If ever a designer furniture contest could be compared to a game of “rock-paper-scissors” then surely Hella Jongerius against Frank O. Gehry.

The Mistress of Materials against the King of Solid Constructions.

And so developed this match. Frank Gehry applied all his radical geometry to try to find a way through the Dutch defence; but found himself continually hindered by the fact that natural material forms are always more sustainable than artificially generated: Or put another way Hella Jongerius genuine organic forms proved more than a match for Frank Gehry’s contrived organic forms and in the closing minutes Hella Jongerius scored with a wonderful Bovist for Vitra.

The Group B table and all Group B results can be found here.

Holland. It all looks like this you know

It’s not all hard work you know.

Just read a nice little article on dutch design portal design.nl in which Marie-Luce Bree, deputy director of the Foam Photography Museum in Amsterdam, talks about their photo project “New Greetings From”; which basically follows the tried and tested method of getting members of the public to submit photos and then using the best to create an exhibition.

Stone by Marcel Wanders for Kartell

In detail, “New Greetings From” requests contributors to submit photos showing their interpretation of what Holland look like, and that the image is positive.

But hey isn’t everything in Holland!

And what does Holland look like? According to Marie-Luce Bree what often matters most to people is “nature, and even cows and tulips”

Genius.

And on the “New Greetings From” website, we’ve even found a few windmills.

What we’ve yet to see, however, is much in the way of Dutch furniture design.

Panton Chair by Verner Panton for Vitra

Which is a shame.

For while Denmark positively gloats over it’s furniture design heritage, Holland is much more reserved.
Go to Copenhagen, Aarhus or Aalborg and you can’t move without stumbling over the works of Verner Panton, Arne Jacobsen or Hans Wegner.

Indeed, the last time we were in Copenhagen we saw so many Panton chairs everything we saw started to take on a flowing, wave form.

In Holland, however, the local appreciation of the designers is much less. And that despite the talent on offer, the presence of self-confident producers such as moooi or droog and the strong interest among Dutch people for well designed and crafted designer furniture.

Bovist by Hella Jongerius for Vitra

At the end of the day original designer furniture is just as at home in Amsterdam as in Copenhagen.

So we’d like to say to the peoples of the Netherlands, take part in “New Greetings From”, but take pictures that do Hella Jongerius, Marcel Wanders or Mart Stam proud. Make your dutch designers as famous and as culturally important as the Danes there’s.

And yes it’s OK to photograph the furniture next to a windmill, if you really must.

Balloon from Sellando

Despite appearances to the contrary „Balloon“ is not the dreaded medicine ball that many of you may remember from your school days. Balloon is not intended for lifting or throwing; rather, is a comfortable and back friendly seat from the company Sellando. Balloon is constructed from 3mm thick cow leather, tanned and treated according to traditional methods and subsequently hand stitched. Designed by Hartle Bros. “Balloon” has a circumference of 56 cm, nostalgic printing and a lace-up fly. “Balloon” is delivered complete with a hand pump in a decorative gift box. In contrast to more conventional seating and gymnastic balls, “Balloon” has the pleasant redolence from leather and a comforting, warming touch.

The patina, which the comfortable seat acquires over time is both your guarantee of the quality of the leather used and gives each Balloon a unique appearance.

Bovist from Vitra

And should you have a weakness for individual, creative furniture and the space to show it off, Bovist from Hella Jongerius is another accessory that you should take a closer look at. Available in 3 designs, Bovist is a “classic” bean bag construction with a rayon/linen outer. Bovist is produced by Vitra and can be used as other an ottoman or as a stool.