Author: @droog

Sustainism?

droog manifesto

by Renny Ramakers

Sustainability is still a buzzword in today’s design society. I’ve even heard the word sustainism, in line with modernism, futurism and all the other isms that have been created in the past. I don’t understand why we should invent a new ism for an attitude that should be part of people’s everyday life.

With all this sustainability talk we should not forget that design is also about aesthetics, emotions and experience and that we can only succeed if there is a balance between everything that makes a product desirable.

In April 2010 Droog presented a manifesto (pictured above) in which we state that we want to redirect creative energy and to redesign the lifecycle. This manifesto was part of saved by droog., an experimental project in which we asked designers to redesign products that we bought from liquidation auctions.  Now we are working on the next step, a platform on which companies can offer their dead stock to designers.

If we simply redesign what does not sell, we can save a lot of energy. Not only because it saves the products from becoming waste  but also because this will redirect creativity. We all know how much time and effort it takes to design new products from scratch, trying to invent something new because so many versions already exist and it takes a long time before a designconcept has been developed into a functional product. If we start with what is already there, we can give the notion of styling a new dimension, no  longer as something superficial  but as something that is needed to save the product and that gives the designer more space to create what really matters. Of course it would be better just to design less products but companies  need to survive and the demand for new products from the emerging countries will continue to grow. So if we don’t supply, others will. And by redesigning the existing, we can do it quickly because the most difficult part of the design and development process has already been done.

Read more articles by Renny Ramakers.

New friends

Friends of Droog are products by leading brands from around the world selected by us to complement the Droog collection. A special welcome to these new friends:

Colour cushion | t.e.
Colour cushion - t.e.

Colour plaid | t.e.
Colour plaid - t.e.

MYdrap serviettes | MYdrap
MYdrap serviettes - MYdrap

Razor and buddypuff hanger | Nothing design
Nothing hanger - Nothing design

Wooden radio | Magno design
Wooden radio - Magno design

Bed linen | Yumeko
Bed linen - Yumeko

Never use white type on black background | Bis publishers
Never use white type on black background - Bis Publishers

Everything you need to know is on the bottle

We’ve been developing various tools for Dutch vodka company Ketel One. Working with illustrator Clo’e Floirat, we created this one minute animation to bring the story of Ketel One to life. It is used by Ketel One agents and bartenders to understand and spread the message behind the bottle.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cZqf7I35SM&feature=player_embedded’]

Dusk/dawn mirror wins best domestic design

dusk/dawn mirror

Dusk/dawn mirror by Minale-Maeda for Droog was named one of best domestic designs in the seventh Wallpaper* Design Awards.

According to Wallpaper: “Eleven major awards have been chosen by our panel of six international judges, but the 60 or so remaining have been nominated and fought over by Wallpaper* staffers and our international network of contributors.“

About Dusk/dawn mirror
Inpired by a reflection on a pool of water of the sky at dusk or dawn—the archetypical mirror—has become the basis for this mirror. Hung one way, it reflects dusk, and hung the other, it is dawn.

About Design Awards 2011

Q&A with Marcel Schmalgemeijer

Droog Las Vegas opened on December 15th. We asked the designer, Marcel Schmalgemeijer a few questions.

What inspired the design?

I had to think of the room with the light floor that is in the Stanley Kubrick movie ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968). The floor visually elevates the furniture that is placed onto it and you get an enstranging atmosphere when you walk on it.

Can you tell us about the concept?

The key aspect is a strong gesture that is simple, basic and white. It is in stark contrast to Las Vegas, where as I see it, everything is a bit too much. Here the whiteness of the space gives space to the products. They have to do the show…

How do you think the design relates to Droog?

The white and basic aspect relates a bit to Droog. But especially I think the design gives very much space to the products. They have to do the show.

How does this store relate to your body of work?

Simple, basic, a big gesture, and a strong atmosphere.

Marcel Schmalgemeijer

Though Droog Las Vegas is officially Marcel’s first store design, he designed the 100 dollars or less pop-up store at Pioneers of Change, a festival of Dutch design, fashion and architecture curated by Renny Ramakers in September 2009.

Q&A with Renny Ramakers about Droog Las Vegas

Las Vegas

Many are surprised to hear Droog is opening in Las Vegas.
Why Las Vegas?

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas approached us. Initially it’s hard to see the common ground between Droog and Las Vegas, but for both, experience is important. For us it is interesting to reach a new audience, and Las Vegas is truly a unique place in the world. Sometimes reality can be wilder than fiction.

What do you think of the kind of design you see there?

One sees a totally different type of design. I believe the audience is ready for a new approach, one that establishes new borders between the design and the non-design world.

What about the themed approaches in Las Vegas?

The themed experiences are old-fashioned. You can see Las Vegas is looking for new experiences, and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is breaking some new ground. But it was already happening in 2002, for example with the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum by Rem Koolhaas. Perhaps then it was too early, and now might be a better time for new developments.

What are your impressions of Las Vegas?

Whether you are eating, watching a performance at a theatre, shopping or gambling, everything in Las Vegas is about entertainment. Such a concentration of entertainment is an interesting model for me.

Any thoughts on gambling?

If one can restrict oneself, gambling can be very playful.

Can you tell us about the store design?

With each store location we take a different approach. For Droog Las Vegas, our brief to the designer, Marcel Schmalgemeijer, was that it should be a strong gesture but at the same time, be very functional. Seems obvious, but it is important that the store looks and functions like a store. We want the design to allow the products to speak for themselves and to create an experience.

Are there any future plans for the store?

There will be a program of events and new collaborations with the local context. We have some ideas so far, but are also looking forward to what Las Vegas will inspire.

Droog Las Vegas opened yesterday. See store details here.

One of our favourite quotes

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

It’s two days before the opening of Droog Las Vegas–a great moment to pull up one of our favourite quotes by John Unwin, CEO of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas as published by Travel + Leisure:

John Unwin has been giving me a hard-hat tour of the Cosmopolitan for the better part of an hour, pointing out the “casino cabanas” and the lobby columns patterned in high-definition video screens. But it’s not until we reach the building’s eastern edge, where it opens onto the sidewalk of the Las Vegas Strip, that I realize just how different it’s going to be. “We’re going to put a Droog in this corner,” the hotel’s CEO tells me. A what? “You know: Droog, the Dutch design store. Slots would make more money, but I think Droog is cooler.”

Read the full article here.