One of the many, many events that I went to with #BlogTourLDN was designjunction over in The Sorting Office around the corner from the British Museum. At this cool show I met Laufen Bathrooms AG. Laufen is not known in Canada, but they should be. A bit of background here: Laufen is a Swiss company established in 1892 and manufacturers bathroom ceramic fixtures, faucet fixtures, and bathroom furniture. They have partnered with Allesi and, most recently, with Kartell.

On their new partnership with Kartell:

These two companies have a great deal in common, which is why they have chosen each other: an industrial approach to production, a vocation in research and technological innovation, an international market, a distribution numbering hundreds of points of purchase all over the world and a genuine passion for quality design.

On their new SaphirKeramik™:

[The] new ceramic is considerably harder and has a greater flexural strength, which is exhibited in entirely new washbasin designs. SaphirKeramik turns the old material into completely new shapes: closely defined radii and edges are possible – and thin walls which have until now not been seen in sanitary ceramic.

(Correction 30-SEP-2013) Laufen is, indeed, available through boutique plumbing suppliers in Canada but Kartell by Laufen is expected to be available in North American in early 2014. Laufen isn't yet available for distribution in Canada and not are their products yet approved by the Canadian Standards Assocation (C.S.A.) but we can look forward to their North American availability in 2014. They are opening a showroom location in the AD Building in NYC shortly.

Thank you to Laufen (www.ca.laufen.com) for their support of #BlogTourLDN. I wish to thank Veronika Miller of Modenus (www.modenus.com) for the sponsored opportunity to explore design, culture, and travel in a forum of like-minded professionals.