25 YEARS OF DROOG

For 25 years, Droog has been working with many prominent Dutch designers on projects and products. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the platform, Droog is organising a range of activities. In Bergen the exhibition Do It Like Droog marks a special year in Museum Kranenburgh. While in Amsterdam an exhibition, Enter the Past snd See The Future, celebrates the highlights that have shaped the platform’s program since its founding in 1993. Enter the Past and See The Future will be on show from 26 April until 27 May 2018.

Look back at a few of the highlights that have made these decades so memorable.

As part of its 25th anniversary celebrations several museums made some major acquisitions.

Recently MoMa in New York acquired the kokon chair from Jurgen Bey. Likewise, Het Centraal Museum in Utrecht brought in an extensive collection of 56 objects. Alongside this year Droog will generously donate its archive to the RKD in The Hague.

In April 1993 Droog made a debut at the International Salone del Mobile in Milan. Now, in 2018, the number of activities in Droog has grown to more than hundreds of projects and products. In the past decades Droog made exhibitions, gave lectures, produced and distribute products, published books and created a shop and hotel. Up until this day Droog responds to the latest developments in design with original yet relevant ideas.

Do it Like Droog. 25 Years Droog Design until 21 May at Museum Kranenburg


To mark the 25th jubilee year of both Museum Kranenburgh and Droog, the museum brings together iconic designs from Droog’s collection in an exhibition entitled Do it Like Droog. Museum Kranenburgh’s green surroundings formed the starting point for the spatial design that designers Koehorst in ‘t Veld created for this exhibition. It takes shape in a walk through a graceful botanical garden, in which the Droog objects are positioned alongside aluminium borders and flower beds, in full bloom. The exhibition route encompasses the entire museum premises, including the exhibition rooms, as well as the museum shop, the garden and the Kranenburgh sculpture forest. With this first presentation of the discipline design, Kranenburgh once again broadens its scope of art.

For more information please visit their website

NEW LUXURY – SERIOUS SEDUCTION until 3 April 2018 at Hôtel Droog

What do we think of when we think about luxury? We think about items that are produced in exclusive and limited editions with expensive materials. About items that are scarce and difficult to obtain. Products that distinguish the owner from others or that confirm a certain social status.

However if ‘luxury’ has become fashionable and anyone can acquire a purse with a waiting list or a pair of Laboutin’s, than – by definition – it is no longer a luxury. Thus the luxury industry is looking for new trends so that their clientele can keep on distinguishing themselves from others. The contours of a new luxury are on the horizon: one in which sustainability plays a major role.

Luxury and sustainability. Are there two terms that are further apart? We associate sustainability with sober, moderate and less. Also we believe that we have to sacrifice something to be sustainable. Surely it is possible to give a sustainable product a seductive and glamorous design that radiates pleasure!

This exhibition presents work by ten Dutch designers that are very able to design sustainable products that seduce. This exhibition presents luxury and abundance as a good investment for the future.

With work by Demakersvan, Golden Joinery, Humade, Heleen Klopper, Dirk van der Kooij, Simone Post, Ariëlle van der Vaart, Richard Vijgen, Karin Vlug & Lisa Konno, and Sander Wassink & Maya Pesach.

Exhibition design: Eric Sebastiaan Roelen

Artifex Lezing door Richard Hutten en Nadine Gouders (26 november 2017)

Op 22 september opende in Centraal Museum de tentoonstelling Vroeg Droog: de beginjaren van Droog Design. Het Centraal Museum kocht precies twintig jaar geleden voor het eerst Droog Design aan en bezit inmiddels de grootste museale collectie Droog Design ter wereld. Op zondag 26 november organiseert Artifex samen met het Centraal Museum een lezing over de beginjaren van Droog Design met Droog Design ontwerper Richard Hutten en conservator in opleiding bij het Centraal Museum.

Tijdens de lezing vertelt Richard Hutten, ontwerper, over de beginjaren van het ontwerpcollectief Droog Design. Hoe werd Droog ontvangen? En wat heeft het betekend voor Dutch Design? Vervolgens is Nadine Gouders, conservator in opleiding bij het Centraal Museum, aan het woord. Zij zal ingaan op hoe Droog Design zo snel in de museale collectie van het Centraal Museum terecht is gekomen en wat het belang is van Droog Design binnen de verzameling toegepaste kunst van het museum.

Datum: zondag 26 november 2017
Tijd: 11:00-12:30 uur
Locatie: Centraal Museum, Utrecht
Kaarten voor deze ‘Droog Design Lezing’ reserveren via Artifex op www.artifex.nu

Photo: Centraal Museum, Utrecht/Ernst Moritz

Rethink – lecture by Renny Ramakers at The Future Dublin, November the 4th, 6pm

On Saturday November the 4th, Renny Ramakers will present her take on what is needed for the Future at the international immersive festival The Future in Dublin, Ireland. The Future invited Renny to speak as a lead speaker on the Vision Stage and to explain her ideas on the power of rethinking. She will share her view that cities have never been so diverse as they are now. She sees a world full of contradictions and oppositions as an opportunity to change established notions.

Saturday November 4, 2017
6pm
RDS (The Royal Dublin Society)
Merrion Road, Ballsbridge
Dublin 4, D04 AK83

Get your tickets here

Droge Donderdag bij Centraal Museum (2 november 2017, vanaf 19:30 uur)

In de tentoonstelling ‘Vroeg Droog’ in het Centraal Museum in Utrecht wordt niet alleen een selectie uit de collectie van Droog Design getoond. Ook wordt het begrip ‘Dutch Design’ aan de kaak gesteld. Want wat is Dutch Design precies? En wie bepaalt dat?

Tijdens Droge Donderdag op 2 november organiseert Centraal Museum een Q&A waarin ze proberen antwoorden op deze vragen te geven. Conservator Natalie Dubois treedt in gesprek met Tejo Remy (ontwerper Droog Design), Harm Scheltens (oprichter Pastoe), Merijn Everaarts (oprichter Dopper) en Els Doornhein (advocaat bij De Vos & Partners Advocaten).

De Q&A is gratis toegankelijk, maar aanmelden is verplicht. Dat kan via de website van het Centraal Museum.

Het programma van de avond ziet er als volgt uit:
19.30 uur Inloop in Museumcafé Centraal
19.45 uur Start Q&A
20.30 uur Borrel met droog drankje
21.00 uur Einde programma


Photo: Centraal Museum, Utrecht/Ernst Moritz

Coloured by Sweat; a unique dehydration warning system in the Nissan Juke, created by designer Paulien Routs

Droog partners with Nissan to apply a unique dehydration warning system in the Nissan Juke; the system is created by designer Paulien Routs.

The steering wheel and driver seat in the Nissan Juke compact crossover turn blue or yellow or colours in between, indicating the sweat and dehydration level of the driver.

The car employs a sweat-sensitive textile coating called SOAK, which changes colour when in contact with perspiration. The solution analyses the composition of a person’s sweat and changes colour if the values of the micro-fluids change. The solution reacts to both sweat on skin and sweat on clothing. Paulien Routs worked closely with a chemist in order to achieve the correct solution that would be able to accurately determine hydration levels.

SOAK, originally the brainchild of designer Paulien Routs, was developed in Droog’s program Reality Tanks, initiated in 2013 to push innovative concepts of young designers forward in collaborations with academic researchers and commercial partners. SOAK was developed in 2014 in collaboration with Thewa Innovation, The Dutch Cosmetic Association and cosmetic doctor Annebeth Kroeskop.

Paulien Routs: “I originally created SOAK to be used on workout attire, but when Nissan approached me with plans to implement the technology in a Juke crossover for a one-off media activation, I thought it was fantastic. Within my work I aim to create innovative materials or designs that create new interactions with the user, that offer information about, in this case, the condition of our body. It’s about contextualising design in a new way.”

Apart from the project with Nissan, Droog and Paulien Routs continue to work on the application of SOAK on workout attire.

Exhibition ‘The Early Years of Droog Design’ at Centraal Museum, Utrecht (until 3 December 2017)

Centraal Museum bought its first Droog Design items exactly twenty years ago. Today Central Museum owns the world’s largest museum collection of Droog Design. At the same time, the year 2017 marks 100 years of De Stijl, celebrated across the country with the theme From Mondriaan to Dutch Design. So those are two good reasons for the exhibition Vroeg Droog: the early years of Droog Design.

This autumn, Centraal Museum presents fifty top pieces from its own collection. Swing away at the exhibition on Marcel Wanders’ Swing with the plants . Slide across Nina Farkache’s Come a litte bit closer marbles bench. Admire the collective’s early designs by Tejo Remy, Hella Jongerius, Richard Hutten and others. Or visit Droge Donderdag (Droog Thursday) on 5 October and 2 November: two evenings offering a special introduction to Droog Design.

Vroeg Droog: the early years of Droog Design is on display in Expo 7 from 22 September to 3 December 2017 in Centraal Museum Utrecht, Agnietenstraat 1, 3512 XA Utrecht.


Photo: Centraal Museum, Utrecht/Ernst Moritz

Droge Donderdag 5 oktober, Centraal Museum Utrecht (19-21 uur)

Op 5 oktober vindt de eerste Droge Donderdag plaats, een gezellige avond waarbij iedereen welkom is de tentoonstelling Vroeg Droog te bezichtigen. Bovendien kun je conservator Natalie Dubois en conservator in opleiding Nadine Gouders ontmoeten in Expo 7 of in Museumcafé Centraal.

Bezoek de tentoonstelling Vroeg Droog en bewonder circa vijftig hoogtepunten van Droog Design uit de collectie van het Centraal Museum. Na een bezoek aan de tentoonstelling zijn bezoekers van harte welkom in Museumcafé Centraal. Wij trakteren je op een prosecco, tonic, sauvignon blanc of een ander droog drankje, zodat je kunt proosten op de nieuwe tentoonstelling Vroeg Droog: de beginjaren van Droog Design.

Je kunt tijdens deze Droge Donderdag tevens een lezing bijwonen over de definitie van Dutch Design. Joana Meroz (PhD candidate Design Cultures) vertelt over de radicale verandering die Droog Design betekende voor de betekenis van ‘Dutch Design’. De lezing vindt plaats van 19.15 uur tot 19.45 uur. Let op: de lezing zal in het Engels worden gegeven. Aanmelden hiervoor is verplicht, dat kan via dit inschrijfformulier.

Praktische informatie

Data: Donderdag 5 oktober, 19.00-21.00 uur
Locatie: Expo 7 & Museumcafé Centraal
Entree volgens reguliere prijzen. Voor actueel overzicht, klik hier

Open Monumentendag/ Urban Monk at Hôtel Droog

Open Monumentendag
Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 September, 11 am

Join us in the courtyard of Hôtel Droog for a moment of silence and reflection with Casper Stubbé from Urban Monk.

The city is a constant hive of activity, however throughout summer, the Urban Monk will lead a series of sessions at Hôtel Droog’s Courtyard that offer a moment of relief and calm with 30 minutes of silence. Inspired by his travels from Japan, the Urban Monk makes the quality of silence and ritual just as accessible as drinking a cup of coffee. This session will be followed by a discussion and reflection period.

Reserveren via [email protected]

Urban Green Instagram Contest / Feb 21 – March 9

Grab your camera and post your Instagram interpretation of what urban ‘green’ looks like according to you. You can win (1) a ticket for an exclusive Instagram Meet-Up organized by Senns_Less, and (2) a very delicious lunch platter for two (worth 33,- euro) at Hôtel Droog.

Three fun steps to win:

1. Be utmost creative with the theme of Urban Green
2. Post your Instagram photo with #droogurbangreencontest
3. Tag your Instagram photo with @droogdesign

Curious who will be the lucky shot? The award ceremony for the winner will be held during the public event ‘Urban Green, What Do You Mean?!’ on Thursday March 9, 2017, 8PM. 

The wonder of weaving…Cacau

Photography by Dario Pequeno Paraiso

[acx_slideshow name=”weaving” width=”724px” height=”583px”]
The wonder of weaving. Separating white and blue threads is tedious work but makes it possible for the weavers of Cacau to develop the detailed patterns into a cohesive design. Droog designer Nikkie Wester is dedicated to helping the weavers work wonders.

Continuing with Cacau…

Photography by Dario Pequeno Paraiso

After Droog’s weaving workshop in July in Sao Tome, a group of passionate locals continue to use their newly acquired skills to weave a 90m long curtain. The curtain will offer their local cultural center, Cacau the possibility to divide and open the space according to their needs.
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For the Cacau project textile designer Nikkie Wester translated the traditional Gobrlin technique into a contemporary weaving method. Only weaving the outlines of the pattern.


Meet the weavers of Cacau.
From left to right: Engrácia Isabel, Gualter Martinho Henrique, Alzira Medeiros, Sonia Mendes, Luisa Monteiro, Guimarley Oliveira, Angelina Cabral Cuba, Silania Pascoal Domingas, Etelvina Monteiro, Fernanda Mendes Vaz da Silva, Nilza Piedade, Eusébio Dias Fernandes, Alaize Martins Vincente, Seli Soares Martins, Nilsa Elvira, Eula Fonseco Sousa Pontes, Irodina Almeida, Marlene Soares, Cremilda Vaz da Conceição Santana, Manuel do Espírito Santo Santana

 

[acx_slideshow name=”Weavers 2 olivia garden” width=”724px” height=”483px”]

This magical botanical garden belongs to São Tomé local, Olivia. Weavers of the 90m long curtain designed by Droog have been utilizing Olivia’s plants as natural dyes for the curtain’s fibers. We can’t wait to see the results!

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The indigo plant is native to São Tomé however there were no current applications of indigo use as dying material on the island. The curtain will be made from local non-toxic dyes and materials found on the island of São Tomé such as banana fiber and pigments from plants and minerals.<Br><br>
[acx_slideshow name=”weavers 4 meet the weavers” width=”724px” height=”483px”]

The weavers brought their first visit to the cultural center, where eventually the curtain will hang and construction on the building’s interior will begin this winter.

 

The Youth of Amsterdam want to work for themselves!

Young people would rather be self-employed than work for a boss under fixed employment.

This is In sharp contrast with Dutch government policy that is aimed at creating more fixed employment.

This is just one of the many results Droog/OSCity uncovered in its’ research on youth in the Dapperbuurt (a neighborhood in Amsterdam). The report was commissioned by the City of Amsterdam.

In an effort to identify the aspirations, needs and desires of the Dapperbuurt youth, Droog/OSCity developed a playful online survey that spoke to young people in a similar way they express themselves online. For this, 800 Instagram profiles of youth were scanned. Our campaign on Facebook and Instagram to fill in the survey, reached 11,500 people.

The most important question posed in the survey was: “Do you want to turn your passion into your job?” No less than 366 young people from Dapperbuurt took the survey. The majority of respondents reported valuing freedom and independence in their careers over working for a boss under fixed employment. Most surveyed prefer to work independently in the creative and care sectors in particular.

Remarkable to note, although these young people are mainly occupied with their own identity (especially online), they also feel very connected to their local neighborhood. Many respondents expressed they would like to actively help and collaborate with others in their community.

While the Dapperbuurt youth aspire to work for themselves, they often lack the necessary tools and feel insecure when it comes to setting things into motion. Many lack financial resources, contacts and basic knowledge of regulations and commercial experience along with a physical workplace.

Droog/OSCity’s advice is to create a neighborhood “Hub” as a launch platform, a space where personal growth, work ambitions and leisure time intertwine. The Hub would take center stage to coach youth on nurturing the aforementioned tools they lack to realize their dreams. The model of the high-tech start-up accelerators – such as RockStart and Startupbootcamp can also be applied to other sectors. Our aim is to connect the notion of start-ups to the core values of the city of Amsterdam: creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. In this way, new opportunities for new generations of self-aware youth will follow: from smart city to smart societies.

The survey in the Dapperbuurt is part of the Design+Desires program by Droog/OSCIty. Click to find the full report “Me, Myself & My Job. Space for starters”.