Lamy - No Design Writes Better...

Defining Lamy, the Early Years: 1952 through 1966.

As we've learned from previous page(s), in 1952 the Lamy Model 27, with it's new, remarkable feed system, quickly became an extraordinary best-seller. A few years later, something else occured that would eventually change the direction of the firm for good... C. Josef Lamy's son, Manfred first appears around the halls of C. Josef Lamy GmbH... while finishing his doctorate in Economics at college. Later in 1962, Dr. Manfred Lamy began as the Company's Advertising/Marketing Manager. He was responsible for bringing a whole new set of ideas, skill sets, designs and ways of doing business to Lamy. It wasn't long before the younger Lamy was influencing practically every aspect of his father's business, and doing quite well at it.

In 1964, C. Josef Lamy GmbH begins production and releases another risky but incredible product... the Lamy Exact, Germany's very first ball-point pen, made by Germans. With it's large ink capacity and a tip made of high-grade stainless steel, the Lamy Exact was an immediate hit - sales and production numbers quickly proved it. By this time, the Lamy 27 had been around for more than 12 years and still very successful. It was also around that same time when people began to look at Lamy as one of the best German, or possibly one of Europe's “elite” or “premier” writing instrument makers around.

There is just so much that can be said about the next period in Lamy history, the mid-1960's era. The winds-of-change were blowing through-out the family-owned and operated enterprise in Heidelberg and affected the implementation of virtually every new product from then on into the future. These changes were born from a successful collaboration (partnership) between Dr. Manfred Lamy and bauhaus style-focused designer, Gerd A. Müller (known for his moderistic designs of Braun electric shavers). Together, they fundamentally changed the whole process of establishing and designing new products utilizing bauhaus principles developed prior to World War II at the Bauhaus School (1919-1933) at a few different locations in Germany.

Bauhaus, is the modernistic design method that includes the tenets: &ldquot;form follows function&rdquot; and &ldquot;ornamentation is a crime.&rdquot; Generally speaking, if an object has to perform a certain function, it's design must wholly support that function to the fullest extent possible. The Bauhaus or International Style of Design is marked by the absence of ornamentation and by the harmony between the function of an object and it's design. Lamy's designs quickly became modern, functional, honest and distinctive. This new direction was tested and determined while developing Lamy's newest product, to ensure it's effectiveness. It was the beginning of a new era for C. Josef Lamy GmbH.

Gerd A. Müller also helped develop and streamline many of the processes and procedures including a focus on high-design around the company in the following years with Dr. Lamy's approval, sponsorship and participation (partnership). Their marks on the company will still be seen and felt until the company and its products no longer exist. If is thanks to their focus and passion for high-quality, technology and style, Lamy writing instruments became highly desireable design objects. Lamy design has become an integral part of the Company's philosophy which comes to life in every design,product, document, brochure and packaging that leaves their building each and everyday.

The basic values for Lamy Design were determined with/through the creation of a new, distinctive, modern-looking product (briefly mentioned earlier), the Model 2000 or Lamy 2000, which was released in 1966. The award-winning 2000 was an absolutely ground-breaking design innovation - the combination of matte-cut stainless steel and a fiberglass reinforced makrolon (a special plastic) didn't exist until then. The 2000 was technically speaking, unknown territory. Never before had a clip been made from a billet of solid stainless steel. There just wasn't a precedent for this procedure, which created an even surface of both materials. In this way, Lamy created the 2000, whose almost unique character was due to the very high degree of manual craftsmanship that was needed to build each and every one of them.

As stated in the Company's literature, most modern works of art are swimming around in museums. This one still works for a living. Not only was the new shape of the 2000 beautiful, and its distinctive surface feel convincing, each and every detail provides it's user an innovative and fully-functional benefit. With the 2000, Lamy provided the first truly modern designed writing instrument, which continues to advance itself as a real classic design, even today. As for demographics, Lamy aimed their 2000 at successful, middle-aged men, who were image conscious, but tended towards understatement... a formula that served them so incredibly well for decades.

In spite of intensive preparations by Lamy sales personnel, representatives and other employees, despite positive survey results, no one really expected that the Lamy 2000 would quickly make such a huge impression on/in the market when it was first released. Its permanent market penetration improved further still, due to the example, excitement and word-of-mouth advertising of the initial users. The Lamy 2000 fountain pen, was soon followed by a ball-point pen, a mechanical pencil, a four-color ball-point version and several true special editions.

A deffinate sign of the 2000's continued commercial success and the absolute timelessness of its bauhaus-inspired design is that they are still being produced and sold today, more than 43 years (at the time of this writing) later. As a result of this longevity, the Lamy 2000 continues to be included and considered in nearly every selection of German and European Distinguished Designs, obtaining the prestigious Busse Long Life Design Prize in 1984.

Next Up: Design, Innovation Comes Of Age: 1966 through Present Day..
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