Why TANN Is International in Mind – and Unmistakably Berlin

TANN was never designed to be a local brand.
And yet, it could only have come from Berlin.

At first glance, this sounds contradictory. But Berlin has always been a place of contradictions held quietly together. A city where ideas arrive from elsewhere, settle slowly, and are shaped by use rather than by image. This tension – between openness and restraint – lives at the core of TANN.

Berlin as a way of working, not a look

Berlin is often reduced to aesthetics: rough edges, concrete, industrial nostalgia. But the deeper influence lies elsewhere. Berlin teaches a certain way of dealing with things.

Objects here are not precious by default. They are used. They are shared. They are repaired. They stay longer than intended and become part of daily life. Kitchens double as studios. Workflows are improvised, refined, then improvised again.

This practical relationship with objects shaped TANN from the beginning. Not as a visual reference, but as a behavioural one.

A TANN object is not designed to impress.
It is designed to fit into a life that is already happening.

International language, local attitude

TANN speaks English – not to exclude, but to invite. The language is neutral, widely understood, and deliberately stripped of regional markers. This makes the ideas portable. A titanium comb, a canvas apron, a simple cap – these are objects that belong anywhere.

But the attitude behind them is unmistakably Berlin:

• Directness over decoration

• Clarity over performance

• Function before narrative

• Quiet confidence instead of polish

Berlin does not reward perfection. It rewards honesty. Things are allowed to show wear. Time is allowed to leave marks. This belief runs through every TANN product.

The city as a filter

Berlin filters ideas rather than amplifying them. Many things arrive here full of ambition and volume – only a few survive the city’s indifference. What remains is what works.

This filtering effect matters. It removes unnecessary layers. It sharpens intent. It leaves objects reduced to what they need to be.

TANN products are born from this process. They are not designed to be new. They are designed to be right. Right in the hand. Right in the routine. Right after years of use.

Community without spectacle

Berlin communities form slowly. They are not built through scale or marketing budgets, but through proximity, shared routines, and quiet recognition. Cafés, workshops, kitchens, studios – these are the places where trust is built.

TANN grows the same way. Through conversations. Through use. Through people who recognise something familiar in the objects, even if they cannot immediately name it.

This is not accidental. It is cultural.

Why this matters

Being a Berlin brand does not mean being local.
It means being grounded.

TANN does not try to represent Berlin. It reflects one of its most understated qualities: the ability to hold space for work, for repetition, for clarity.

Internationally readable.
Locally rooted.
Quietly confident.

That is where TANN stands.