Once again for the Salone, Droog offered an insightful look into our present and future society.

“Droog 20+, Up to a beautiful future”, 20 years of Droog celebrated by looking forwards rather than the more conventional backwards.

droog milan 2013 reception

To celebrate their 20th birthday, Droog brought back some old favorites and introduced some of their new initiatives for the 2013 Salone.

Droog also slipped in 20 items, each from a year in the history of Droog

In the open showroom area were new products of the Droog collection designed by the recently launched Studio Droog and invited designers.

A couch, cupboards, a desk, a table, carpets and accessories by Chris Kabel, Annelys de Vet, Katrin Greiling and Studio Droog.

Beauty and experience with minimal means and a twist. Not so much less is more, as less and more.

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Rijksmuseum.

In the Dining Room were table top interpretations designed by Studio Droog and  DeJongeKalff of the new and completely transformed Rijksmuseum‘s  – 125,000 digitized images collection and publicly available as a free online resource.

Having digitalised the works Droog and deJongeKalff then went a stage further and borrowed images and moments from the databank and transformed them into real objects.

Century old works reinterpreted in contemporary shapes, techniques and materials.

Copying, with an adaptation.

Napkin Collar, Tasting Glasses and Rubber Tablecloth

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A highlight was the famous centrepiece by German silversmith Wenzel Jamnitzer, now lavishly decorated with 3D-printed magnetic miniatures from the Rijksmuseum collection.

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The New Original.

“Imitation can also be inspiration”

Chinese companies and the government are working hard to shed their copycat reputation

The COPY ROOM celebrates copying China with a new collection.

Chinese  imitation and pirated brands and goods often introduce novelty by adding something, upgrading, or adapting for another market.

By linking copying to creativity, The New Original demonstrates that the process of copying is clearly more than just mere replication—it can be a real driver in innovation.

Five Function Cabinet, Family Vases and Glass Lantern

Aiming to raise discourse on the future of design, Droog Lab went to Shenzhen, the epicentre of copycat culture, with the intent of copying China.

The New Original is a project in partnership with Today Art Museum, Beijing, and OCT Art and Design Gallery, Shenzhen, was recently exhibited in Guangzhou, China, with funding from Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and City of Amsterdam.

The background idea to The New Original is relatively simple: copying isn’t always direct replication, more often than not copying involves a level of alteration, for example to meet local needs or reflect social and /or cultural differences.

The result is a collection of 26 works by Studio Droog, Richard Hutten, Ed Annink, Stanley Wong and Urbanus each taking copying as a starting point. A selection of seven of those works was on view in Milan.

“Teapot with Handle” by Richard Hutten

Glass Lantern and LED Bulbs by Richard Hutten

The most amusing Droog object was an Aquarium by Studio Droog that on closer inspection revealed itself, not to be the container of fish, but rather the recreation of a restaurant dining room, complete with lantern.

An inverted twist on the typical chinese restaurant – only now the fish are the diners.

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The UP Factory.

Initiated by Droog in 2011, UP is a new economic model that aims to increase the value of dead stock through re-design.

An alternative to recycling and disposal, UP treats leftover goods as raw material for creative re-interpretation in order to bring leftovers back into circulation.

Droog also hosted UP workshops during the Salone, and collaborated with companies in developing products using dead stock.

Droog brought together ideas, prototypes, ready-made products and a whole new collection.

The message evoked was one that beauty and responsibility are no opposites.

They are no contrasts but part of the same story, this is Droog’s DNA in which the twist always reappears, whether in the many hilarious moments in the Material Matters Video or in the aquarium with a miniature Chinese restaurant.

Droog brings different worlds together, and turns things upside down. Design is a serious matter, but a serious matter can be entertaining as well.

The products themselves having little or no meaning for their creators. For ultimately much like there is no show without business, so to can design never completely free itself from industry.

The question is what is produced, how, in what quantities and with what motivation.

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About Renny Ramakers

Remy Ramakers was educated as an art historian University of Leiden.

During her studies she was more interested in a break than in continuity.

After her studies she decided to specialize in design and to make history herself by creating projects which can stretch the borders of design thinking.

Co-founder ( with Gijs Bakker ) and director of Droog, Renny Ramakers initiates projects, curates design exhibitions, and lectures worldwide.

Droog is essentially a design research agency, a conceptual group who sell products to finance the rest of their work

She is a judging panellist on various design boards and has advised on governmental advisory boards, amongst others as a member of the Dutch Council of Culture (1995-2001).

As a critic, she has contributed to international magazines, books and catalogues, and has authored several books.

She is chairman of the board of THNK, Amsterdam school for creative leadership.

In 2009, Ramakers launched the Droog Lab series, ‘Here, there, everywhere.’

In collaboration with designers, consulting experts and local partners, Droog speculates how people in daily situations worldwide can inspire new directions for design.

In 2010 with Saved by Droog, Droog began purchasing dead stock for creative re-interpretation.

UP, a new economic model for bringing dead stock back into circulation through re-design was launched in 2011.

In 2012, Renny Ramakers was been named one of the “150 Women Who Shake the World” by Newsweek.

At DutchDFA 4/4 renowned designers like Droog director and co-founder Renny Ramakers share stories on doing business beyond borders

“We have reached a level of saturation in design and in the market, that it’s time to think more intelligently about what to do with the surplus, and use it in the design process.We should take better advantage of our collective intelligence” ……. Renny Ramakers.