amsterdam’s leading businesses rituals Moooi philips lighting KLM & Schiphol currence Enza Zaden Vumc FairPhone feadship dus architects 2 Moooi Moooi, ErwinOlaf casualness of casualness of Amsterdam’ ‘Creativity ‘Creativity needs the needs the a city like a citylike freedom freedom and Moooi Amsterdam happened from could onlyhave Vissers attest,it and Casper Marcel Wanders as founders and wide– aesthetic far distinctly Dutch is spreading its company Moooi globe, design cities across the opening inkey With showrooms photography Amke text MattFarquharson

3 Moooi 4 Moooi The New York Times Magazine Times York New The founders, designerMarcel Wanders, tothefrontcover of them inventive twists, andithaspropelledoneofitsco- It’s abeguilingworld that takessimpleproductsandgives dimensions ofarealhorse. chair backsreachtheceiling, andlampscomeinthe tomakethembeautiful,At Moooi, armchairs theyburn A CONSTANT FONTOFIDEAS fast as thenew.’fast innovativevery thinking. There’s nothingthat oldso grows things that lookasifyou alreadyknow them. And that’s want tomakethingsthat looknew. We want tomake ‘We hidealotoftheinnovation,’ says Wanders. ‘We don’t creates.what thefirm in Moooidesigns, andperhapsthedefiningfeature of unexpected welcome’: tobe found thepleasantsurprises exampleofwhat It isaprime Wanders and call Vissers ‘the finish. blowtorch foraburned leather blastedwitha armchair, withthe wooden parts a ‘Smoke Chair’ Baas. byMaarten It’s ablackwood and On anupperfloorofMoooi’s premises, sitsin Wanders THE EVOLUTION OF THINGS whites), JurgenBeyandmore. or blank Studio Job inboldcolours (playful furniture ceramic clockthat feelslikeit’s made fromsoftfabric), Joost van Bleiswijk, Edward van Vliet, Kikivan Eijk(a Pot,Alongside hispiecessitworks bythelikesofBertjan large impactonthedesignworld. Netherlands, anation that hashadadisproportionately than 20otherdesignstudios. The bulk comefromthe The work of Wanders isaugmentedbythat ofmore toachieve.simple, fail beautifulaestheticthat mostartists shop, thanfurniture classic. but witha gallery Itismoreart carefully consideredspace, eachpiecelookslikeadesign It holdsfurniture, lightingandaccessories, andinthis walk west ofthecitycentre.a short Amsterdam, ofquaintlybeautifulJordaan, sitsintheheart The Moooishowroom andbrandstorein Westerstraat, sounds whenpeopleseeit. uniqueness’. The firm’s elicitsafew work certainly ‘ooo’ stands, theysay, forthe ofbeauty and ‘extra value interms beautiful, but addsanextra ‘o’. That additionalletter Vissers, MoooitakesitsnamefromtheDutchword for Founded in2001by Wanders Casper andbusiness partner and energywhoisnearlyimpossibletoignore”. him the “Lady Gagaofdesign: aconstantfontofideas . In2011, thepapercalled (Marcel Wanders) cultures’ so manydifferent welcoming cityfor place. It’s sucha a veryinternational attracts people.It’s ‘Amsterdam moooi

5 Moooi 6 Moooi (Casper Vissers) of things’ on theevolution things, wework completely new than tryanddo world, sorather been doneinthis ‘Everything has moooi (designed forWorld Expo2000 inHanover) by blowtorch), ‘VIPchair’byWanders Chair’ byMaartenBaas(withwood finished Better-known designsincludethe‘Smoke or witintheworkverysoonbecomes clear. design isaquestionoflove,’and thelightness, playful, exquisiteandbasedon thebeliefthat Moooi describesitsstyleas,‘exclusive, daring, offers. beauty thefirm the extra‘o’standingforquirky the Dutchword mooi,whichmeans‘beautiful’, lighting andaccessories.Thenameisaplayon The bulkofitsproducts are seating,storage, The Netherlands. innovative designstudioscurrently workingin itbringstogethersomeofthemost Vissers, Marcel Wanders andbusinesspartnerCasper 2001. Foundedbyrenowned Dutchdesigner producing brightand wittyproducts since Furniture andlightingmakerMoooihasbeen Moooi, inshort

useful. agree,Vissers isinfinding somethingthat canalsobe elementtojudge.tricky The balance, both Wanders and Just how muchunexpectednesspeoplecanhandleisa CREATIVITY WITH A COMMERCIALREALITY if it’s insomeway familiar.’ work ontheevolution ofthings. A product iseasiertosell world, and docompletely new things, so rather thantry we and classicalshapes. hasbeendoneinthis Everything aroundclassicalapproaches philosophy istoturn ofours ‘It’s toourbrand,’ superimportant says Casper Vissers. ‘A This, inessence, is ‘the unexpectedwelcome’. positive thing. A positive surprise.’ makes you feel, ‘this isdifferent’ andthat thinginitselfisa on it, simplethings–suddenlythere’s somethingthat something different–likeyou sitdown andthere’s wheels a back. Then ifthere’s somethinginnovative aboutit, recognise thepatterns: it’s achairwithfourlegsand you seeanobject, you feelpleasedwithit, to you start The sameapplies, hebelieves, toMoooiproducts. ‘If we’re goingforward –Imakealeft,’ says Wanders. moment you know whereitisgoing–whenyou know you alittlestory. I’d makeyou follow my story, andthe positiveness. IfIwere totellyou ajokenow, Iwould tell ‘I thinkthereisalightnessinthework andasenseof of funinpracticalproductslikelampsandstools. Perhaps isthesense thedefiningfeature formostoutsiders designs interiors anddoesartdirection. he produces commissionsforlarge brands, has Marcel Wanders Studio,through which Separate tohisworkwithMoooi, Wanders York, StockholmandCologne in2013. Welcome exhibitiontoMilan,London,New fairs,taking itsUnexpected and furniture Moooi isaregular exhibitoratbiggerdesign space inJordaan, Amsterdam. in westLondon,tocomplementitsflagship hasalsoopenedasecondshowroom, The firm Asia. strength inEurope, theUSAandSoutheast high-end furniture stores andwithaparticular more than50dealersaround theworld:mostly Moooi sellsitsproducts through anetworkof others alsocontribute. Bey, KikivanEijk,StudioJobandalmost30 shape anddimensionsofareal horse).Jurgen and the‘HorseLamp’byFront (alampinthe Moooi Amsterdam showroom & brand store Moooi

Wieden+Kennedy 7 Moooi

8 Moooi, Erwin Olaf moooi

‘“Smoke Chair” from Maarten Baas was one we didn’t think would be super selling but we thought would be ‘We want to make important for PR,’ says Vissers, ‘but it actually became one things that look of our best selling pieces. You really can’t predict things sometimes.’ as if you already Perhaps what helps the ‘Smoke Chair’ is how close it know them... seems to ‘normal’. At first glance it looks smart – black leather, regal shape – but not like a revolutionary piece of There’s nothing design. The burns and the unique finish only become clear that grows old so up close. fast as the new’ ‘The big danger for a design company is that you have beautiful things that are well produced, but people see (Marcel Wanders) them as art pieces rather than stuff to use every day,’ says Vissers. And so, the choice of collaborators is also vitally important. ‘We founded the company on the idea that we would do creative things, but within a commercial reality,’ Vissers explains. ‘We try to work with people who can do both.’ For the pieces that Wanders designs, finding exactly the right ‘unexpected welcome’ is a team process. From the first flushes of inspiration to having an item on sale is a constant stream of judgements and decisions, carried out by Wanders and dozens of others spread through the bright workspace above the Moooi showroom and brand store. ‘Designing an object or an interior has a lot of layers,’ says Wanders. ‘There are a lot of things you have to do if you’re making an interior, for example. It goes from making sure the corner of a seam of a curtain is well done to making sure it is a space that vitalizes a city. It’s from very small details to ultimate meaning. I’m not at the stage in my life where I’m concentrating on the seams.’ Amsterdam is part of Moooi’s DNA, but for creative inspiration and finding talent. ‘I love Amsterdam, without a doubt,’ says Wanders. ‘It attracts people. It’s a very international place. It is such a welcoming place for so many different cultures. So for creativity, its not like London where everything is a bit stretched. I think creativity needs the freedom and casualness of this city. The city is very open-minded. I travel quite a bit and I wouldn’t think of changing locations.’