7 Keyholes Lock by Luc D’Hanis & Sofie Lachaert

Luc d’Hanis & Sofie Lachaert
7 Keyholes Lock, 2009

A padlock with seven keyholes… but only one that will actually let you in. Created by Luc d’Hanis and Sofie Lachaert for Droog Design, it’s equal parts puzzle, poetry, and playful provocation.

Seven — as in seven days to spin the Earth, seven notes to compose a symphony, seven virtues to uphold, seven sins to avoid. Seven lucky gods in Buddhism and Shintoism, seven heavens in Islam, seven gifts of the Holy Spirit in Christianity. Seven skies, seven wonders, seven omens of the world’s end.

This is no ordinary lock: it’s a tiny theatre of suspense. Will you choose the right keyhole? Will you lock something away, or unlock something new? Mysterious, charismatic, and heavy with symbolism, it’s a design object that makes “security” feel like a riddle you can’t stop thinking about.