Droog Design is a collective of Dutch designers who design and self-produce contemporary and experimental furniture,
lamps and objects. Many of them, after the first works with Droog, have become very famous, starting to collaborate with
the most famous design companies, among them: Marcel Wanders, Nella Jongerius, Tejo Remy, Richard Hutten,
Juegen Bey …
The Dutch name Droog means “dry, dry” precisely to underline the pure interest in design, without any accessory
element deemed unnecessary; the collective was born in 1993 from an idea of Gijs Bakker and Renny Ramakers, after
obtaining a very positive response on the occasion of an exhibition curated by themselves in Milan during the
International Furniture Fair, showing the works of young Dutch designers . After this experience, the 2 founders,
comforted by the great critical success, entered into an agreement with DMD (Development Manufacturing and
Distribution) to produce their products, many of them in limited edition and to be able to sell them in their headquarters
in Amsterdam and in Worldwide.
In the following years the exhibitions and presentations during the Milan International Furniture Fair continued with
unchanged success and regular cadence and the collective also found an agreement with the Central Museum to
permanently present the entire Droog collection. The great intuition of the two founders was precisely to tie the
designers into a single collective, having a more bursting and incisive form of feedback on the public and at the same
time to agree with an important museum institution that would guarantee seriousness and high prestige.
The duo, assisted by all the designers, developed from 2000 onwards a real Droog concept, very recognizable and
always brilliant, in different sectors, always remaining faithful to the same principles of originality and clarity, coming to
create an archive of more than 150 products, often produced also in collaboration with important specialized
companies, such as Rosenthal for a project on ceramics and porcelain.
In 2009 Gijs Bakker left the direction of Droog Design, while Renny Ramakers continued and continues to carry on the
discussion with unchanged energy and pursuing the same philosophy: to recognize the high conceptual value, starting
from an intuition, a reasoning or a sensation and reach a “dry, dry” product, without fringes, rigorous and in clear
contrast to the designer design.
Among the most successful products the Marcel Wanders “Knotted Chair”, the “Chest of Drawers” chest of drawers by
Tejo Remy, the “Hippo Mat” hippo-shaped mat by and Annink, the apparently improvised “85 Lamps” chandelier by
Rodi Graumans and the lace screen, which casts a romantic shade of leaves, named after Chris Kabel’s “Skydilace
Parasol”.
