Dear BeoWorld Members

Well, i've managed to extract some cash from my father for the first time since i got pocket money!  

I've sort of held back a little from mentioning this until it actually happened, but i can tell you my father rather fell in love with B&O design when i started 'collecting' B&O - but even moreso when i started LifeStyle AV...

Since i became a 'dyed-in-the-wool' Bang & Olufsen fanatic, my fathers awareness and fondness for B&O turned into a bit of an obsession also.  To fill you in a little, my father has been in the interior design business since i was a child - and since i have been involved with B&O he has become seriously obsessed with the design aspect of the products from the JJ and David Lewis era (as opposed to learning model numbers from 1925 onwards like myself)..

I was approached by a B&O dealer about a year ago about helping a very small bespoke furniture manufacturer, and after seeing his products i was absolutely blown away.  His name was Graham Harpur, an award winning designer and bespoke cabinet maker who had actually impressed Bang & Olufsen so much that his BeoVision 7 cabinet was on display at B&O UK Headquarters at Winnersh!  Unfortunately, Graham had undergone some pretty serious surgery soon after and was struggling to cope with even the smallest of orders, let alone the deluge he was faced with from B&O dealers trying to buy his Acacia Cabinets (as they were called then).

Graham contacted me personally after being given my details, but unfortunately i was unable to take up the challenge of getting these frankly beautiful designs to market due to commitments to LifeStyle and BeoWorld. There simply weren't enough hours in the day.  So, defeated - i was forced to decline. Gutted.

I mentioned how gutted i was to my father, who was at the time running his own successful interior design company with one eye firmly on retirement (he's 58 - sorry Dad, it had to get out some time.. LOL).  As soon as i showed him some images of the units, i saw a glint in his eye - and the tone of conversation changed.  Like myself, he's a complete sucker for beautiful design - and i could already see him thinking about where he could go with this...  I think 'Struer Design' was born in his mind about then...

So, here we are - over a year later the products have been redesigned and improved in more ways than i can remember him saying, and he has also agreed to sponsor BeoWorld for 2 years.  The cash for the first year has effectively paid for the brand new BeoWorld Forum - due to be launched in January, and the second year can either go towards paying off some of our bank loan or paying for further upgrades.  Either way, all money coming into the BeoWorld coffers is gratefully received!

I haven't played much of a part in the set-up and development of his new venture apart from supplying the products for the photoshoot, but he has put a huge amount of effort into it and is very proud to be sponsoring the site and and helping us out.  I am also proud that my father is part of the 'BeoFamily' now (about time) - and i personally wish him well. 

I'm sure he will say a couple of words on the forum (he's a man of few though, so don't expect an essay), but i'm sure we all wish him every success as a BeoWorld sponsor. Not the best time to be starting a business for sure, but the product is good and that's the key!

You can see the Struer Design website HERE - so tell him what you think!

Anyway - there you go.  My father or not, Struer Design has helped BeoWorld - so that's good with me.  Have a look at the website and tell him what you think of the products. Better still, order some!  He has pledged a CD/DVD cabinet for one of our Prize Draws too if business goes well. 

Lee

it's gorgeous!

I love it! 

K@y 

Fantastic news ! 

It is great that your father will sponsor BeoWorld, and i am also impressed 

that he is starting a business (regarding current financial climate) ! 

We need more people like him that can set an example to give the economy a new boost. 

 

 

Really is a beautiful cabinet.

I particularly like the BV7 cabinet. It allows all the wiring to be dealt with easily and the annoying STBs to be contained close by but out of sight. I have actually seen one of these in the flesh when they first started and they are beautifully made and very elegant - the top of the cabinet where the foot of the stand sits is beautifully done. I think they set the Beovisions off very well - I could do with something like that for the AV9000! Far too many wires are visible at present!

Congrats to your father and to Beoworld!

I'm sure that with your help and all the B&O-enthousiasts you know, your father's business will start running well soon. Best of luck to him!

Great. I really like the BV7 cabinet, its design is very close to B&O and at the end we could think it was made by ... B&O

This is the best way to hide every cables and let the place neat and clean. I hope to see more products to come soon.

I wish all the success to your dad's business.

Guy

 

Thank you all for your support thus far!

As mentioned, i'm delighted to be a BeoWorld  sponsor now and 
hopefully i can be so for many years to come.  I may not say a great 
deal on the forums, but like many others i read with interest daily 
and get a great deal of enjoyment from the site. Long may it continue!

I do hope you all like the products we have designed and manufactured 
here at Struer Design. Bang & Olufsen is without question the most 
beautifully designed AV equipment in the world, and hopefully our 
products can come somewhere close to matching that design standard.  
I am always happy to hear suggestions for new products too, so feel 
free to email me.

I think i've already said more than planned, but once again - thank 
you all for your kind words and i look forward to welcoming some 
BeoWorld members as customers!

Kind Regards

John
Struer Design

Hey Dad!   (Yes, you'll always be Dad )
Your new business has been on the cards for some time now, and I'm so glad it has finally come to fruition.
May I wish you all the best in your new venture, I hope the orders come flooding in.
Thanks for your sponsorship to Beoworld, long may our association last, and may it be beneficial to both Struer Design and Beoworld.
I know you have been an avid reader of the forums since day one, and I notice you always read the Wed thred©. But trying to get a sentence out of you, is like trying to get blood out of a stone!

I hope we meet up again in three weeks or so, then I can buy you a pint

Your friend, Andy.

Great news Lee. Have to say I do like the CD cabinet.Carol likes the BV7 stand, although I may need to get a BV7 first.

 

 

Craig

Well done and thankyou to Struer Design (it sounds better than Lee's Dad). Best of luck with your new venture. Hopefully your investment will generate many customers for your new product range (love the BV7 stand but sadly don't have a BV7).

Anything that helps to ensure the ongoing stability and future improvement of Beoworld is always brilliant news

What do people think of the Beocenter 6 cabinet - personally i think it's gorgeous!

Lee

 

9 LEE:

What do people think of the Beocenter 6 cabinet - personally i think it's gorgeous!

Lee

 

The cabinets lovely - its the BC6 that does nowt for me!

It may be a little plain, but the image quality is excellent!

We took that picture in a house that has been featured in several glossy 'ideal home' type magazines.  In fact,a ll of them were taken in there apart from the CD/DVD cabinet one.  If you look closely, you will see that the Danish Guard soldier is actually stood on a piece of B&O floor stand packaging (see the circular cut-out) and the whole thing was taken in a professional studio!

It was great fun doing the photoshoot, but very hard work.  I feel the pain of any photographer on BeoWorld trying to get a set correct!

Lee

 

I really like the Beolab 5 + bv7 and the cabinet . Normally the bv7 looks a bit tiny on the stand when they stand between a pair of 5's, but now it's a good balance.

The BV7 stand is beautiful.

Buy one!

 

I would like to buy one but we have the tall bv7  stand and Beolab 7-4.

Ah, i see - never mind.  

Anyone else up for buying one and helping repay what Struer Design have spent supporting BeoWorld !!!

Lee 

As soon as i get a BV7 32 to replace the BV3 i will be coming to you guys for this cabinet - it's bloody beautiful. An amazing design. I'm blown away!

Beautiful cabinets, better than B&O originals.

I must say that I agree with Razlaw.......the BV7-40 stand is absolutely fantastic, but I can't use it because I have the 7.4 & larger stand.

Hope they come up with a design for this combination!!

Mike