For over two decades, the Vitra Design Museum has been making miniature replicas of milestones in furniture design. The Miniatures Collection encapsulates the entire history of industrial furniture design - moving from Historicism and Art Nouveau to the New Objectivity of Bauhaus and Radical Design, and from Postmodernism all the way up to the present day. Exactly one sixth of the size of the historical originals, the chairs are all true to scale and precisely recreate the smallest details of construction, material and color. The high standard of authenticity even extends to the natural grain of the wood, the reproduction of screws and the elaborate handicraft techniques involved. This has made the miniatures into popular collector's items as well as ideal illustrative material for universities, design schools and architects.

In the thirties and forties, Scandinavian design followed the principles of functionalism: simple structures, clear lines, a lightweight visual appearance. The desire for austerity of form was combined with a preference for wood as a natural material.

It was not until the fifties that young designers like Verner Panton began to use the formal possibilities created by innovative technologies in order to liberate furniture from the constraints of tradition. Verner Panton wrote of his works: "I try to forget existing examples, even if they are well made, and find my own way of coming to terms with the materials. The result seldom has four legs, not because I do not want to make a chair but because working with new materials like wire mesh and polyester demands new forms."

The Heart Shaped Cone Chair embodies the transformation that took place in Scandinavian design in the late fifties. The purist furniture of classical modernism was now joined by sculptural forms inspired by the new technologies. At the same time, the shape and color of the Cone Chair anticipate the Pop Art furniture of the sixties.

Each Vitra miniature is true to the original in construction and materials, and reduced in size on a scale of 1:6. Each miniature is packaged in a wooden box, accompanied by an informational booklet. Production notes: Each of the delicate objects are made by hand; on average, each miniature requires five hours of careful manual work. Ongoing quality control ensures that every miniature corresponds to its larger original in terms of finishing, details and materials.