Bongó • The Story

The unique musicality shape of the Bongó bar cabinet leaves no one indifferent. Like the echo of a drum, its elegance and hand crafted excellence reverberate throughout any room or space in your home or business. With its distinctive design and quality materials, every detail is carefully handcrafted in our factory to ensure a striking presence and unparalleled excellence of the final product.

We invite you to join us on a success story of endless passion and greatest attention to detail in the making of the Bongó cabinet bar.

The inspiration

Insight leads to intuition and revelation. Slowly but steadily a story starts taking shape in the creative mind where scenery, architecture, fashion and lifestyle must all play their part.
The initial conceptual motif was for the object to evoke feelings of relaxation and exuberance that celebrated the pleasure of living and enjoying life.

The ideation

Continuous brainstorming sessions lay the foundations for what is now becoming more tangible. This is the stage where we ask everyone to get on board. Designers, carpenters, cabinetmakers, woodworkers with all hands-on deck, start working out possible solutions to the Bongó design and production elements.
Ideation concepts bounce back and forward between makers, crafters and creators up to a point where feasibility is possible. This is when we start materializing a dream.

The problem solving

With all great achievements comes great challenges. The elegant and seductive drum shape of the cabinet along with its impressive sliding Sahara Noir marble doors meant that the overall structure, mechanisms and material applications had to be aligned with the latest technological developments. A challenge fully accepted by Greenapple’s in-house team.

The solution

To be simple is no small matter.
A special state of the art sliding door mechanism was tailored specifically for Bongó to assure a safe and smooth handling of the spectacular Sahara Noir stone doors. Motion and pressure detection sensors located within hand’s reach were added in order to deliver a full experience of an automated door opening. Infrared sensors installed, assure a safe-self closing mechanism.
In addition to that, the latest technologies in stone cutting were fundamental in reducing thickness and therefore overall weight of the doors. Automatic light switches were hidden from plain sight in the frame, allowing the Patagonia Granite stone texture to shine from within.

The craft at work

Ultimately, a prototype phase was conducted in which every detail was painstakingly tested and optimised, by our quality control team, to meet the industry standards.
One could now fully grasp the sheer impact of a real size Bongó as its essence started to slowly become unmistakably present in the surrounding space.

The choice of materials, construction and execution in the Bongó making is pursued without compromise and represent the finest in quality when it comes to combining modern production methods with expert craftsmanship. Having development, design and production stages all under one roof, is what makes Greenapple’s product stand out from our direct competitors.

The following production stages embody the spirit of the handcrafted excellency in the making of the Bongó cabinet bar.

Frame work bending

Long strips of wood are layered and carefully glued to produce the perfect arc curve. This is a 100 percent handmade process that uses five skilled pair of hands and takes up to 5 days to conclude. Due to seasonal changes in temperature this process is required to take place in specific month intervals throughout the year. The finishing result is a frame which provides strength and ensures stability for the following stages.

Cabinet parts production

A robust bespoke sliding door mechanism is produced in stainless steel, providing a smooth operation to the user. The sliding mechanism, apart from being totally invisible, has a soft close feature and it is entirely developed by Greenapple. Simultaneously, the legs and door handles in brass are manually produced and then undergo also a manual process of surface finishing.

A shelving unit in walnut veneer with its beautifulwood grain is prepared for the cabinet assembly.

Door module and stone application

Because each design component is carefully designed to deliver an exclusive experience, the sliding doors are made to fit, down to the millimetre, leaving no mismatches nor awkward gaps between mating parts.
Each individual stone with its beautiful, intricate veins is personally selected from our trusted manufacturers and delicately sliced using the latest cutting technologies into a thin yet durable sheet of stone. Soon after this, the stone is perfectly and seamlessly incorporated into the door structure along with its bespoke automated sliding mechanism.

Electrics, Painting and assembly

Now that all important elements are produced, light fixtures are installed inside the frame so that no electrical elements remain visible. The cabinet parts enter then a lacquering booth, where non-toxic high quality paints are manually sprayed onto the frame and doors. Coating and finishing is a process that takes about a week to complete. This assures a smooth and seamless coat of paint to endure even after generations of use.

Finally the work passes to the assembly shop where every Bongó element is put together and final testings are conducted under a precise and rigorous supervision.

Off to Shipping

The expressive, yet elegant shape of Bongó depends on the careful work and effort of skilled craftsmen, where every stage, process or detail matters.
This why it is absolutely essential that your Bongó is secure and neatly packaged so that it arrives anywhere in the world in impeccable shape and mint condition.

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