opportunity to explore
new materials and processes,’ says Aiston. The pair first
made their name with desk accessories and homewares
before venturing into furniture and lighting in 2014.
What ties their work together is a commitment to
variety; they have worked with everything from rock
and maple wood to cork and resin.
This is what Thomas first noticed when he was
introduced to the duo. ‘I thought they have a very
interesting mix of products they design and materials
they use,’ he says. In turn, Daniel Emma noticed
Thomas rarely combined horn with other materials.
They thought it would be interesting to study how
different materials and finishes could change the feel
of the object. They looked into timber and carbon fibre,
but decided on brass for its weight and finishing
properties. The brass handles were made at
a workshop in Adelaide and the combs assembled in
Australia. ‘We love the extra weight the material gives
to the combs; it means they sit really nicely in the
hand. The contrast between the polished brass and
horn is a delight,’ says To. Thomas concurs: ‘It is
something I never thought of or have ever seen before.’
There was a third player in this global partnership
in the form of Australian hairdresser Kevin Murphy.
Aiston and To asked Murphy – who has won awards
for his own product line – to advise what makes for
an ideal set of combs. Following his suggestion, they
decided to make a set of five: Detangle, Everyday,
Pintail, Pocket and Rake. ‘He let us know what combs
he liked and why,’ says To. ‘He says his favourite is the
wide-tooth comb [the Rake] because of its versatility.’
The collection is a masterclass in how simple,
modern touches can revive traditional techniques and,
despite the distance in between, the workshops in
Australia and Austria have both learnt something. Says
To, ‘Working with new processes and people is always
a lot of fun, and Petz has been no different.’^ ∂
daniel-emma.com; petz-hornmanufaktur.atE
LEFT, THOMAS PETZ IN HIS
VIENNESE WORKSHOP
OPPOSITE, THOMAS CUTS
THE TIPS OFF THE HORN
TUBES, THEN USES A SPECIAL
MACHINE CONSTRUCTED
BY HIS GRANDFATHER TO
MAKE HOLLOWED HORN INTO
HORN PLATE, BEFORE ADDING
TEETH TO THE COMB SHAPESMaking Of...