Anton de Groof was born in 1967 in Nuenen. With a father who worked as a technical production manager and designer of fencing, his parental home was littered with cardboard mechanisms. A fertile soil for De Groof’s fascination with traditional mechanics and old tools.
Anton started the furniture brand Masimo in 1993 with a friend. Ten years later he continues on alone. First with the design of tables and chairs, later with interior and lighting. For example, he sets up 130 stores for a successful clothing brand. For the chain's head office, he designs a lamp as well as the interior.
Several years later, that lamp turns out to be the basis for the Bolt series. In 2013, the designer – encouraged by enthusiastic feedback from his surroundings – takes the design off the shelf and develops it into what it is now. It proved to be the distinctive start of the Tonone label: a robust industrial lamp series recognizable for functionality in form, clean lines, and the iconic starring role of the wingnut. The Bolt is now available in 29 different models and in 11 colors. Following the Bolt, the Atlas and Ella series quickly follow, executed in hand-blown glass, the robust lamp Mr. Tubes, and the LED series Beads. In 2022, Tonone introduces the elegant Bella line and the portable design LED lamp ONE. In early 2024, the linear LED lamp Bridge was launched.
In addition to his own brand, Anton designs the lamp Thierry le Swinger for Fatboy, a wireless outdoor lamp that can stand or hang. He also creates the Air 65 for the Dutch furniture brand Qliv, a successful chair, representative of Anton's design style through the use of materials and the applied connections.
Anton de Groof's designs are recognizable by the typically Dutch design language: sleek, functional and modern. It is undeniable he was influenced by Bauhaus and the architectural movement Bossche School. But De Groof's fascination with connection issues and the use of traditional and industrial mechanics make his designs distinctive. The execution of his designs in sustainable material emphasize the individuality of Anton de Groof.
