Believe it or not, there’s now Las Vegas Strip.
On December 15th, 2010 we opened a retail space in partnership with The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Prominently located on the Las Vegas strip, the 2500 square foot interior designed by Marcel Schmalgemeijer features Droog products, along with Friends of Droog, products by leading brands selected by Droog for their unique qualities. “The key aspect of the store design is a strong gesture that is simple, basic and white. It is in stark contrast to Las Vegas, where as I see it, everything is a bit too much,”
says Marcel Schmalgemeijer. Featuring a sunlight–filled casino, an artist–in–residence studio and retail outlets never before seen in Las Vegas, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is not a typical establishment on the Las Vegas Strip. When asked about the decision to open Droog, CEO of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, John Unwin said, “slots would make more money, but I think Droog is cooler.”
a Droog store on the
There’s always new products Droog Amsterdam.
and events going on at
Droog Amsterdam features the Droog collection, including accessories, lighting, furniture and studio work along with Friends of Droog, products by leading brands from around the world selected by Droog for their unique qualities.
The store hosts many events featuring the latest in fashion, design and art. Sign up for our newsletter on www.droog.com and join us on Facebook and Twitter to stay informed about upcoming events.
This cabinet uses illusion to A playful combination of function and illusion, the cabinet, What you see is not by Fernando Brízio has been reduced to its two–dimensional image, leaving only one three– dimensional detail intact—an open drawer, perfect for a book or two. We asked Fernando a few questions.
Can you explain the concept of this piece? In the Buster Keaton short film, The High Sign, Buster takes a can of paint and a brush, draws a hanger, and hangs his hat on it. When I saw the film, I immediately pictured myself doing that exact same gesture. In that scene, Buster performs what designers do—he makes a drawing that becomes a “useable” object.
save space and material. What drew you to work with illusion?
What role does illusion play in your work?
What you see changes when you move around this object. In a certain position you see a conventional cabinet with an open drawer, but when you move sideways it becomes a flat, somehow deformed image, and the archetypal reference of a cabinet is lost. Is it a cabinet with a drawer? Or is it just a suspended drawer?
The illusion in this piece creates a situation where you observe the object’s form and deform, depending on your position in space. I am interested in this type of interaction between the object and the viewer— what you see is a result of who you are, how you think and how you are mentally and physically constituted.
The only doorbell that offers
This year Bottoms up doorbell has been released in a new production. Peter van der Jagt tells us about the design, which he came up with as a student at Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Arnhem in The Netherlands.
When I was studying, a strange thing happened. I actually became tired of design. What’s the use after all, when fashion creeps in? We thought we had the solution: we simply didn’t design anymore. We just had a good idea and prototyped it, without sketching or deciding on colour, shape or other aesthetic characteristics. The prototype thus became the product.
a toast to your guests.
Every doorbell is a collection of electronic parts. They are programmed to release a hammer, which hits two objects to emit a two–tone sound. This announces the arrival of company at the door. Most doorbells are white plastic cubes that say nothing. Nothing about the technique, nothing about how they work, nothing about what a pleasant sound is, or how
hospitality is expressed. I designed the Bottoms up doorbell in 1994. 17 years later, the product is still current. Perhaps not wanting to design wasn’t such a bad idea after all. —Peter van der Jagt
Shop online at www.droog.
com
Simply clever Twin stopper Dusk/dawn mirror.
Twin stopper by Sam Hecht has asymmetrical ends to deal with varying gaps between doors and floors in a compact way, making it much more elegant, not to mention safer. We asked the designer a few questions. How did you approach the design? A chair is not more or less important than the person sitting on it, or the room it sits in. A doorstopper should relate to the door as much as the room and the feet walking past. One can say doorstoppers are extremely banal. But what can frustrate people about them is that they inevitably stick out too much because of the varying gap between the door and the floor, and you trip over them. To generate the form, I took a regular doorstopper, cut it in half and attached both ends at right–angles. Depending on the gap size, you can turn it and the doorstopper will
always stay close to the door. It seems like a very practical approach. How do you see this relating to Droog? The way I like to think of Droog is that it interjects with issues of everyday life—dealing with doorbells, tablecloths, and now a doorstopper. I like the unpretentious side of Droog, and I like that one does not have to think too much about buying the Twin stopper because it is affordable. How do you see your work in relation to design trends? There are many products that keep coming out with novelty as their starting point. It seems designers have forgotten the original purpose of what they are designing. I personally tested Twin stopper for over a year. It is what it is because of how it works and not because of how it looks.
and award–winning
Dusk/dawn mirror by Minale– Maeda was named best mirror in the seventh Wallpaper* Design Awards. Hung one way, it reflects dusk, and hung the other, it reflects dawn.
These goodies help you do
$ 2 goes towards de–mining partners.
1/3 goes to drinking water projects in Third World countries
Cleanup soap by Hideaki Matsui raises funds for landmine removal and survivor assistance, and promotes awareness of the global landmine crisis.
Neau water by Vandejong is a beautiful bottle that you can fill from the tap.
Check out ‘I like this’ at www.
Yvonne Dröge got married to Wendel, a little cabinet, promising eternal love.
Designer Cardon Webb replaces amateur posters from the streets with designed ones.
good.
€ 4,– goes towards War Child programmes Sad hanky by Sofie Lachaert and Luc d’Hanis strengthens the resilence of children in (post) war areas.
Buy all three in a goodie bag at Droog Amsterdam. Show this coupon and save € 3,–.
.rennyramakers.com
‘More is Less’ music video uses thousands of photos of people copying the actions of the band members.
Bjarke Ingels proposed a new waste to energy plant with a 31.000m2 ski slope.
Friends of Droog are products by leading brands from around the world selected by Droog for their unique qualities. They’re available at Droog Amsterdam and at www.droog.com
Meet our friends‌ Mother of pearls cufflinks by Iris Nieuwenburg
Oil can by Aldo Bakker for Thomas Eyck
Favourite things lamp by Chen Karlsson
Spun chair by Thomas Heatherwick for Magis
Kuro soap by Sort of coal
Haphazard harmony by Maarten Baas for Skitsch
Work lamp by Dick van Hoff for Royal Tichelaar Makkum
Waste ware by Matthijs Vogels for Sprout design
Window drops Jay, Canada
Slow glow lamp Rachel, United Kingdom
Twin stopper Joep, Netherlands
Simply Droog 10 + 3 Maarten, Netherlands
Join the Wall of owners at w
Sucker Ivan, Netherlands
Blooming over cup Martijn, Netherlands
Sucker Agata, Netherlands
Optic glasses Peter, Netherlands
Share a photo of you and your Droog product on the Wall of owners on the Droog website. You’ll gain access to exclusive offers, invitations to our events, sneak previews and more.
Twin stopper Bernie, South Africa
Hippo mat Aukje, Netherlands
Strap Bas, Netherlands
Bottoms up doorbell Lotte, Netherlands
ww.droog.com
Sticky lamp Simon, United Kingdom
Red revisited—bowl Jos, Netherlands
Sucker Julia, Netherlands
Salad sunrise XL Marijn, Netherlands
About Droog Co–founded and directed by curator and author Renny Ramakers, Droog creates products, projects and events around the world in collaboration with designers, clients and partners. Droog has offices in Amsterdam and New York, stores in Amsterdam and Las Vegas, and retail partners worldwide. Droog pioneers new directions, new collaborations, creative tools and models for design, business and consumer culture. Driven by its unique perspective, Droog offers a selection of accessories, lighting, furniture and studio work that change your experience of daily life.
Droog Amsterdam Staalstraat 7a/b (between Rokin and Waterlooplein) 1011 JJ Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 (0)20 - 523 5059 shop@droog.com Tuesday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Staalstraat
kin Ro
Waterlooplein M
Droog Las Vegas The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas 3708 Las Vegas Boulevard South Las Vegas, NV 89109 United States of America +1 702 698 7000 +1 877 551 7778 Monday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to Midnight
S. Las Vegas Blvd M
Droog New York Office 611 Broadway Ste. 403 New York, NY 10012 United States of America +1 212 941 8350 store@droogusa.com
Twitter @droogamsterdam @rennydroog
Facebook www.facebook.com/droog.page
Online store www.droog.com
www.droog.com
Š 2011 droog Text by Agata Jaworska, design by Simon Phillipson, printing by Dijkman Offset