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.