Mart Stam (1899–1986) was a Dutch architect, urban planner, and furniture designer. Stam was extraordinarily well-connected, and his career intersects with important moments in the history of 20th-century European architecture, including chair design at the Bauhaus, the Weissenhoff Seidlung in Stuttgart and postwar reconstruction in Germany. Stam is most famous for devising a tubular steel cantilever chair in the early 1920s and spawning an entire genre of chair design, which was taken up and expanded by Marcel Breuer and Mies van der Rohe.

Thonet today, as in the past, is considered a pioneer of furniture design throughout the world. The company was established in 1819 by Michael Thonet to produce his own designs, using the then new bentwood process, which he developed. Within a short period of time it became a major furniture manufacturer with a global distribution network. In the 1930's a major expansion took place with the addition of tubular steel furniture from famous Bauhaus associated designers such as Mart Stam, Marcel Breuer and Mies van der Rohe. Today, as well as continuing with the manufacture of many of the tubular steel and bentwood classics, Thonet, in their long established tradition of innovation and design quality, introduce products by renowned contemporary architects and designers.