On November 23 Renny Ramakers was inducted as an Honorary Member of the Association of Dutch Designers (BNO) for her special merits for the design profession. One of kind and like no other, Congratulations Renny!
Renny Ramakers is featured in PS Parool, read the full article here.
Make sure to come and check out the House of Furniture. On display for the first time in The Netherlands at Hôtel Droog.
House of furniture by Studio Makkink & Bey
Architecture, furniture and storage all in one. Studio Makkink & Bey took standard sheets of ply with CNC cutting, and created a miniature house to stand within larger interiors of offices, studios and lofts.
With walls of stool, bench and table parts that easily come out and assemble, the functionality and character of the house can be changed as more or less furniture is used. This custom designed house offers endless possibilities as furniture parts suit different functions. Easily adapting to the surroundings. Designed in 2009, and presented in Milan, the House of furniture has proven its relevance thought out the years. Efficiently produced while re-using materials.
From Screw to City
At the 4th Mercado Arte Design (MADE) in São Paulo (Brazil), Droog presents ‘From Screw to City’, showcasing that Droog explores for more than 23 years all dimensions of human life – from the smallest detail to the bigger picture – from screw to city!
At MADE 2016 Droog is awarded ‘Designer do Ano’ (Designer of the Year)
Mercado Arte Design (MADE) in São Paulo (Brazil)
Opening hours: Tuesday – Friday 13h – 21h
Saturday 12h – 21h
Sunday 12h – 20h
Location: Jockey Club de São Paulo – Av. Lineu de Paula Machado, 1.173 (vallet no numero 1.263) – Cidade Jardim, São Paulo, Brazil
Tuesday to Thursday
Free entrance
Friday to Sunday: R$ 20
For the elderly and students: R$ 10
Droog’s Design+Desires team is now partnering with area developer Bloc to develop new projects for the Design+Desires program. We come back soon with more…
Nikkie Wester, is a Dutch textile product designer with a great passion for craftmanship and folklore. Her work always follows comprehensive research into cultural traditions, rituals and its origin, which is expressed in experiments with different textile materials. A great part of her designs infuse colour and symbolic references – and we got talked with her about her latest designs – the Fiske Fish Socks, which she designed upon learning about her own family history. www.nikkiewester.com
Fish Socks by Nikkie Wester from Nikkie Wester on Vimeo.
You can purchase the Fiske Fish Socks at the Droog Shop at Staalstraat 7B – now open from 9am-7pm everyday.
Orange Socks (Women’s Sizes): €59,95 – Sizes 36-41
Grey Sock (Men’s Sizes)s: €64,95 – Sizes 41-46
—
We talk with Nikkie in an exclusive interview about her latest designs:
The Fiske Fish Socks are very playful, do you often weave play into your designs?My work has always been very conceptual, to keep it light-hearted I use humour. Without a twist, a collection can turn out to be too serious or heavy and therefore unattainable for public.
How long does it take to make a pair of Fiske fish socks?
The socks are knitted by hand, that can be a slow process though the women who do that work very quick. The can make a pair of socks in a day. I admire their knitting skills, they truly master the craft.
What is the name of the knitting technique used in the Fiske fish sock?The socks are knitted in a cable stich. This particular stich was used to make the traditional fishermen attire. By the use of this cable the textile becomes both breathable and insulating, which makes it perfectly suitable for rough weather at sea and therefore very suitable for socks to keep your feet warm
How did you develop an interest in textiles and knitting, and why does it interest you?Textile is a fascinating product because it is inseparable with humanity. It is used from the moment we are born, when we dry nurse our baby’s, until death. Even then we wrap textile around our loved ones before we give them back to the earth.
What kind of textile projects excite you the most? I am fascinated with projects that require textile products that have to do with cultural heritage. This can for example be a research upon a traditional costume or a spatial design meant to unite a group of people.
Do you think the art of knitting is in decline or on the rise based on the growing tech-culture?There is always been research and development considering textile, so also on the craft of knitting. Though at the moment innovation is concentrating more on the development of materials. The century old technique of knitting is tested upon these new materials. That is the beauty of knitting. It is a technique that managed to survive the test of time. Of course this is not without a reason. The possibilities are endless and applicable on almost all materials. So I have complete confidence in the future of knitting.
Finally, the most important question, do you have inspirational pet fish that started this project?Haha, no the design is not that square. The fish socks are developed from a research upon the Dutch textile identity combined with a research upon my own family history. I wanted to make a twist to the fishery and combined it with a photo of my grandfather as a child. On the photo I drew socks with a fin at the end. That was the start of the design, although of course it was still in development. I find it very exciting that the product is now realised and put into production. That is one of the reasons I design.
Celebrating 20 years of the Soft Lamp by Arian Brekveld for Droog
Droog in conversation with designer Arian Brekveld
20 years has passed since the first, honey white Soft Lamp graced interiors around the world. In combination with the Soft Lamp’s 20 year anniversary, a new, limited edition Black Soft Lamp is just released. We asked the Soft Lamp’s designer Arian Brekveld a few questions about his design philosophy, what he is up to now and, most importantly, where he himself has the Soft Lamp hanging in his home.
Have you seen much change in the dip technique, particularly since you have revisited the lamp shade in black?
The technique of dipping itself is virtually unchanged, but everything around the production method has improved. The development is mainly reflected in the new types of submersible materials. In addition, the production of moulds is greatly simplified by the new technology found in rapid CNC milling machines. Our producer has developed specialised immersion machines, incorporated with new specialised technologies. But ultimately the essence of dipping stays the same: you just dip!
How did you originally become acquainted with PVC dipping?
During my graduation at the Design Academy in Eindhoven (1995), I researched forgotten crafts and techniques. Eventually I came across the techniques of a dipping technician, actually one located right near Eindhoven. Dipped products back then were mainly technical, utilitarian and practical. Caps, sleeves, hoses. I took a lot of time to experiment with the dipping material. My experiments eventually led me to experimenting with light in combination different compositions of the paste, until a wonderful warm shine moved through the material. I still remember my enthusiasm! The Soft Lamp was the first interior product which has been manufactured using this technique, and was so was the first aesthetic application of the material.
Have other design processes developed because of the Soft Lamp?
The seemingly simple design of the Soft Lamp, combined with material research is something I love to bring back time and time again in my work. It is a combination of these properties that direct new and interesting concepts.
How do you see Droog’s philosophy complement that of the Soft Lamp?
The lamp dates back to 1995. During the second half of the 90s, many designers began to experiment with many materials – including plastics. For all the known and unknown material properties, new applications were sought; batch sizes were modest; and designers created their own products. From this, production processes without high investment costs became interesting, and creativity was rife. This is what we did, created from a simple, but very powerful focus – this fitted into the Droog thought.
The Soft Lamp is a trick of the eye, appearing as ceramic, when in fact it is rubber. This playfulness is integral to the product’s identity – is play an important part of your practice?
Not exactly, I consider it as a kind of hidden property – a trait that hopefully surprises and delights the user.
What is a core value of your own design method?
I design for many different brands. The type of products I’m working on therefore varies. I work with minority groups in remote areas in Vietnam and small scale artisanal products. At the same time, I work for Hella Jongerius for the new KLM business class seat, along with various large-scale industries. The differences in these design processes, and the type of products couldn’t be further apart. Different questions are born from different briefs and therefore very different design processes. I think the strength of my work to a large extent lies in switching between, and connecting such processes.
What production / design methods are you experimenting with at the moment?
In recent years I have been designing more and more furniture. In addition, like all design making, I prefer working to scale. It has become a kind of specialty of mine where I can quickly make my own idea, and therefore get to the core of the design. In so doing, the concept progresses and new, more richly-informed ideas develop. Also, prototypes help clients understand concepts much more efficiently.
And the most important question – where are your Soft Lamps hanging at home?
Still too many rooms in our house 🙂 10 years ago we bought a big old and dilapidated house, with many rooms. After the renovation, there was little budget left for the interior. At that time it seemed like a bad idea to quickly buy some cheap bulbs and hang up. A box of Soft Lamps was still in my studio. We then hung one in the bathroom, the hall, and above the sofa …and I must confess: they still hang there after 10 years!
In Milan this year, Droog presented their smallest exhibition ever – and rode away with a Milano Design Award for the Construct Me! Hardware Collection.
Droog wins Milano Design Award for Best Tech
The Construct Me! Hardware Collection by Studio Droog, presented in Milan 2015, has won Best Tech for the 5th Edition Milano Design Awards 2015. Droog was among only 15 nominees for the award and picked from the 440 presentations shown during the Salone del Mobile 2015. The results were revealed Sunday 19th April, 2015 at Teatro Franco Parenti, Milan.
The jury stated that the work was commended for the originality in the choice to work on the “micro” dimension, which becomes added value without the need for spectacular effects. The project discreetly shows simple technology infused into design, through experimental and innovative products, highly technical, yet poetic.
Droog was among winners such as Lexus, Gamfratesi/Danish Art Foundation and Antonio Marris/Segno Italiano.
About the Award
Reaching it’s 5th edition, the Milano Design Award is the first and unique award dedicated to the best set-ups of Milan Design Week – part of Design Week Festival and organized by Elita in partnership with La Repubblica, IED, Future Concept Lab, Casa Matera, fuorisalone.it and lovli.it.
Related video’s
Learn how to screw me with this video on Droog’s collection of hardware.
Renny Ramakers interviewed for Construct Me! hardware collection. See this video.
Splendor in the Grass
Droog’s Kinesthetic Camping Ground sets the Museum of Sex on fire
‘Splendor in the grass’ is the title of Droog’s latest exhibition commissioned by New York’s Museum of Sex (MoSEX) as part of the Kinesthesia Series. The exhibition explores the somewhat taboo, yet ubiquitous culture of sex through the means of a camping ground – presenting various camping tents to define and engage the multiplex concept of sex, human relationships and the senses.
A synergy of surrealism and the ‘great outdoors’ functions as a platform to seduce kinesthesia through various microcosms of sensorial activity. The exposé will analyze the identity of sex, connecting visitors to phases of stimulation and the thrill of arousal.
Whether the space harnesses movement or tactility, the physical or emotional, fantasy or reality – each contemporary bivouac will, in combination, weave together the diverse sum of sexuality.
The official launch of the exhibition will be on the 25th of June, 2015 and will run for approximately one (1) year.
Droog develops landscape for Department of Design – call for participation NL@WDC2014
Department of Design opens its doors in Cape Town on July 8th, providing a platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange, matchmaking, and building trade relationships between South Africa and the Netherlands, based on local demand. Droog will develop the design for this temporary hub for the Dutch participation in Cape Town World Design Capital 2014, a spectacular ‘landscape’ called FLOW.
Cape Town put the spotlight on design as a transformative force for South African society and is looking for partners. This creates unique possibilities for Dutch businesses that can contribute to sustainable solutions for improving quality of life. Department of Design will showcase ‘best practices’ of Dutch creative innovation and design thinking that are relevant to local issues in Cape Town, South Africa, and Africa.
FLOW is built from locally sourced, recycled materials, and showing examples of Dutch creative innovation selected for their relevance and convincing appeal; the FLOW landscape offers plinths for models, screens for movies, small cubicles for presentations and one-on-one matchmaking, larger spaces for workshops and lectures, a coffee shop, and free WiFi.
Companies with a clear ambition to enter the South African market, as well as knowledge institutes, NGO’s and governmental bodies looking for or working with South African partners, are invited to join Department of Design and share their best practices in Cape Town from 8 to 27 of July! Respond to the open call before April 18th via http://departmentofdesign.nl/?p=27
Artist Franck Bragigand has launched The Living Museum, a selection of painted actions realised around the world by the artist. It is an on-going museum, new performances will be added in the future.
Amongst works realized in Japan, Canada, Russia, United States, Morocco and elsewhere in Europe, seven videos feature projects with Droog.
The conference (Open talks, Pioneers of Change)
Paintings to auction
Continue reading “The Living Museum”
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.
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.
This week Bottoms up doorbell is back in stock after an improved production. We asked the designer, Peter van der Jagt about the design, which he came up with as a student at Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Arnhem.
Here’s what he said:
When I was studying, a strange thing happened. I actually became tired of design. And I was not the only one.
What’s the use after all, when fashion creeps in? What’s the use in assigning a colour when, before you know it, it is “so last year”? What’s the use in designing a shape if, within two years, it reminds you of something from way back when?
We thought we had the solution: we simply didn’t design anymore. We just had a good idea and prototyped it, without sketching or deciding on colour, shape or other aesthetic characteristics. The prototype thus became the product instantly. After all, if it can be made once by a student, it could be made many times by anyone, right? (Admittedly, in hindsight, this turns out to be a bit naïve).
This kind of thinking drove the design of Bottoms up doorbell. We were concerned with how the product could tell a story—not a fairy tale or a multi-layered, symbol-ridden social statement—but the story of the product itself.
What is a doorbell? Every single doorbell is a collection of electric parts that release a hammer so it hits two objects emitting a two-tone sound, in order to announce the arrival of company at the door.
Most doorbells are white plastic cubes that say nothing. Nothing about the technique, nothing about how they work, nothing about what a pleasant sound is, or how hospitality is expressed.
I designed the Bottoms up doorbell in 1994. 16 years later, the product is still current. Perhaps as a classic, but not out of nostalgia. Of course design, and the thoughts driving design have evolved, and I think for the better. Nevertheless, not wanting to design wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
The Bottoms up doorbell is available here.
Christophe Coppens has newly been appointed as purveyor to the Court of Belgium.
According to a long established tradition, the list of people whom His Majesty King Albert II appoints as purveyors to the Court of Belgium is determined once a year. In 2010, Coppens was one of the three establishments appointed to the services of the Court. What an honour!
Visit Droog Amsterdam to see the Christophe Coppens 2010-2011 Winter Collection.
This week we are releasing ‘What you see is not’ by Fernando Brízio. A playful combination of function and illusion, a cabinet has been reduced to its two-dimensional image, leaving only one three-dimensional detail intact—an open drawer, perfect for a book or two. A playful combination of function and illusion that saves material too. Here’s our interview with the Lisbon-based designer, Fernando.
What drew you to work with illusion?
In the Buster Keaton short film, The High Sign, Buster takes a can of paint and a brush, draws a hanger, and hangs his hat on it. When I saw the film, I immediately pictured myself doing that exact same gesture. In that scene, Buster performs what designers do—he makes a drawing that becomes a “useable” object.
Can you explain the concept of this piece?
What you see changes when you move around this object. In a certain position you see a conventional cabinet with an open drawer, but when you move sideways it becomes a flat, somehow deformed image, and the archetypal reference of a cabinet is lost. Is it a cabinet with a drawer? Or is it just a suspended drawer?
What role does illusion play in your work?
The illusion in this piece creates a situation where you observe the object’s form and deform, depending on your position in space. I am interested in this type of interaction between the object and the viewer—what you see is a result of who you are, how you think and how you are mentally and physically constituted.
How do you like to see people interact with this piece?
I like to watch people search for the point of view, when for them, the cupboard seems to be “right,” sometimes covering one eye with their hand to get it perfect. There is a French expression – “ça tape à l’œil”- literally meaning “it hits the eye”. It does not only interest me that my work “hits the eye,” but also that it challenges the mind and our perception of reality.
Woolfiller by Heleen Klopper, the kit for repairing your moth-eaten sweaters, furniture and carpets has been named one of the top 50 Best Inventions of 2010 by TIME Magazine.
When we asked Heleen what she thinks of it being named an “invention” she said, “It’s a small big step. I apply an old technique as a new repair method.”
“Woolfiller invites people to be self-reliant and creative. This meets topical issues such as economy and climate change,” says Heleen.
The kit is available at Droog Amsterdam and right here.
Centraal Museum Utrecht acquired the artist’s proof #1 edition of Red blue Lego chair from our collection. It will be exhibited at Rietveld’s Universe as part of Rietveld Year organized by the Centraal Museum in Utrecht to celebrate the life and heritage of Gerrit Rietveld from October 20th, 2010 until January 30th, 2011. Here is our Q&A with Rotterdam-based designer, Mario Minale of Minale-Maeda (pictured with Kuniko Maeda).
What was your starting point for this chair?
There is this expression in the world of theatre, “breaking the fourth wall.” It’s about bringing in something unexpected. It’s about addressing the audience, taking them out of their lull and involving them, even passing the responsibility onto them.
What I don’t like about icons is that we just accept them, and we no longer know what they mean, and then they are copied time and time again. I was looking for something unexpected in making a copy of an icon. I wanted to break the mould and no longer see an icon as something set in stone.
What was “the fourth wall” in your design?
It was the appropriation of two icons in a way that creates something new. I started with Rietveld’s iconic Red blue chair and brought in equally iconic Lego blocks, and I think because the spirit of Rietveld and of Lego aligned, it created a breed that resonates.
Why did you work with Rietveld’s chair?
Rietveld intended his chair to be a blueprint from which anyone could make his own chair out of readily available material. For Rietveld, variations of his design were intended. That is why the construction of his chair is so simple. There are no dovetails or other complicated joinery.
Why did you bring in Lego?
Lego represents the construction material of our age—it is convenient. It makes personal expression easy. It is a material that empowers the unqualified to create by themselves.
For Rietveld, it was boards cut to size at the sawmill that made his design accessible. One no longer had to go to the woods to chop a tree thanks to industry. For us, it is no longer about cutting and sawing, but rather about blocks that snap together, shiny finish included. Rietveld broke the chair into 14 pieces to make it easy. Lego breaks it into 4445 pieces, which makes it even more easy.
Was it in fact easy to make this chair?
Not at all. Lego is a basic toy, but the process of making a chair out of it became so complicated that it questioned the simplicity that Lego promised. The process I went through makes the chair an even more authentic copy. The result of making a copy is not a copy. It’s an authentic act.
Lego has the same tension. It stands for simplicity, but the moulds to make Lego are a best kept secret, and that’s why there are no knock-offs. One cannot get rid of complexity but can only displace it. This chair is a metaphor for that.
What do you think of the copyright laws that prevented a larger production of the Lego chair?
One cannot get the Rietveld chairs anymore. Finding a way to copy it makes it accessible, and this was my intention. The fact that copyright laws prevented us from making a larger production of the Red blue Lego chair intensifies this discussion.
