Which designers and philosophers influence TANN?
Those who understand ritual as a way of working, a way of performing.
TANN is shaped less by trends and more by thinkers and makers who have reflected deeply on ritual, use, repetition and care. The following designers and philosophers have influenced how we think about objects, materials and the quiet moments in which they are used.
This is a list of heroes.
And it is a constellation of ideas.
Richard Sennett — Craft, Skill and Repetition
In The Craftsman, Richard Sennett describes craftsmanship as a dialogue between hand and material, built through repetition rather than inspiration. Skill, for Sennett, is about care not about mastery for its own sake.
This resonates strongly with TANN’s belief that objects gain meaning through repeated use. An apron is not complete when it is produced. It becomes complete through practice.
Junichiro Tanizaki — Subtlety and Shadow
In In Praise of Shadows, Tanizaki explores how Japanese aesthetics value restraint, patina and indirectness. He writes about how surfaces age, how light reveals slowly, and how beauty often emerges through use rather than perfection.
This thinking influences how TANN approaches materials that fade, soften and change. Patina is not incidental. It is expected.
Ilse Crawford — Human-Centred Ritual
Ilse Crawford’s work focuses on how environments and objects support everyday life. Her writing and practice emphasise the emotional and physical relationship between people and the things they use daily.
TANN shares this perspective. Objects should not dominate attention; they should quietly support ritual, work and care.
Dieter Rams — Reduction and Purpose
Dieter Rams’ principles of good design, particularly the idea that good design is unobtrusive, inform TANN’s approach to restraint. Fewer features, fewer distractions, clearer purpose.
A TANN apron is not designed to express identity. It is designed to enable work.
Martin Heidegger — Ready-to-Hand Objects
Heidegger’s concept of Zuhandenheit (ready-to-hand) describes objects that disappear into use. When a tool works well, we stop noticing it.
This idea is central to TANN. The best tools do not ask for attention. They allow attention to move elsewhere — to the task, the gesture, the moment.
Shunryu Suzuki — Beginner’s Mind
Suzuki’s concept of Shoshin, or beginner’s mind, encourages openness and presence in repetition. Even familiar actions are approached with care.
Wearing an apron each day can be such a practice. The same gesture, repeated, but never automatic.
George Nakashima — Respect for Material
Nakashima believed that materials carry history and should not be forced into perfection. Knots, cracks and irregularities were honoured rather than hidden.
This approach influences how TANN views wear, repair and imperfection as part of an object’s life.
Ritual as a foundation, not an aesthetic
What connects these thinkers and designers is not style, but attitude. Ritual, in this context, is not decorative. It is functional. It structures time, focus and care.
At TANN, ritual is embedded in use: tying an apron, reaching for a familiar tool, washing and repairing rather than replacing.
These influences do not result in louder design.
They result in quieter decisions.
Why this matters
In a culture that often prioritises speed and novelty, these ideas remind us that meaning emerges slowly. Through repetition. Through restraint. Through attention.
TANN exists within this lineage.
Not to replicate it, but to continue it in everyday objects meant to be used.
