Droog (company)

Chest of Drawers designed by Tejo Remy (1960) is part of the Droog collection

Droog's store and headquarters in the Staalstraat in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Droog (droog is a Dutch word meaning "dry") is a conceptual Dutch design company situated in Amsterdam, Netherlands.^[1]

Droog works with independent designers to design and realize products, projects, exhibitions and events. Droog has worked with amongst others Marcel Wanders, Hella Jongerius, Tejo Remy, Richard Hutten, Ed Annink, Jurgen Bey and Joris Laarman.

History

Droog was founded in 1993 by product designer Gijs Bakker and design historian Renny Ramakers. During the Milan Furniture Fair in 1993, the duo presented a selection of sober designs made of industrial materials and found objects. The presentation was titled 'Droog Design', because of the simplicity and dry humor of the objects.^[2]

They continued by putting together design presentations reflecting a clear spirit of the times. In 1996, they extended their sphere of activities by initiating experimental projects. In the following year, Droog received its first commission from a company. In 2003 Droog B.V. was set up alongside the Droog Foundation, for the production and distribution of the Droog product collection. Since the end of 2004, the Droog headquarters has been situated in Amsterdam, combining a store, an exhibition room, a library and a kitchen.

In 1999 an exhibition on Droog was held at Fundación Joan Miró in Barcelona, followed by a retrospective exhibition in 2006/2007 at the Museum of Arts & Design in New York City entitled Simply Droog: 10 + 3 years of creating innovation and discussion. In 2004 a book was published on Droog, entitled Simply Droog: 10 + 1 years of creating innovation and discussion. In 2009, Droog opened a store in New York City's SoHo District.

Activities

• Projects & product development
  • Droog initiates projects and is also commissioned by international firms and institutions such as Mandarina Duck, Bang & Olufsen, Levi Strauss and British Airways. Droog projects can result in a single product, developed by an individual designer, or in group shows presenting a coherent series of variations on a theme.
• Exhibitions
  • Droog organises travelling exhibitions showing Droog collection products. Droog presents designs from young (inter)national designers in their stores in Amsterdam and New York.
• Education
  • Droog lectures worldwide at congresses and seminars. Since 2001 Droog is head of the Masters Design course IM: Identity, Industrial and Interior Masters Industrial Design studio at the Design Academy Eindhoven.
• Publications
  • Droog takes position with provocative publications, both in terms of content and form.

Droog collection

The Droog collection is curated by Renny Ramakers and consists of around 200 products by more than a hundred designers. New designs are often developed and presented in relation with exhibitions (such as the knotted chair of Marcel Wanders during Dry Tech I on the Milan Furniture Fair 1996).^[3] "Saved by Droog" is an element of Droog design that buys up stock and transforms it into something completely new with a distinct voice and purpose. The Droog collection is distributed through the website, via the droog stores and via retailers worldwide.

References

1. ↑ Icon magazine
2. ↑ http://www.kunstbus.nl/design/droog-design.html
3. ↑ http://www.droog.com/presentationsevents/dry-tech-i/

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Droog Design.

• Droog.com
• Droog Design Founders Split Design.nl June 22, 2009
• Renny Ramakers official site
• Video portrait of Droog Design (Dutch Profiles)
• Milan 2008: A touch of green exhibition video
• Video interview Gijs Bakker, Dry Tech 3
• Artkrush.com - review of Simply Droog: 10 + 3 Years of Creating Innovation and Discussion at New York's Museum of Arts & Design
• Droog New York - Store Opening - Freshness Magazine