Sunday 27 July 2014

Droog





Located in Staalstraat in Amsterdam, in a 17th century building where 'Staalmeesters' met to sample products of the textile industry, the Droog flagship store is great fun to visit. The Droog Design group is a design collective based in Amsterdam whose work has garnered international fame and to a large extent has defined Dutch design internationally. Founded in 1993 by product designer Gijs Bakker and design historian Renny Ramakers, the brand shares the simplicity of minimalism, but deploys humour - albeit a dry or 'droog' humour: the work is witty, clever and practical. Discarded or unlikely materials are often used to style familiar objects anew and in the process a dry commentary on the too-often all-surface/no substance world of design is delivered.



 

Rudy Graumans' 85 bulb chandelier, seen through the window, is an inspired example of lateral thinking in design - it's impossible not to smile at the verve with which the designer has transformed an everyday object like a standard light bulb into a spectacular chandelier.




 
Droog works with independent designers to design and realize products, projects, exhibitions and events.
 
 





great form and colours
 
 
 



One more view of the first room in the shop before moving into




 
the garden which we had not seen before
 
 
 

 
a small intimate garden with real plants but astro turf for the paths
 
 
 

 
Droog design seating
 
 
 

 
and a giant mushroom in the middle
 
 
 

 
back indoors through a different door
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
Dutchtub - note the pipes
 
 
 

 
Tejo Remy's chair, made out of strapped-together rags
 
 
 


Tejo Remy's loosely bundled set of found drawers, randomly stacked on top of each other and tied together with strong cord. Droog says Tejo Remy's chest is a criticism on overproduction and consumerism. His deliberate improvisation is also a protest against the increasing complexity of the design profession. The chest has no fixed form - the drawers can be combined and exchanged at will.




 
The store is big
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

 
another chest of drawers made out of greengrocers' crates this time
 

 
 

 
the humour, in the form of the spilled coffee in these cups, is evident here.
 

 
 
 
 

2 comments:

  1. Gunilla and Chris in Barford have one of the hot tubs...amazing how it heats the water through those coils from its bonfire underneath, so stylish in their garden.

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    Replies
    1. How amazing, that we should know someone who has one of those tubs. I am envious! I hope you've had the opportunity to try it out.

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