Oranienbaum
Year: 2012
Material: Porcelain, 300 self-made colours through a process of mixing old and new glazes
Dimensions: Each vase: 41 x Ø 16 cm
Commission: Oranienbaum Dutch Design Summer Exhibitions
Production: Uniquole
Category: Exhibition
In the summer of 2012, Oranienbaum Palace (located near Berlin, Germany) will be hosting an exhibition of contemporary Dutch Design and fashion in combination with historical artefacts from the Dutch Royal Archives. Built for Henriette Catharina, Princess of Anhalt-Dessau, Oranienbaum is part of the heritage of the House of Orange-Nassau. With a major conservation and refurbishment process nearing completion, the palace and its park have been restored to their former grandeur.
The exhibition covers some 50 rooms. Each one is a showcase for ceramics, glassware and glass objects, silver and furniture, from the tea salon to the dressing-room of the mistress of the house, from the former princely apartments to the basement with its Delft blue tiles, from the bedchamber to the entrance hall.
Coloured Vases (series 3) is featured in one of the rooms of the palace, you can watch a movie of the set up of the installation of 300 vases here:
Grand Summer Exhibition at Oranienbaum Palace
April 26th 2012 till September 30th 2012
for more information:
http://www.oranienbaumexhibition.com
KLM World Business Class cabin interior
Year: 2012
Material: diverse
Commission: KLM (NL)
Production: KLM
Category: Industrial production
Hella Jongerius designs World Business Class cabin interior for KLM
Amstelveen, 12 April 2012 – KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has asked leading Dutch designer Hella Jongerius to revitalise its World Business Class (WBC) cabin interior across the fleet. This will enable KLM to modernise its WBC product, uniting international allure with top Dutch design to emphasise a sense of pride in our Dutch heritage.
By cooperating in this unique manner with Hella Jongerius, KLM intends to create an entirely new Business Class look & feel. In addition to designing the interior, Hella Jongerius will shape the full-flat seats. Customer comfort and safety always form the premise, harmonising well with KLM’s brand values. This also fits into the broader context of other successful KLM initiatives in WBC with top Dutch chefs and fashion designers.
Erik Varwijk, Managing Director KLM: “By choosing to work with Hella Jongerius, KLM is opting to engage a top Dutch designer to help make our Business Class passengers feel at home on board. As a designer, Hella has broad experience which she can apply to the needs of KLM and its customers, in accordance with the specific requirements for cabin interiors in the airline industry. Her previous projects demonstrate her ability to process such criteria into top-quality designs such as the ‘polder sofa’, which is both comfortable and beautiful. With her expertise and focus on quality, she is keenly aware of what makes a brand unique. An outstanding match!”
Hella Jongerius: “It’s a brilliant opportunity for me to design the cabin interior and the new business class seat for KLM. The challenge is one of safeguarding individual comfort in amiable settings using innovations. In so doing, I can optimally combine traditional details, and my industrial textile and colour skills with high-tech functionality.”
KLM will begin revitalising the first aircraft in June 2013. The Boeing 747-400s will be converted first; a total of 22 aircraft. Further details of the design and the new seat will be published in the second half of 2012.
More information and images wil be published on our website soon.
U.N. North Delegates’ Lounge - RE-DESIGN
Year: 2011
Material: diverse
Dimensions: diverse
Commission: United Nations/ Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Industrial production
Year: 2011/2012
Commission: United Nations/ Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Re-Design: Dutch designteam headed by Hella Jongerius
The re-design of the North Delegates’ Lounge pays tribute to the history of this crucial space within the United Nations’ headquarters in New York, while adding striking contemporary accents. Monumental architectonic interventions alternate with ample attention for material details, tactility and colors. Existing designs alternate with new designs, Dutch designs are mixed with international designs.
The U.N. headquarters were originally completed in 1952 and financed in part by donations from the member states. Between 2009 and 2013 the buildings are being renovated. The Netherlands have adopted the re-design of the North Delegates’ Lounge. After a selection process, in which four Dutch design teams competed with each other, the team assembled by Hella Jongerius was selected.
The design team is composed of:
Hella Jongerius Designer
Rem Koolhaas/OMA Architect
Irma Boom Graphic Designer
Gabriel Lester Artist
Louise Schouwenberg Theorist
Hella Jongerius: “The space was devoid of personality because it lacked attention for material detailing. Apart from monumental gestures, such as removing the mezzanine and re-positioning the artworks, we needed to address the physical experience of the space.”
The carpet consists of a duotone weave of dark brown and grey. It will ground a large variety of furniture: existing designs within the U.N., including the iconic Peacock chairs, alternate with new furniture: the RE-Lounge Chair, which enables flexible configurations for informal meetings, and the Bubble Desk, which creates privacy while working on the computer, due to its semi-transparant hood. A classic Dutch textile design was re-interpreted (Daphne, 1962) and will be used to (re-)upholster various old and new designs: Utrecht chair, Fauteuil Direction, the RE-Lounge Chair and the Polder Sofa. In front of the monumental windows two curtain designs will be hung: the Knots&Grid Curtain (North façade) and the Knots&Beads Curtain (East façade). The latter consists of 300.000 porcelain beads, which are handcrafted by Dutch craftsmen. They litterally bring a piece of the Netherlands to the U.N., while at the level of meanings they refer both to the United Nations and to the Netherlands.
In 1952 the 11 architects of the U.N. Headquarters, including Wallace K. Harrison, Le Corbusier, and Oscar Niemeyer, have cooperated to create a superb work. The Dutch team, aware of this tradition, has also worked together on all its plans. The various interventions are linked to specific names, whose voices were prevalent in the final designs. However, until the final moment all interventions have been open to debate and questioning by all the other members of the team. The result is a multidisciplinary Gesamtkunstwerk that offers both old and new perspectives on ‘A Workshop For Peace’ (the expression architect Wallace K. Harrison used to describe both the design process of the U.N. buildings and the global organization itself).
The re-design of the North Delegates’ Lounge is an initiative of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and will be completed in 2012.
U.N. North Delegates’ Lounge – RE-Lounge Chair and Bubble Desk
Year: 2011
Material: diverse
Dimensions: diverse
Commission: United Nations/ Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Production: Vitra
Category: Industrial production
Two new furniture designs have been developed by Hella Jongerius: the RE-Lounge Chair and the Bubble Desk. Special versions of them are available exclusively for the U.N.
Bubble Desk, 2011
Due to its striking hood a bubble of privacy is created in the internet table.
Materials: dark oak and milky light blue polyester (semi-transparent).
RE-Lounge Chair, 2011
The RE-Lounge Chair is light and mobile. This is a context in which numerous informal discussions are held; a static routing of heavy items of furniture would be diametrically opposed to that liveliness. The RE-Lounge Chair caters for the demand of changeability because it enables several configurations.
Materials: legs of dark brown wood and steel; upholstery ‘U.N.’ blue fabric (Daphne) and dark brown patches of leather on the armrests and the back of the leaning;stitchings of bright blue.
U.N. North Delegates’ Lounge – Knots & Beads Curtain
Year: 2011
Material: yarn, beads of partly glazed porcelain
Dimensions: 7 meters hight, 14 meters width
Commission: United Nations/ Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Production: Royal Tichelaar Makkum
Category: One-offs
The windows of the East Façade of the U.N. Delegates’ Lounge will be covered with a grid curtain, which both corresponds to and contrasts with the grid curtains of the North façade.
Product designer Hella Jongerius has achieved an international reputation through the combination of craft and industrial methods of production, the celebration of history, and the optimal utilization of the specific characteristics of craft production. Those themes are clearly present in the Knots & Beads Curtain.
The curtain consists of knotted yarn and porcelain beads. A large variety of knots were traditionally applied in fishery; Dutch maritime history has beautiful examples from which the designer drew inspiration. The ceramic beads refer to another rich tradition, the handicraft ceramic industry. In close cooperation with the craftsmen of Royal Tichelaar in Makkum, the oldest ceramic company in the Netherlands (1572), thousands of handmade beads are made, which literally bear the visible traces of their manufacture. The irregularities
of the knots and beads soften the severe grid pattern of the whole.
For centuries Royal Tichelaar works with a special glazing method: after the objects have been fired, they are plunged into the liquid glazing substance, after which they are fired again to harden the glaze. Jongerius shows that method by plunging only a part of each bead in the glazing substance. This leaves the unglazed clay visible that is excavated in the surroundings of Royal Tichelaar, which has a texture and color of its own, which are only to be found on this location. The project opens a new perspective on locality within a global context. The curtain itself literally brings a piece of the Netherlands to New York.
The curtain is produced by Royal Tichelaar Makkum, after a design by and in close cooperation with the designer, Hella Jongerius.
U.N. North Delegates’ Lounge – Color Palette
Year: 2011
Material: diverse
Dimensions: diverse
Commission: United Nations/ Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Industrial production
The existing colors of the public spaces of the U.N. buildings have turned grayish. In the more private spaces the colors are surprisingly warm in hue, sometimes even strikingly outspoken and intense. The Scandinavian origins are visible in the greens, blues and reddish browns. In the North Delegates’ Lounge the color palette of the existing artworks is dominant.
All new colors were chosen after various analyses were made of the former color palette of the U.N. In order to create a counterweight to the forces on the wall, a subdued neutral color was chosen for the curtains and the carpet. The color of the carpet should serve to ground the variety of furniture and is in line with the colors in the corridor of the Conference Building. The colors of the upholstery of the furniture show a contemporary variation of the greens, the blues and the reddish browns which are predominant colors within the U.N.. For these new fabrics, a weave is designed of weft and warp in duo tones: each thread reappears in more than one fabric, while the other thread is changed, creating color families.
In the past, throughout the North Delegates’ Lounge various woods were to be found. In the re-newed lounge a variety of woods and their colors, from dark brown to whitewashed oak, will alternate with the grey of the aluminum South wall, the many hues of the weaves of upholstery, carpet and curtains, and a few crisp colors, such as the green of the café tables and the ice blue in the North Façade Curtain, the hood of the Internet Table and the SideTables.
Misfit
Year: 2010
Commission: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (NL)
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Exhibition
Press release
Hella Jongerius - Misfit
13 November 2010 – 13 February 2011
This autumn Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is presenting the first retrospective exhibition in the Netherlands of the designer Hella Jongerius. It is a unique survey of her working practices, experiments and innovative products.
The exhibition at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen includes industrial products, experiments and numerous sketch models, giving an overview of all of Hella Jongerius’s themes and preoccupations. The exhibition includes well-known designs such as the B- set, Long Neck & Groove Bottles, Repeat fabrics, Nymphenburg plates, the Polder Sofa, IKEA vases and the Frog Table. It also features her most recent work: in the middle of the space are 300 unique vases arranged in a circle according to colour. This series of Coloured Vases has been developed in close collaboration with Royal Tichelaar Makkum. On the walls there is a visual chronological survey of the works in the exhibition by the graphic designer Irma Boom.
Imperfection
Hella Jongerius (1963) is one of the most important designers of her generation. In the 1990s she introduced imperfections and individuality into the industrial manufacturing process. Jongerius believes that the quality of craftsmanship is not legible in perfect products but only in the ‘misfits’ that betray the process and the hand of the maker. ‘Misfits are my idea of perfection’, says Jongerius. Many of her products, such as the Layers textiles and Nymphenburg plates, explore the potential of historical motifs and narrative decoration. In the Frog Table, the decoration literally escapes from the flat surface; the frog mediates between the table and the user almost as a living creature.
Colours
The retrospective exhibition at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen explores Jongerius’s working methods and her innovative vision of the design profession. The objects are arranged by colour and almost all of them are attached to the walls. This display means that there is are no thematic or chronological groupings and also no hierarchy between preparatory studies and finished products. Moreover, the objects are stripped of their normal functional context. In a museum the user is an observer. The museum context offers the visitor room to reflect upon the objects’ hidden meanings.
Biography
Hella Jongerius graduated from the Design Academy in Eindhoven in the early 1990s, a period that witnessed the emergence of conceptual design. Between 1993 and1998 Jongerius mainly initiated her own design projects and contributed to several projects for Droog Design. Since then she has worked for numerous clients around the world. She has won prestigious prizes and her designs are represented in the collections of museums and galleries including the Museum of Modern Art in New York; the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York; Galerie Kreo in Paris and the Design Museum in
London. Her studio, Jongeriuslab, was based in Rotterdam until 2008. Jongerius now lives and works in Berlin.
Catalogue
This autumn Phaidon Press is publishing the monograph ‘Hella Jongerius – Misfit’ written by Louise Schouwenberg, with contributions by the design critic Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator in the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. The publication is designed by Irma Boom and is available from the museum shop.
The exhibition is curated by Louise Schouwenberg.
HLL Colours - Colourful Blacks
Year: 2010
Material: Environmentally safe, non-toxic water-based emulsion paint
Commission: kt.COLOR
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Industrial production
The Colourful Blacks are 16 different shades of black, which are used on the walls of the Misfit exhibition. The colours are designed by Jongerius and produced and distributed by artisan paint manufacturer kt.COLOR. Each paint of the HLL Colours collection consists of a specific mix of handcrafted pigments. The Colourful Blacks are made exclusively of Elfen beinschwarz (ivory black), chalk, and classic artists pigments: ultramarine blue, ultramarine green, cobalt green, natural umber, ruby red, and magenta.
new book: Hella Jongerius - Misfit
Year: 2010
Commission: Phaidon Press, London
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Industrial production
Dutch designer Hella Jongerius (b.1963) is one of the most individual and influential product designers working today. In January Phaidon Press will launch a new monograph Hella Jongerius: Misfit celebrating the designer’s eclectic work. A major exhibition of the same name, displaying a range of Jongerius’ remarkable products, will also be on show at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (13 November 2010 – 13 February 2011).
The designer’s unique aesthetic has often been described as a fusion of opposites; manufacturing and craft; high and low tech; traditional and contemporary. Materials are brought together in unusual and often contradictory ways, creating works that are extremely textural and beg to be touched: rough edged leather is rolled to create wheels; paint is dripped messily onto earthenware; ceramics are sewn onto cotton table cloths; vases are soft and sinks are made from rubber.
The title of both book and exhibition allude to Jongerius’ belief that quality craftsmanship is indistinguishable in perfect, industrial products, and is only present in the ‘misfits’, their imperfections betraying the process and the hand of the maker. Jongerius pioneered the reintroduction of craftsmanship in contemporary design. By incorporating crafted individuality into the industrial manufacturing process she has succeeded in creating eclectic pieces which play on consumers’ expectations of style and function.
Created in close collaboration with Jongerius, the monograph exhibits all of her work to date. The book features the main text, consisting of four hypothetical conversations between Jongerius and author Louise Schouwenberg (a Dutch writer, curator and Associate Professor of Design Theory at Design Academy Eindhoven), which discusses Jongerius’ working methods, disillusion with the perfection of much industrial product design, and the development of her key designs. Two essays by contemporary design experts Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli further contextualise Jongerius’ work.
The breadth of detail, along with the striking imagery ensures Hella Jongerius: Misfit is the ultimate insight into one of the most creative product designers working today. The extraordinary book was designed by the wellknown Dutch graphic designer Irma Boom.
Title information
Title: Hella Jongerius - Misfit
Texts: Louise Schouwenberg (editor), Alice Rawsthorn, Paola Antonelli
Graphic Design: Irma Boom Office / Irma Boom and Sanne van de Goor
ISBN : 9780714859873
Extent: 308 pp
Retail Price: £29.95 / € 39.95
Publication Date: January 2011
Coloured Vases (series 3)
Year: 2010
Material: Porcelain, 300 self-made colours through a process of mixing old and new glazes
Dimensions: Each vase: 41 x Ø 16 cm
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Royal Tichelaar Makkum
Category: One-offs
Collection: Collectors Edition: 300 one-off vases are linked to copies of the monograph ‘Hella Jongerius – Misfit’ (published by Phaidon Press 2010). The second series of 300 vases is part of the collection of the designer.
The three series of Coloured Vases show experiments with colours in which the vase (Red White Vase of 1997) is used as the ‘canvas’. The first series (featuring 40 RAL colours) was produced in 2003, the second series (with 42 NCS colours) in 2007. The third version of 300 Coloured Vases, an investigation into the perception of colours that optically merge, was produced in 2010. On the basis of 100 old mineral recipes and 100 industrial colour transfers, 300 polychrome colours were produced which are reminiscent of the colour intensities of old paintings.
Bob Garden Club Chair
Year: 2010
Material: Aluminium frame, foam, polyester fabric with PVC cover, polypropylene
Dimensions: Chair: 84 x 92 x 95 cm, foot rest: 34 x 70 x 43 cm, side table: 45 x 41 x 49 cm
Commission: Kettal, Spain
Production: Kettal
Category: Industrial production
A reinterpretation of a typical garden club chair. The aluminium frame has a sturdy, dark look when seen from the front, and reveals an elegant, light construction at the back.
Colour Lab
Year: 2010
Material: Various
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Vitra, Basel
Production: Vitra
Category: Exhibition
The colour research and the creation of a new colour range for Vitra products, from the plastic standard chairs, textiles and leather to the finishes of wood and metal, resulted in the Colour Lab. Various materials and surfaces were used to experiment with the colours, including the coloured ‘pastilles’. Jongerius speaks of ‘colour cooking’, when pointing to the relationships she creates between one colour and another and between colours and material surfaces. The lab offers visitors a chance to better understand the many effects and nuances of colours.
Taking a Stance
Year: 2010
Material: Various
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Dutch DFA
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Exhibition
‘Taking a Stance’ presented works of four Dutch and four Chinese designers. For this exhibition in the Dutch Cultural Centre in Shanghai, Jongerius designed an interactive cupboard that gave a representative overview of her work and the themes she deals with: craft and industry, options, archives and imagination.
A Tribute to Camper
Year: 2009
Material: Various
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Camper
Production: Camper
Category: Industrial production
A mix of the well-known icons of the company and the characteristic signature of Jongerius. The next step in the close collaboration between Jongerius and Camper is the development of a colour palette and a system which the design team at the company can use in designing the next season’s collections.
Artifical Flowers (Natura Design Magistra)
Year: 2009
Material: Various materials, including paper, wood, plastic, ceramics, glass, leather, tape, metal
Dimensions: Table: 85 x 60 x 185 cm. Flowers: various. Total height of table and flowers: 213 cm
Commission: Galerie Kreo, Paris
Production: Jongeriuslab and Galerie kreo
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Private collections
Natura Design Magistra. The flowers represent a parallel world to ‘real’ nature, whose complexity is expressed in the diversity of materials, techniques and forms.
Turtle Table (Natura Design Magistra)
Year: 2009
Material: Layers of wood and multi-coloured resin
Dimensions: 63 x 115 x 93 cm
Commission: Galerie Kreo, Paris
Production: Galerie kreo
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Private collections
The fusion of an animal and a side table. Narrative decoration has become an almost autonomous 3D figure.
Chicle Project
Year: 2009
Material: Chicle (natural latex from the chicozapote tree), mixed materials
Dimensions: Various
Commission: The Nature Conservancy
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: One-offs / experiments
Collection: The Nature Conservancy, collection of the designer
Experiments with the natural material chicle, derived from the rainforests of Mexico. The project, in which a group of internationally renowned designers participated, was initiated by the American Nature Conservancy, an organisation which strives to protect sustainable materials for use in contemporary art, design and architecture. The results of the project were shown for the first time at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York.
Layers on Nike
Year: 2009
Material: Cover of the shoes: Layers fabric
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Nike and Maharam
Production: Nike and Maharam
Category: Limited edition
The Layers fabric, designed for the upholstery of furniture, is added to an industrial icon, Nike sports shoes (Air Force 1). This multidisciplinary undertaking bridges disparate aspects of industrial design, sports technology and craft.
Frog Table (Natura Design Magistra)
Year: 2009
Material: Walnut wood, blue semi-transparent coating
Dimensions: 120 x 210 x 105 cm
Commission: Galerie Kreo, Paris
Production: Galerie kreo
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, private collections
In many works Jongerius deals with the relationship between users and their products. In Frog Table the frog functions as an intermediary. The decoration has become an almost autonomous 3D figure, who will not be ignored at your table. Frog Table plays with the imagination of the user; at the same time the design reveals an outspoken view of the power of decoration in design.
IKEA PS Pelle, Mikkel and Gullspira
Year: 2009
Material: Wool, cotton, decorations embroidered by hand
Dimensions: 93 x 70 cm
Commission: IKEA, Sweden
Production: IKEA
Category: Unlimited production
An IKEA-Unicef project that helps Indian women to earn a living and meet other women while their children attend school. The wall-hangings result from both industrial and craft production and honour the role of the craftspeople, as each specific fabric carries the name of the woman who contributed to it. The images are taken from Swedish fairy tales, a reference to IKEA’s homeland. This kind of time-consuming craftsmanship can only be done at affordable prices when commissioned by manufacturers who can produce and distribute the objects in large quantities.
Swatch Table
Year: 2008
Material: American walnut, multi-coloured resin blocks
Dimensions: American walnut, multi-coloured resin blocks
Commission: Galerie Kreo, Paris
Production: Galerie kreo
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Private collections
Swatch Table is a contemporary version of a coloured mosaic. The colours have several gradations – transparent, milky, gloss and matt. The shapes of the blocks determine the outline of the table.
Rotterdam Chair
Year: 2008
Material: Wood, plastic; several colours. Some chairs have leather seating
Dimensions: 81 x 47 x 54 cm
Commission: Vitra, Basel
Production: Vitra
Category: Prototype
Collection: Not yet in production
Vitra’s brief: create a stackable, affordable wooden chair. Because of these preconditions, Jongerius focused on a few significant details, such as the plastic ‘feet’ and the stylish link between legs and seating. The sturdy, but also elegant impression, enticed her to name the chair Rotterdam, referring to an old tradition in furniture making: craftsmen used to name their furniture after their home town.
Flower Pyramid
Year: 2008
Material: Ceramics, glaze (faience), hand-painted decorations, metal, straps
Dimensions: 139 x 56 x 40 cm
Commission: Royal Tichelaar Makkum (NL)
Production: Royal Tichelaar Makkum
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Zuiderzee Museum, Enkhuizen, private collections
This hanging vase is an interpretation of, and reference to, a 17th-century flower showpiece in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. After the time-consuming restoration of the old vase, Royal Tichelaar Makkum asked four designers to reflect on the vase as a showpiece, on its decorations and applied technique. Flower Pyramid shows a gradual disappearance of form, matter and pattern. Moreover, by hanging the showpiece almost carelessly on the wall, it is robbed of its elevated aura.
Shippo Plates
Year: 2007
Material: Copper, enamel
Dimensions: Plate # 1: 3.5 x Ø 19.5 cm, plate #2: 4 x Ø 19.5 cm, plate #3: 3 x Ø 24 cm, plate #4: 3.5 x Ø 30.5 cm, plate #5: 6 x Ø 42 cm
Commission: Cibone, Tokyo
Production: Cibone and Frozen Fountain
Category: Unlimited production
A contemporary interpretation of an almost lost craft: ‘shippo cloisonné’ or ‘enamel’. The piece not only reinterprets old decorations, but also employs untreated copper, which will eventually turn black /green.
Office Pets
Year: 2007
Material: Leather, metal, polyester, embroidery
Dimensions: Heights: 136, 195, and 124 cm
Commission: Vitra, Basel
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, private collections
Only when the mind is able to fly do exciting ideas develop. Based on this idea, Jongerius created 3 objects that connect the rational world of offices and the narrative world of fairy tales. The limited edition is part of the Vitra Edition project (2007), a laboratory that provided architects and designers with the freedom to create experimental objects without having to deal with the constraints of market and production logic. Office Pets push the boundaries of the field, emphasising the role of the imagination rather than the function of the objects.
The first set was created by Vitra and Jongeriuslab, the next sets were created with Galerie kreo.
Coloured Vases (series 2)
Year: 2007
Material: Porcelain, lacquered spray paint, 42 industrial colours of the Natural Colour System (NCS) colour range
Dimensions: Each vase: 41 x Ø16 cm
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Royal Tichelaar Makkum
Category: One-offs
Collection: Jongeriuslab
This is an experiment with colours in which the vase (Red White Vase of 1997) is used as the ‘canvas’. The first series (with RAL colours) was produced in 2003. The second series of 42 Coloured Vases was created in 2007, based on the NCS colour range which is directly linked to the Vitra colour palette. In 2010, a third version of 300 Coloured Vases will be produced with a mix of old and new glaze recipes.
Backpack Sofa and Stool
Year: 2007
Material: Walnut wood, polyester, wool, cotton, linen, straps
Dimensions: Sofa: 115 x 195 x 39 cm Stool: 62 x 48 x 60 cm
Commission: Galerie Kreo, Paris
Production: Jongeriuslab and Galerie kreo
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Private collectors
Backpack Sofa refers to the demands of backpack travellers, who need options and flexibility while travelling. The representation of having options is an important theme that surfaces in many works, including the Nymphenburg Sketches (2004) and the ‘Ideal House’ installation (2005). Vitra will produce an industrial variation (in development).
Inside Colours
Year: 2007
Material: Various including cupboards, products from the Vitra archives, Coloured Vases series 2, curtains
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein (DE)
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Exhibition
‘Inside Colours’ presented the first results of Jongerius’ colour research for Vitra. The cupboards contained 42 Coloured Vases, which are linked to the industrial colour palette of the company, and products from the Vitra archives, organised according to their colours. Semi-transparent curtains moved around the cupboards, creating a constantly changing, vibrant image.
Four Seasons
Year: 2007
Material: Porcelain, glaze, hand-painted decorations, fabric, embroidery
Dimensions: Various, highest point of jug: 26 cm
Commission: Nymphenburg, München
Production: Nymphenburg
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: Stedelijk Museum ‘s Hertogenbosch
A celebration of handicraft, materials and narrative decoration. The sculpted heads on the four items have been taken from the Nymphenburg archives: Bacchus, Flora, Ceres and Pompona, representing the four seasons.
Miroirs Animaux
Year: 2007
Material: American walnut, metal, mirror; the drawing is carved into the wood and filled with black resin
Dimensions: 72 x 110 cm
Commission: Galerie Kreo, Paris
Production: Galerie kreo
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Private collectors
A light-hearted play between the mirrored image of oneself and the fragments of an animal’s ‘face’: a fox, a vulture, or a rhinoceros.
The drawings are by artist Rogier Walrech.
Porcupine Desk
Year: 2007
Material: Solid beech wood, water-based lacquer, silkscreen, coloured pencils
Dimensions: 54 x 72 x 57 cm
Commission: Vitra, Basel
Production: Vitra
Category: Industrial production
The table is designed to match the Panton chairs for children. Porcupine Desk combines two silhouettes, which refer to the shape of an animal. The decoration on top is reminiscent of a girl’s charm bracelet. The drawings of the charms refer to items designed by Jongerius and items from the Vitra collection.
Props
Year: 2007
Material: Various
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Vitra, Basel
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: One-offs
Collection: Collection of the designer
Props are hybrids of functional products and fantastical characters. In the last few decades, the term functionality has become estranged from its original meaning. The Props play with this phenomenon. The objects were created to complement Vitra’s presentation of furniture at the Salone del Mobile in Milan.
Porcelain Color Research
Year: 2006
Material: Porcelain, coloured porcelain, glaze
Dimensions: Cups: 11 x Ø 7 cm, plates: 2 x Ø 20 cm
Commission: Royal Tichelaar Makkum (NL)
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: One-offs / experiments
Collection: Stedelijk Museum ‘s Hertogenbosch (1 set of 50 plates), collection of the designer (1 set of 50 plates, 100 cups)
These are colour experiments with the B-Set cups and plates. Sometimes the clay is coloured before firing; sometimes a top layer of coloured glaze is added to the ceramic skin. The experiment has many spin-offs, including Coloured B-Set.
Production collaboration with Royal Tichelaar Makkum.
‘Hella Jongerius’ Solo Exhibition
Year: 2006
Material: Various, including many of Jongerius textiles and products
Dimensions: Various
Commission: hhstyle.com gallery, Tokyo
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Exhibition
The installation consisted of storage, a hanging system for fabrics and several of Jongerius’ textiles and products.
Blossom - Ceiling Lights
Year: 2006
Material: Lacquered aluminium and anodized aluminium, bronze
Dimensions: Lampshades, length: 16.5 – 29.5 cm, Ø: 10.5 – 34 cm
Commission: Belux, Basel
Production: Belux
Category: Industrial production
The lamp combines industrial knowledge and handcrafted characteristics. The hanging version offers many options to assemble shades.
Hollandse Meesters
Year: 2006
Material: Various, including antique cupboards, paintings and a quilt made by Jongerius
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Singer Museum, Laren (NL)
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Exhibition
Collection: Singer Laren (quilt)
At the request of the Singer Laren museum, Jongerius selected paintings of traditional Dutch interiors from the museum’s archive. The paintings were presented in an installation of antique cupboards, alongside a quilt, made by Jongerius, which depicted a similar traditional Dutch interior.
Coloured B-Set
Year: 2006
Material: Porcelain, coloured porcelain, glaze
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Royal Tichelaar Makkum (NL)
Production: Royal Tichelaar Makkum
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: Private collections
The original B-Set (1997) was one of the first designs in which individuality was produced within serial production. In 2006, experiments with coloured clay initiated the coloured B-Set. Since then B-Set has been produced in white, red and anthracite. Furthermore, since 2009 it has also been made in green, brown, blue and pink. The colours are created in several ways, some through the colouring of the clay before firing, some through the addition of a coloured glaze.
The Worker Sofa
Year: 2006
Material: Several textiles, solid oak frame and armrests, cast aluminium
Dimensions: 80 x 135 x 78 cm
Commission: Vitra, Basel
Production: Vitra
Category: Industrial production
The Utrecht Chair, designed in 1936 by the Dutch designer Gerrit Rietveld, inspired the design of The Worker Sofa. The detailing of the wooden frame of the sofa, the aluminium bridge connecting the frame to the armrest (by which the armrests seem to be floating), and the textiles, are evidence of the handicraft skills of the industrial experts at Vitra.
Layers
Year: 2006
Material: Wool, polyester yarn
Dimensions: 140 cm wide
Commission: Maharam, New York
Production: Maharam
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: MoMA, New York, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York, Art Institute of Chicago, Philadelphia Museum of Art
A follow-up to the Paravent tapestries (2005). Each fabric contains two layers of felt. They are linked by an embroidered pattern, which contains several misfits. Some parts of the first layer have been cut away using a laser technique. This creates the impression of layering which gave rise to the name of the fabrics.
Layers Exhibition
Year: 2006
Material: Various (including 5 one-off pieces of furniture: Jackpot Field, Backpack, Soft Cupboard, Bedstee, Jackpot Cabinet. Various limited editions of products: 4 Jackpot Vases, 15 Quilted Vases, 36 Bonanza Jugs with bronze stopper, 1 set of bronze jugs.
Dimensions: Furniture, vases and jugs of various dimensions
Commission: Moss Gallery, New York
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Exhibition
Collection: Elements of the installation are part of the collections of several museums, including the Indianapolis Museum of Art (Quilted Vase), and many private collections
Based on the textile design of Layers, Jongerius constructed five one-off ‘Interior Fragments’, incorporating not only the first prototypes of the fabric, but also traditional Dutch woodwork, cast bronze and large-scale ceramic pots and vases.
Beads and Pieces
Year: 2006
Material: Ceramics, wood, beads
Dimensions: Bottle: 40.5 x Ø 16.5 cm, small bowl: 8.5 x Ø 11 cm, medium bowl: 10 x Ø 20 cm, large bowl: 20 x Ø 29 cm
Commission: Artecnica, Los Angeles
Production: Artecnica
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Instituut Collectie Nederland
The collection is handcrafted by Peruvian artisans with the help of Aid to Artisans. This non-profit organization provides practical assistance to artisans worldwide.
Blossom - Standing Lights
Year: 2006
Material: Leather, terracotta, lacquered aluminium, anodized aluminium, bronze
Dimensions: Height: 212 cm, foot Ø: 34 cm, lampshades Ø: 10.5 – 34 cm
Commission: Belux, Basel
Production: Belux
Category: Industrial production
The lamp combines industrial knowledge and handcrafted elements. Similar colours are created through the anodizing of the aluminium and by covering the aluminium with a spray-paint lacquer of the same hue. The design of the copper switches resurfaces in the patterns for Layers fabrics.
The Worker
Year: 2006
Material: Several textiles, solid oak frame and armrests, cast aluminium
Dimensions: 80 x 79 x 78 cm
Commission: Vitra, Basel
Production: Vitra
Category: Industrial production
Collection: Indianapolis Museum of Art, with specially selected fabrics
The Utrecht Chair, designed in 1936 by the Dutch designer Gerrit Rietveld, inspired the design of The Worker. The detailing of the wooden frame of The Worker, the aluminium bridge connecting the frame to the armrest (by which the armrests seem to be floating), and the textiles, are evidence of the handicraft skills of the industrial experts at Vitra.
IKEA PS Jonsberg
Year: 2005
Material: Stoneware, earthenware, porcelain and bone china, glaze and various decorations
Dimensions: 34 x Ø 30 cm
Commission: IKEA, Sweden
Production: IKEA
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: The vase is held in a large number of musuem collections, including the Stedelijk Museum ‘s Hertogenbosch and Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. It is also held in numerous private collections!
This responds to the challenge of how to preserve traces of the craft process within a mass-produced product. The same archetypal forms are made in four ceramic techniques and their decorations refer to specific parts of the world, the Soviet Union, Africa, Asia and Europe. This kind of timeconsuming craftsmanship is only possible at affordable prices when commissioned by manufacturers who can produce and distribute the objects in large quantities.
Paravents
Year: 2005
Material: Felt, wool Technique: Needle-punch and embroidery
Dimensions: 197 x 141 cm
Commission: Villa Noailles, Hyeres (FR)
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Textielmuseum Tilburg, FNAC, Puteaux, private collections
The Paravents are produced with the same technique as the Sampler Blankets (2004), but this time the motives refer to the Jongerius’ archive. After all, what is designed today belongs to the archive tomorrow!
Bead Bulb
Year: 2005
Material: Base of fibreglass covered with embroidered linen tape. The top has a cover of knitted beads
Dimensions: 82 x Ø 50 cm
Commission: Galerie Kreo, Paris
Production: Jongeriuslab and Galerie kreo
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Private collections
With their unconventional skins the Bead Bulbs are reminiscent of an earlier project, Knitted Lamps (1995).
Cupboard
Year: 2005
Material: A collage of many elements: parts of an antique wooden cupboard, plexiglas, engraved and printed decorations and texts
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Galerie Kreo, Paris
Production: Jongeriuslab and Galerie kreo
Category: One-offs
Collection: Private collectors
The first of Jongerius’ designs for Galerie kreo, many others would follow. The Paris gallery was one of the first to present limited editions of experimental designs, which push the boundaries of the field. Preliminary experiments of Jongerius’ Cupboard go back to 2003, when similar cupboards were shown at The Design Museum, London.
On the Shelves
Year: 2005
Material: Various, including the Paravents and replicas of Jongerius’ works in textile
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Villa Noailles, Hyeres (FR)
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Exhibition
The exhibition showed a selection from Jongerius’ oeuvre and new works, including the Paravents, which were specially made for the exhibition.
Non-Temporary
Year: 2005
Material: Earthenware, glaze, hand-painted Majolica decorations
Dimensions: Various, largest plate Ø: 45 cm, height of candleholder: 20 cm, height of large vase: 28 cm
Commission: Royal Tichelaar Makkum (NL)
Production: Royal Tichelaar Makkum
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Stedelijk Museum ‘s Hertogenbosch, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, Zuiderzee Museum, Enkhuizen
Showing the raw clay found in the vicinity of the workshops, a typical glazing technique (dipping) and the hand-painted Majolica decorations, this set of earthenware celebrates the history of Royal Tichelaar Makkum.
Polder Sofa
Year: 2005
Material: Wood, foams, upholstery of several textiles or leather and several colour nuances
Dimensions: XS / XL / XXL: 78 x 226 x 95 / 78 x 293 x 100 / 78 x 330 x 100 cm
Commission: Vitra, Basel
Production: Vitra
Category: Industrial production
Polder Sofa contains a mix of fabrics, colours, industrial elements and craft details. The name and the design refer to the typical Dutch ‘polder’ landscape: the artificial land reclaimed from the sea by means of long horizontal dykes and intersecting drainage canals. Polder Sofa was Jongerius’ first industrially designed piece of furniture and marked the start of an intense collaboration with Vitra.
Bovist
Year: 2005
Material: Viscose, linen, embroidery
Dimensions: 38 x Ø 54 cm
Commission: Vitra, Basel
Production: Vitra
Category: Industrial production
Collection: Textielmuseum Tilburg
Bovist contains a mix of techniques, industrial elements and craft detailing. The embroidered drawings contain many references. Lacemaker, for instance, shows the head of a young girl working on lacework, a reference to the painting ‘The Laceworker’ by Johannes Vermeer (1669 –1671).
Ideal House
Year: 2005
Material: Various including Jongerius’ products, other designers’ products and objects found at a flea market.
Dimensions: Various
Commission: imm cologne, Germany
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Exhibition
The organizers of the furniture fair IMM in Cologne asked Jongerius to present her vision of the ‘Ideal House’. The designer believes there is no such thing as the ideal house. After all, what room is there for desire if perfection has already been achieved? Ideal is by definition open, a projection into the future, and it must remain as such.
In close collaboration with the architect Herman Verkerk, she originated the concept of changeability – which contains both histories and unknown possibilities. The result showed products of her own oeuvre, items designed by others, and objects found in a flea market.
Sampler Blankets
Year: 2004
Material: Felt, wool Technique: Needle-punch and embroidery
Dimensions: 200 x 140 cm
Commission: Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, New York
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: One-offs
Collection: Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York (10), collection of the designer (3 A.P.)
At the request of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, Jongerius created a response to its collection. Her focus was the ‘samplers’: embroidered tapestries in which the crafters have illustrated their skills and techniques since 1800. The Sampler Blankets translate these motives in their needle punch technique; hollow needles are punched through two blankets, merging the fabrics. Options from the past are approached from a present-day perspective to generate new meanings. Jongerius followed this up with the Paravents, which were produced using the same technique.
Créateur de l’année
Year: 2004
Material: Various, including a truck with shelves containing products such as Long Neck and Groove Bottles, Soft Urn, Soft Vase, Felt Stool and B-set
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Le Salon du Meuble, Paris
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Exhibition
Collection: Le Salon du Meuble, Paris
On the occasion of the French awards ‘Créateur de l’Année 2004’, Jongerius presented her work in a truck, which she transformed into her own world amid the commercial space of the furniture fair Le Salon du Meuble, Paris.
Evian Bottle
Year: 2004
Material: PET plastic
Dimensions: 32 x Ø 9 cm
Commission: Evian, France
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Prototype
At the request of Evian, three designers created a new 1.5 litre PET bottle. Jongerius won the pitch, but in the end none of the designs were produced. Her design shows the meeting of two different worlds, water waves and the smoothness of ice, allied to the Evian label.
Nymphenburg Sketches – Animal Bowls
Year: 2004
Material: Porcelain bowls, animals made by hand, glaze and hand-painted decorations
Dimensions: Various, Ø 17 to 35 cm
Commission: Nymphenburg, München
Production: Nymphenburg
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: Stedelijk Museum ‘s Hertogenbosch, Zuiderzee Museum, Enkhuizen, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, FNAC Puteaux, Nationalmuseum Stockholm
A celebration of the animal collection found in the archives of Nymphenburg. The blown-up decorative patterns, which partly cover the sculpted animals, were originally used on the company’s cups and saucers.
Nymphenburg Sketches - Flowers and Game
Year: 2004
Material: Porcelain plates and bowls, glaze, handpainted decorations
Dimensions: Various, Ø 17 to 35 cm
Commission: Nymphenburg, München
Production: Nymphenburg
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: Stedelijk Museum ‘s Hertogenbosch, Museum Het Princessehof Leeuwarden, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm
This is a celebration of age-old crafts and treasures found in the Nymphenburg archives, and a celebration of the idea of having ‘options’ in design. The layout is designed by Jongerius. The experts at Nymphenburg are free to choose their own colours and images from the company’s collection. The Sketches consist of three themes: flowers, game and animals.
Hella Jongerius selects
Year: 2004
Material: Various including works from the Cooper- Hewitt National Design Museum archive and the Sampler Blankets
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, New York
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Exhibition
At the request of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, Jongerius selected significant works from the archives and combined them with the Sampler Blankets.
Coloured Vases (series 1)
Year: 2003
Material: Porcelain, spray paint lacquer / 40 industrial colours of the RAL colour range
Dimensions: Each vase: 41 x Ø 16 cm
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Royal Tichelaar Makkum
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Complete series: Musée de Rochechouart, Moss Gallery, New York collection of the designer. Individual vases are collected by many private collectors.
Experiment with colours in which the vase (Red White Vase, 1997) is used as the ‘canvas’. In 2007, a second version of Coloured Vases was created, based on the Natural Colour System (NCS) colour range.
Mirroir Jubilee Plates
Year: 2003
Material: Transparent glass, opaque pink glass and plated glass
Dimensions: 8 x 42 Ø cm, 12 x 43 Ø cm
Commission: Galerie Kreo, Paris
Production: Jongeriuslab and Galerie kreo
Category: One-offs
Collection: Private collections
At the request of Galerie kreo, Jongerius designed two mirror objects, made of glass. The objects were created during a period of work at the CIRVA glassworkshop in Marseille.
Tea Pot
Year: 2003
Material: Porcelain, glaze, aluminium
Dimensions: 24 x 12 x 13 cm
Commission: Royal Tichelaar Makkum (NL)
Production: Royal Tichelaar Makkum
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: Stedelijk Museum ‘s Hertogenbosch
Tea Pot is designed to accompany the B-Set cups.
‘Hella Jongerius’ solo exhibition
Year: 2003
Material: Various
Dimensions: Various
Commission: The Design Museum, London
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Exhibition
Collection: Jongeriuslab
The exhibition at the Design Museum in London was the first large retrospective of Jongerius’ work. The presentation traced her career from the first projects for Droog Design to later industrial designs for companies such as Royal Tichelaar Makkum and Maharam.
Soup Set
Year: 2003
Material: Earthenware, glaze and hand-painted decorations
Dimensions: Large bowl: 15 x Ø 30 cm, small bowl: 9 x Ø 16 cm, large spoon: 35 cm, small spoon: 19 cm
Commission: Royal Tichelaar Makkum (NL)
Production: Royal Tichelaar Makkum
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: Stedelijk Museum ‘s Hertogenbosch, Museum of Arts and Design, New York
Soup Set was designed for Royal Tichelaar Makkum with the brief to create a design in which the skills of the glaze painters would be optimized. Outlines of images, referring to an old painting, are drawn on the inside of bowls. The glaze painters then add colours in varying gradations, using the outlines as a guide.
Souvenir Delft Blue B-Set
Year: 2003
Material: Porcelain miniatures, glaze, gold chain or pink cotton thread, decorations painted by hand or ceramic transfers
Dimensions: Length: 27 cm, widest piece: 3.5 cm, tallest piece: 1.5 cm
Commission: EKWC (Dutch Souvenirs project)
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Stedelijk Museum ‘s Hertogenbosch, Zuiderzee Museum, Enkhuizen, Museum of Art and Design, New York, private collectors
A miniature of the Delft Blue B-Set, intended to be used as a necklace, a light-hearted comment on the cliché Delft Blue souvenir industry.
Silk Menagerie
Year: 2002
Material: Porcelain, glass, silk, embroidery
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Hermès, Paris
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: One-offs
Collection: Design Museum, London
Jongerius chose six colourful animal prints from Hermès’ vast collection of patterns with which to experiment with. The pastoral romanticism of the prints is translated into a contemporary interpretation and the luxury of the silk finds its counterpart in materials like canvas and ceramics. The results were shown in the Design Museum Tank, the open air showcase of the Design Museum London.
Frock Chandelier
Year: 2002
Material: Crystal, rubber, cotton thread
Dimensions: c. 250 x Ø 150 cm
Commission: Swarovski, London
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: One-offs
Ideas, or words, are part of the ‘material’ with which a designer works. As well as displaying Swarovski crystals, Frock Chandelier shows the weaving of
words that reveal some of Jongerius’ views on contemporary design.
‘Repeat’ Exhibition
Year: 2002
Material: Various, including Limited Editions (7) of existing and new objects: B-Set, Big White Pot and a set of vases, to which hand painted and embroidered decorations were added.
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Moss Gallery, New York
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Exhibition
Collection: Elements of the installation are part of the collections of the Zuiderzee Museum, Enkhuizen, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, private collections and the collection of the designer
The Repeat textiles were shown for the first time at the Moss Gallery in New York. The fabrics were applied as upholstery on sofas and in curtains. In addition, Jongerius created small series of objects with decorations, which refer to the patterns of Repeat: Repeat Porcelain.
Blizzard Bulbs
Year: 2002
Material: Gas tanks, glass
Dimensions: 48 x Ø 29 cm, 46 x Ø 44 cm, 65 x Ø 51 cm
Commission: The Frozen Fountain, Amsterdam
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, private collections, collection of the designer (A.P.)
Unique hand-blown glass pieces are combined with a common refillable gas container. Blizzard Bulbs represent a synthesis of handicraft and industrial utility. The project was initiated by the Amsterdambased design gallery /shop Frozen Fountain. Subsequently the Bulbs were picked up by Galerie kreo in Paris, which focuses on the presentation of experimental designs created by a select group of designers.
Repeat
Year: 2002
Material: Cotton, polyester, rayon, ink
Dimensions: 140 cm wide
Commission: Maharam, New York
Production: Maharam
Category: Industrial production
Collection: Centraal Museum, Utrecht, MoMA, New York, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York, Textielmuseum Tilburg, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Art Institute of Chicago, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum at FIT, New York
Repeat is the industrial continuation of a theme that started with B-Set (1997): the creation of individuality within serial production. Repeat is an upholstery textile with an unusually long cycle of repetition, introducing random order and the opportunity to create one-offs within a family of furniture items. The pattern refers to silk ties in the archives of the Swiss weaving mill where the fabric is produced. The design marks the start of an intense collaboration with the American textile manufacturer, Maharam.
Hella Jongerius - Mijn Zachte Kantoor
Year: 2001
Material: Various
Dimensions: Various
Commission: MoMA, New york
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Exhibition
Collection: Some pieces are part of the collections of MoMA, New York and Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam.
In 2001, Jongerius moved her office to the exhibition space of the design gallery Vivid in Rotterdam. Alongside her own furniture, she displayed elements of the Soft Office installation, which was presented in New York at the ‘Workspheres’ exhibition at MoMA earlier that year. For 8 weeks the Jongeriuslab designers worked in the public gallery, offering visitors a glimpse of the working process (after 8 weeks they were relieved to move back to their secluded studio).
Delft Blue B-Set
Year: 2001
Material: Porcelain, glaze, bronze (handle), plastic tyrips, cotton thread; hand painted Delft Blue decorations.
Dimensions: Various (height of jug: 25 cm)
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Museum Het Princessehof Leeuwarden, Stedelijk Museum ‘s Hertogenbosch, Zuiderzee Museum, Enkhuizen, Indianapolis Museum of Art, collection of the designer
Delft Blue B-Set represents the translation of traditional decorations into contemporary expressions. The set contains many elements, including plates with computer pixels that refer to traditional Delft Blue patterns. Other elements are embroidered plates, a water jug with an added bronze handle, and bowls that carry their images on the inside. This version of B-Set was specially designed for the exhibition ‘Delft in Detail’.
Delft in Detail
Year: 2001
Material: Various
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Gemeentemuseum, Den Haag
Production: Bernadine Walrecht and Hella Jongerius
Category: Exhibition
At the request of the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Jongerius selected significant ‘Delft Blue’ works from the archive of the museum and combined them with contemporary objects, including Delft Blue B-Set.
Candle Holder
Year: 2001
Material: Crystal
Dimensions: Height 28 cm
Commission: Atlantis Crystal, Portugal
Production: Atlantis Crystal
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, collection of the designer
A stack of crystal bowls, in which each element shows a different production technique such as sandcasting or handblowing.
Walk Inside
Year: 2001
Material: Various including Ice Flowers, the World Radio installation and a sculpture of a dog made of children’s clay.
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Het Schild, Wolfheze (NL)
Production: Jurgen Bey and Hella Jongerius
Category: Exhibition
Hella Jongerius and designer Jurgen Bey worked on the commission for Het Schild in Wolfheze in the Netherlands, a centre for visually handicapped elderly people. The major challenge was to catch the interest of blind and partially sighted people as well as sighted people. Jongerius and Bey decided to create a walk full of surprises. Residents and visitors can experience the installations by touching, feeling and hearing them and, now and then, by seeing them. While walking along the corridors one might meet a cuddly, pliable dog, sense the coldness of an ice flower, or suddenly hear soft noises.
Fashion Furniture
Year: 2001
Material: Various
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: One-offs
Collection: The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia
Mobile Dreaming, a collaboration between Royal Auping and The Fabric Workshop and Museum, presented visionary ideas of artists and designers on the theme of ‘mobile living’. Jongerius’ sleeping-bag and garment merge into one. The items were produced at the Fabric Workshop in Philadelphia. The project was shown for the first time at De Kunsthal in Rotterdam.
My Soft Office
Year: 2001
Material: Various
Dimensions: Furniture of various dimensions (bed: 80 x 160 x 240cm)
Commission: MoMA, New york
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Exhibition
Collection: Some pieces are part of the collections of MoMA, New York and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
The ‘Workspheres’ exhibition showcased the latest in the field of office furniture and products. At the request of MoMA, a few designers also presented their views on the future of working, including Jongerius. Her installation My Soft Office contained many objects, for instance Bed in Business, which combines craft and smart technology, living and working, dreaming and roaming the internet. Apart from the bed, Jongerius designed a pillow with an embroidered keyboard (Keyboard Pillow), cushions with built-in screens and keyboards (Power Patches) and a keyboard + plate (Weekly Dinner).
Prince and Princess
Year: 2000
Material: Porcelain, silicone rubber
Dimensions: Prince: 30 x Ø 29 cm, Princess: 33 x Ø 24 cm
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Stedelijk Museum ‘s Hertogenbosch, collection of the designer
Traditional patterns found on Ming vases from the archives of Museum Het Princessehof in Leeuwarden are combined with the age-old ‘underglaze’ technique (where paint is applied to the unfired clay and covered with a transparent glaze) and translated into a modern version: a perforated ceramic skin and embroidery of silicone rubber.
Developed during a period of work at the EKWC.
Long Neck and Groove Bottles
Year: 2000
Material: Porcelain, glass, plastic tape
Dimensions: Long Neck Bottle: 50 x Ø 14 cm. Groove Bottle: 44 x Ø 18 cm
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: Stedelijk Museum ‘s Hertogenbosch, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, FNAC, Puteaux, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Instituut Collectie Nederland, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
Because glass and ceramics, two traditional materials, become respectively soft and hard at different temperatures, the two can never melt and fuse together. Therefore Jongerius chose to link them with a common type of tape, used for the packaging of fragile objects. The usual hierarchy is reversed because a simple plastic tape has become the constructional device of each vase.
Developed during a period of work at the EKWC.
Felt Stool
Year: 2000
Material: Metal, felt
Dimensions: 46 x 54 x 24 cm
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Textielmuseum Tilburg, FRAC, Dunkerque, Art Institute of Chicago, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, private collections, collection of the designer
Felt Stool is based on the shape of Porcelain Stool (1997). This was Jongerius’ first attempt to translate an experimental object into an industrial version. The stool is produced by Jongeriuslab and distributed by the Italian furniture company Cappellini.
Giant Prince
Year: 2000
Material: Earthenware, glaze, embroidery
Dimensions: 44 x Ø 81 cm
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Stedelijk Museum ‘s Hertogenbosch, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, private collection, collection of the designer (A.P.)
Textile decoration applied on a perforated, handcrafted ceramic vase. The images are inspired by pieces in the archives of Museum Het Princessehof in Leeuwarden.
Developed during a period of work at the EKWC.
Kasese Chair
Year: 1999
Material: Wood, carbon fibre, foam or felt
Dimensions: 72 x 57 x 65 cm
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Limited edition
Collection: MoMA, New York, SFMoMA (Sheep + prototype Foam), Textielmuseum Tilburg, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, FRAC, Dunkerque, FNAC, Puteaux, private collectors, collection of the designer
The translation of an African prayer chair into a foldable wooden chair, produced with carbon fibre and foam or felt. Jongerius wanted to find a new, non-technical language for a high-tech material. In 2000 the Kasese Chair inspired another mix of high-tech and traditional materials: My Soft Office.
Felt design: Not Tom, Dick & Harry.
Embroidered Tablecloth
Year: 1999
Material: Linen, cotton, earthenware
Dimensions: 80 x 120 cm
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Textielmuseum Tilburg, Stedelijk Museum ’s Hertogenbosch, FNAC, Puteaux, Musée de Rochechouart, FRAC, Dunkerque, Art Institute of Chicago, private collections, collection of the designer
Decoration is reintroduced as a meaningful component in design. The merging of plate and cloth, which results from the embroidery, distorts the functionality of both items and can be considered a comment on the link between functional objects and compulsory conventions (eating). The patterns of the flower and the dragon are inspired by 14th- and 15th-century Ming vases in the Museum Het Princessehof in Leeuwarden.
Folded Washtub
Year: 1997
Material: PU rubber, metal
Dimensions: 31 x 39 x 20 cm
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Droog Design
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: Droog Design, Amsterdam, Centraal Museum, Utrecht
The same non-form as Pushed Washtub is squeezed inwards and ‘frozen’.
B-Set
Year: 1997
Material: Porcelain, glaze
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Royal Tichelaar Makkum
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: Stedelijk Museum ‘s Hertogenbosch, Centraal Museum, Utrecht (one set + prototypes), Droog Design, Amsterdam, Zuiderzee Museum, Enkhuizen, collection of the designer (prototypes)
By firing the clay at too high a temperature, each element deforms slightly. The imperfect set of tableware is one of the first designs in which individuality is created within serial production, an important theme in Jongerius’ work. B-Set was the first porcelain to be produced by Royal Tichelaar Makkum (until 1999 the company had focused only on earthenware and stoneware). B-Set also marks the start of the company’s contemporary design collection, and of its close collaboration with Jongerius.
Big White Pot and Red White Vase
Year: 1997
Material: Porcelain, spray paint lacquer (Toyota red)
Dimensions: Pot: 35 x Ø 28 cm, Vase: 41 x Ø 16 cm
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Royal Tichelaar Makkum
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: Stedelijk Museum ‘s Hertogenbosch, Cappellini Milan, FNAC, Puteaux, Musée de Rochechouart
A reinterpretation of history, the aura of the one-off versus the value of serial production, craft versus industry. The seams of the casting process refer to the production; at the same time these visible traces of the process can be considered unconventional decorations. In 1997, a bright red colour could no longer be used in ceramic glazes as the paint contains cadmium, which is toxic. This was one of the reasons behind the use of industrial spraypaint as an alternative.
Developed during a period of work at the EKWC.
7 Pots / 3 Centuries / 2 Materials
Year: 1997
Material: Porcelain, medieval shards of old ceramic urns (Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, collection), spray paint lacquer (Toyota red and Mercedes silver)
Dimensions: Various (height of tallest pot: 41 cm)
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: One-offs
Collection: Private collection
This experiment with porcelain, medieval shards and spray paint lacquer refers to both the past and the present. In 2001, Jongerius made a second set with the same moulds, in which she incorporated medieval shards found in the vicinity of ‘s Hertogenbosch. The unique set produced in 1997 led to designs produced in unlimited quantities: Big White Pot and Red White Vase (1997).
Developed during a period of work at the EKWC.
Wrapped Stool
Year: 1997
Material: Synthetic fibres
Dimensions: 42 x Ø 31 cm
Commission: Droog Design and Delft University of Technology
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: One-offs
Collection: Collection of the designer
The stool is made by coiling high tech fibres together, a technique that is now customary in product design. The experiment was part of the Dry Tech II project, a collaboration of Droog Design and the Technical University Delft.
Extended Jugs
Year: 1997
Material: Porcelain, polyurethane
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: One-offs / experiments
Collection: Collection of the designer
Experiments with the proportions and the skin of archetypal cups and water jugs. The polyurethane, which lengthens and widens the original objects, has the texture of clay because it is shaped by hand. The porcelain has a reversible quality: an industrial ‘clean’, or smooth, skin.
Developed during a period of work at the EKWC.
Porcelain Stool
Year: 1997
Material: Porcelain
Dimensions: 46 x 54 x 24 cm
Commission: Droog Design and Rosenthal, Germany
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Rosenthal Selb, Droog Design, Amsterdam, collection of the designer (prototypes)
Experiments with the qualities of unfired and fired porcelain: flexible in the initial phase, as if it were a textile ribbon, strong once the stool is fired. The experiments are part of a project, initiated by Droog Design and Rosenthal (a German manufacturer of table services). In 2000, Jongerius developed Felt Stool, based on the shape of Porcelain Stool.
Pushed Washtub
Year: 1996
Material: PU rubber, metal
Dimensions: 57 x 34 x 18 cm
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: SFMoMA, Centraal Museum, Utrecht (prototype), Droog Design, Amsterdam, FRAC, Dunkerque
The transformation of a nonform into a form through the clever use of the inherent qualities of the material. The varied thicknesses of the skin determine the final shape of Pushed Washtub. Jongerius was one of the first designers to research the application of this relatively young material.
Tea Cosy
Year: 1996
Material: Fleece, polyester
Dimensions: 21 x Ø 18 cm
Commission: HEMA, The Netherlands
Production: HEMA
Category: Industrial production
Collection: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA)
First product explicitly designed to be produced by industry: suitable for production in large quantities and available at an affordable price. It was commissioned by the Dutch department store HEMA.
Knitted Lamp
Year: 1995
Material: Glass fibres, perspex and incandescent light bulbs
Dimensions: Various
Commission: Droog Design and Delft University of Technology
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: One-offs / experiments
Collection: MoMA, New York, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, collection of the designer
Knitted glass fibres create a flexible, heat resistant socket for light bulbs. The Dry Tech projects, a collaboration between Droog Design and the Technical University Delft, have resulted in a few remarkable designs by so-called ‘author’ designers. In most cases, these designers did not receive their design education at a technical university, but at an art academy. They base their designs primarily on interests and personal ideas. In Knitted Lamp, Jongerius pushes the boundaries of the use of glass fibres.
Soft Vase
Year: 1994
Material: PU rubber
Dimensions: 25 x Ø 19 cm
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Droog Design
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: MoMA, New York, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Droog Design, Amsterdam
The perception of an existing, archetypal vase is changed slightly, due to the application of a soft material
where our collective memory expects a hard material.
Soft Urn
Year: 1993
Material: Natural: PU rubber Pink: silicone rubber
Dimensions: 23 x Ø 21 cm
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Jongeriuslab
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Droog Design, Amsterdam, Fonds Regional d’Art Contemporain (FRAC), Dunkerque, Fonds National d’Art Contemporain (FNAC), Puteaux, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Instituut Collectie Nederland, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam.
The skin and its material qualities have defined the design of Soft Urn. The archetypal form reveals the results of research into the ageing of an unconventional material for vases, PU rubber. Whereas most artificial materials look forever young, neutral and hygienic, Soft Urn has the feel of handicraft due to the addition of traces of the casting process. Soft Urn was soon recognized as a significant example of the ‘Dutch’ or ‘conceptual’ approach to design. Jongerius contributed to a few projects and exhibitions organized by Droog Design, the Dutch platform for conceptual design, until 1998.
Bath Mat
Year: 1993
Material: PU rubber
Dimensions: 2 x 58 x 39 cm
Commission: Initiated by the designer
Production: Droog Design
Category: Unlimited production
Collection: Centraal Museum, Utrecht
Drops of water made from polyurethane, a material that was mainly used in the bronze-working industry in the 1990s. The mat was realized for the designer’s assessment at the Design Academy Eindhoven. Soon afterwards Droog Design began production and distribution.