The Story Behind Reposo
Carsten Schroeter has never been the sort of person to settle for the ordinary.
As a designer, he has always been fascinated by anything characterised by timelessness: clean lines, iconic forms, objects defined not only by their function but also by their own distinct style.
Added to this was the fact that, even at a young age, he discovered a passion for a very special subject: collecting fine cigars.
By the late 1980s, Carsten’s fascination with cigars had evolved into a story that would extend far beyond his search for a suitable humidor for his prized collection.
It all began with a box of Trinidad cigars from Cuba, which a friend who was an ambassador had brought him – by ship – from Havana to Hamburg. By the time the cigars arrived they had become too dry to smoke after the five-week sea voyage.
An unfortunate circumstance, but what was truly remarkable about these cigars was that, at the time, they were not officially available for purchase.
At that time, Trinidad cigars were hand-rolled exclusively for Fidel Castro. They were presented as gifts to state guests, diplomats and famous artists. Unfortunately, the ambassador kept to himself how he had managed to get hold of this box.
Around the same time, Carsten was told by Zino Davidoff that Davidoff would be leaving Cuba, as the quality of workmanship no longer met the required standards.
Carsten immediately realised what this meant: he bought as many Cuban Davidoffs as he could get his hands on and ended up with several boxes of these exceptional cigars, which would become rare and highly sought-after and were sure to increase significantly in value.
But alongside the joy of his successful coup, a serious problem arose that would not let him rest: how should he store these precious treasures, not only to preserve them but to allow them to continue maturing?
The containers available on the market at the time for this purpose were not convincing. The technology was unreliable and the design uninspired. For him, a cigar was not simply an object to be locked away. It was craftsmanship. Time. Origin. Maturity. An object to be showcased. Visible.
And so Carsten Schroeter began by questioning everything: the classic humidor designs, the imprecise climate control, the constant maintenance required.
His aim was to create a design object that possessed an iconic character and could perfectly climate-control valuable cigars.
The initial idea.
All experiments to store cigars in wine cellars or wooden boxes failed miserably, as the delicate tobacco leaves either dried out or rotted after just a few weeks.
As a designer and engineer, Schroeter began to think about a more reliable way of storing cigars, not only to ensure their long-term quality, but above all to enable them to develop into unique, flavourful cigars over the years.
And so the vision of an air-conditioned cigar humidor gradually began to take shape in his mind.
He contacted climate specialists from the medical technology sector to explore how a small interior space could be climate-controlled in a stable manner.
But every technician immediately dismissed the idea. It was impossible, they said, because opening the interior would immediately destroy the carefully constructed microclimate. A reasonable argument. Unfortunately!
But also an exciting challenge!
Carsten Schroeter was not discouraged. He collaborated for several years with a company that specialised in air conditioning for surgery rooms and chip laboratories and incorporated their technology into his development.
For how many generations?
After numerous experiments, he finally gained some important insights, but unfortunately he was still far from solving all the problems, as a humidor designed to allow cigars to continue maturing had to be technically capable of lasting more than a human generation, i.e. 25 to 30 years.
Since short-lived products wasted too many valuable resources, Carsten Schroeter wanted to develop a product that would be extremely durable and virtually immune to ageing processes.
This concept of a humidor was not allowed to contain any toxic materials and should not use raw materials that were only available in limited quantities on earth.
What's more, he wanted to use only materials that could be combined and separated again with comparatively little energy expenditure so that they could later be returned to their original state.
Against this background, a veneered wooden body was not an option. “Veneer is a deception per se! Veneer and substrate must be bonded with chemical adhesives and cannot be separated from each other later. That is not sustainable in any way.”
An unusual combination
of materials.
He used raw materials that not only met his high aesthetic standards, but also fulfilled all these requirements. Glass, stainless steel and solid cedar. An unusual combination of materials that had never been used in humidors before.
This presented him with his next challenge. How could glass be used without the humidity required for climate control condensing on the glass surfaces inside the humidor?
Numerous further experiments were necessary to solve this problem, until finally an intelligent combination of the right raw materials and programmed air turbulence emerged that was capable of maintaining a stable climate inside the humidor over the long term.
However, his sustainability concept did not end with the materials used, but was also consistently applied to the ongoing operation of the humidor. It should consume as little electricity and water as possible and be characterised by extremely long cleaning intervals.
This meant that bacteria were not allowed to develop in the first place.
In addition, the humidor should be able to independently report its water requirements to its owner's smartphone via its own Wi-Fi module.
Clean technology.
After years of development and numerous prototypes that were constantly being optimised, the product was finally ready for series production and Carsten Schroeter's innovative, unique technology was confirmed with a patent.
Of course, it was only a matter of time before several renowned corporations contacted him, desperately seeking solutions for their own products. Something commonly referred to as industrial espionage. But unfortunately, that's also part of the game when you create a product that sets new standards.
The name Reposo.
Nevertheless, the final humidor now needed a suitable name that reflected its purpose and made it clear that it no longer had much in common with the conventional ideas of standard cigar cabinets.
The choice fell on the Spanish word ‘Reposo’, which means ‘rest’.
The rest that fine cigars need in order to continue maturing over the years and develop their unique flavours.
And rest for their owners, who wanted to spend their time on more pleasant things than dealing with tedious checks and cleaning processes to ensure that the quality of their expensive cigars did not suffer.
The specially developed Reposo logo was milled transparently into the glass of the door in accordance with the Fibonacci sequence.
It was also embossed into the stainless steel tank cap with a pressure of 35 tonnes in order to remain consistently sustainable and avoid the use of the usual adhesive badges.
The development of this technology began in 1993 with the support of climate specialists for sterile surgery rooms and chip laboratories and has been continuously refined over the years to the point where it was ready for series production.
It is unique worldwide.
That is how Reposo came into being.
Not as a result of market research.
But from a box of Trinidad cigars, some inside information from Zino Davidoff – and a designer’s determination to find an extraordinary form for something extraordinary.
