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Dear „Master Tom",
With great sadness I am writing this very last mail to you. I owe you so much!
I remember it very well, how we first met with your neighbors Pietro Frua’s niece Carla and her husband Roberto Rigoli on 24th May 2003. You did not only translate my words from English to Italian, but much more than that, you helped me to explain that they should support my historical research and allow me to use the logo of Pietro Frua. Later you helped me with the contract for the license of their archival photos and documents from Pietro Frua´s estate.
Please excuse my unconsciousness of only peu à peu learning, that this helpful neighbor was one of the most influential designers of the twentieth century. On your 70th birthday I could surprise you with the gift of a website dedicated to your life and work. In the following years you helped me a lot to improve it, and by lending me your files with lists, photos and press clippings for digitizing. It was a great honor for me, that you considered it as your official website by adding it to your business card. It is still a lot of work to document everything of your life time design work, but I promise you to continue it.
We have met many times, e.g. in Arona at the shores of Lago Maggiore, Schwetzingen, Cernobbio and Torino. A highlight was the visit in your studio which has still to be documented on your website. You never stopped working as a designer and consultant for companies all over the world. In addition you have been a judge and speaker at classic car and concours events in great demand. These duties resulted in countless trips to the USA, Kuwait, India, China and South Korea, to name only those, which I am aware of. At some of our meetings I recommended you to write down your history with your own words and I was very happy to see, that you started a column with your memories for the British Classic Cars magazine from June 2013 onwards.
During our final meeting on 5th November 2016, again in the house of Pietro Frua, where we met first 13 years before, you seemed to have well survived the cancer treatment. The more concerned was I, when I heard that you have been hospitalized again last week. But my get-well wishes came too late.
With great sadness I say goodbye to a friend, who has changed my life.
Addio, Tom! We will miss you!
Yours,
Stefan
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* 23/07/1934 born as Stevens Thompson Tjaarda Van
Starkenberg in Detroit (USA)
as son of Irene Thompson Tjaarda and the automotive designer Joop
„Jan“ Tjaarda Van Starkenberg (04/02/1897–1962), who changed his name to
John Tjaarda when he came to the USA in 1923. His creations included the
streamlined Lincoln Zephyr (1935) (Biography: Tjaarda
1972, Ludvigsen 1999)
John Tjaarda
1939 Parents divorced
Tom lived with his mother in Detroit (Michigan, USA)
College
1950 Tom with his father
09/1950–06/1953 Birmingham High School, Birmingham
(Michigan, USA)
(1953 renamed to Seaholm High School)
09/1950 entered in 10th grade
winning records in athletic track and field events
195x 2nd prize in the General Motors Craftmen´s Guild competition for the
construction of a model car
06/1953 graduated
09/1953–06/1958 Study of Architecture at the University of Michigan
(USA)
09/1953 entered as a freshman
1958 Industrial design course from Prof.
Aarre Kotivalo Lahti (Wyss 1981;
Goodfellow 1999 fälschlich:
Aaree Lahti)
06/1958 construction of a Sports Station Wagon model car for class thesis
Prof. Aarre Lahti recommended his pupil Tom Tjaarda to Luigi Segre (Ghia,
Torino) whom he visited during his sabbatical in summer 1956
06/1958 degree in Architecture
08/1958–10/1960 Carrozzeria Ghia, Torino (I)
(coachbuilder which was directed by Luigi Segre [1919–1963] from 1953
to 1963)
11/1958 Ghia-Stand at the International Motor Show in Torino (I)
08–09/1960 sent by Ghia to Linke-Hofmann-Busch, Salzgitter (D): exterior and interior design of Alweg monorail train for exhibition “Italia 61”
12/1960–07/1961 Work with Gabetti & Isola, Torino (I)
(Architects and furniture designers Roberto
Gabetti and Aimaro
Isola)
exhibition design for exhibition “Italia 61”
06/05/1961 opening of exhibition “Italia 61 – Mostra della Moda, Stile e
Costume” (= Exhibition for the History of Fashions, Style and Living
Trends; Director Battista “Pinin” Farina [1893-1966]) on the occasion of
the Centennial of Italy´s Independence
09/1961–20/12/1963 Carrozzeria Pininfarina S.p.A.,
Grugliasco/TO (I)
(Chairman: Battista “Pinin” Farina, Director: Sergio Pininfarina;
Design director: Franco Martinengo)
01–04/1964 Work for Eliott Noyes, New Caanan (Connecticut, USA)
05/1964–11/1965 Carrozzeria Pininfarina S.p.A.,
Grugliasco/TO (I)
12/1965–12/1966 Fergat,
Torino (I)
(production of automotive stampings and wheels, owned
by O.S.I., head: Giacomo Bianchi)
designing wheels and all Fergat exhibition stands
01–09/1967 O.S.I.(Officine Stampaggi Industriali), Torino (I)
+ additional projects as Freelancer
09–11/1967 Ital Styling, Torino (I) (name later changed to Italdesign)
(Founder: Giorgetto
Giugiaro)
01/1968–10/1977 Ghia, Torino (I)
(Owner: Alejandro de Tomaso [10.7.1928–21.5.2003])
Head of Design
08/1970 Ford Motor Company, Dearborn (Michigan, USA) buys Ghia and Vignale from Rowan Industries Inc.
“It is to laugh. Ford Motor Company, the monolith of Dearborn, goes to Italy to buy some of that exotic styling in the form of two famous coachbuilding firms – Ghia and Vignale – and they end up with a designer born and raised in Detroit.” (Wyss 1973b)
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1972 |
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1973 |
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1974 wedding with Paola Bronzino
02/1977–06/1978 Consultant for Fiat, Torino (I)
07/1978–12/1981 Fiat, Torino (I)
Director of Advanced Design Studio, which worked on studies for the following cars during that time:
Tom Tjaarda also oversaw propsals for the following cars:
01/1982–7/1984 Rayton Fissore S.p.A., Cherasco/TO (I)
(Owner: Giuliano Malvino)
08/1984 Dimensione Design S.r.l.,
Torino
Corso Matteotti 2, 10121 Torino (I)
(Tom Tjaarda´s first own studio; customer communication with the Name
“Tjaarda Design”)
08/1992 Bella Macchina award (People´s choice trophy) at Concorso Italiano, Carmel (CA, USA) for the Giacobbi Sinthesis
1992
15/08/1997 Tom Tjaarda car display at Concorso
Italiano, Carmel (CA, USA)
17/08/1997 special section dedicated to Tom Tjaarda at 47th Annual Pebble
Beach Concours d´Elegance, Carmel (CA, USA)
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1999 |
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18/08/2000 De Tomaso Pantera meeting at Concorso Italiano, Carmel (CA, USA)
2001 design analysis of the eight body stlyles of the Maserati 5000 GT (Tjaarda 2001)
23/06/2002 Special guest and honoured designer of the Concours D´Elegance at Rainbow Lagoon Park, Long Beach (California, USA)
13/02/2003 Judge of the World Automotive Design Competition at The Canadian International Auto Show (CIAS) in Toronto (CAN)
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03/2003 at Geneva Motor Show
06/2003 Dimensione Design S.r.l. officially renamed to Tjaarda Design S.r.l.
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04–06/07/2003 Member of the Jury at 3rd European Concours d´Élégance in Schwetzingen (D)
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20–21/08/2003 Concours d´Élégance Paleis Het Loo in Apeldoorn (NL)
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14/03/2004 Meeting of the Registro Nazionale Fiat 124 Sport Spider in Campogalliano near Modena (I)
07/2004 participation at the 45th De Tomaso Anniversary Meeting in Austria
23/07/2004 launch of www.tom-tjaarda.net as a present to Tom Tjaarda´s 70th birthday
19/08/2005 De Tomaso Pantera meeting at Concorso Italiano, Carmel (CA, USA)
02–03/09/2006 Member of the jury at 5th European Concours d´Élégance in Schwetzingen (D)
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03/09/2006 honoured as “Homme d´Honneur” at 5th European Concours d´Élégance in Schwetzingen (D)
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8–11/09/2006 guest at the ItalianCarFest
(ICF) in Grapevine (Texas, USA); honored model: De Tomaso Pantera
09/09/2006 presentation about car design at the 'ICF Saturday Evening at
Gaylord' at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center
07/02/2014 Tom Tjaarda´s personal archive auctioned as lot 163 by Artcurial at Retromobile in Paris (F) to Corrado Lopresto, Milano (I)
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28/11/2016
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5/2017 design analysis on the Ferrari 330 for the forthcoming book of Maurice Khawam (Tjaarda 2017)
† 01/06/2017 dead in Torino (I) (www.lastampa.it)
05/06/2017 10:00 am funeral at Chiesa
della Crocetta (parrocchia Beata Vergine delle Grazie)
05/06/2017 11:35 am crematorium
obituaries:
4troxoi.gr by Σπύρος Χατήρας
auto.cz by Aleš Sleeper Dragoun
autoblog.nl by Willem
autodesignmagazine.com by Robert Crumberford
automobilemag.com by Robert Crumberford
automobilemag.com by Rory Jurnecka
automobilismodepoca.it by Dario Mella
automoto.it by Alessandro Sammartini
autoweek.com by Mark Vaughn
caranddriver.com by Kevin A. Wilson
cardesignnews.com by Chris Reescarplace.uol.com.br by Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
classicandsportscar.com by Greg MacLeman
drive.gr by Γιάννης Κουτσουφλάκης
jalopnik.com by Jason Torchinsky
motor1.com by Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
motorionline.com by Antonio Iafelice
motortrend.com by Kelly Pleskot
ndtvauto.com by Cyrus Dhabhar
quattroruote.it by Roberto Lo Vecchio
ruoteclassiche.quattroruote.it by Gilberto Milano
thedrive.com by Caleb Jacobs
tv2.no by
vecernji.hr by
wheelsmag.com.au by Andy Enright
zwischengas.com by Bruno von Rotz
Print:
Brancolini
& Zanoni (2017)
13/02/2018 ceremony with the award of the Golden Pencil 2017 (ital. Premio Matita d´Oro 2017) in remembrance to Tom Tjaarda at the Museo dell´Automobile, Torino (I)
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21/03/2019 Presentation of the book “L'Americano. Tom Tjaarda a Torino 1958–2017” (Cohen 2019) at Museo dell´Automobile, Torino (I)
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[Sources: Wyss 1973b, 1981; Goodfellow 1999; www.tjaardadesign.com; Tom Tjaarda, pers. comm. 14/01/2005 ff.]
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