B
I
O
-
G
R
A
-
P
H
Y
A 
Piet Hein Eek is a Dutch industrial designer, born in April 29th, 1967. Eek attended the Design Academy in Eindhoven (also known as DAE). In 1990, Eek graduated from DAE with a box of scrap box. While at the Academy, he gained attention for his exam project Scrap Wood Cupboards. He sold all of the cupboards and used the money to start his own design studio in 1992. The following year he went into partnership with fellow designer Nob Ruijrok, establishing Eek en Ruijgrok v.o.f. Eek first developed an interest in old materials after restoring a cupboard for his sister; he thought the old wood looked nicer than the new. He has built his business around old materials, saving these discarded pieces of wood and working outside of the circuit of mass production. Since 2011 offers Wehkamp by Piet Hein Eek designed based collection of furniture. The first five pieces of furniture were presented in the workshop of Eek on October 22, 2011, the first day of the Dutch Design Week. In 2012, there are five pieces added to this collection. The furniture is completely dismantled so they can be delivered in a flat box with an instruction for them to assemble.
CUT
Who is Piet Hein Eek?
+ 04 / 29 / 1967 – Born
1
2
+ – –/– – / 1990 – Graduated
3
+ – –/– –/ —— – Starts his own studio
Design Academy of Eindhoven
4
+ – –/– –/ 1993 –
Partnership with Nob
Ruijgrok (Established en Ruijgrok v.o.f)
T i m e
CUT
When did it all happen?!
7
+
mo
– –/
– –/ 201 2 ded – to th Five e co llec tion
re a d
sen
ted
6
Fir
10 / 22 /— st fi ve — of t – he col lec tion
pre
Wehkamp furniture collection
+
5
+ – –/– –/ 2011
L i n e
Q.When did you decide you wanted to start producing your own furniture
I was studying. I told my teachers I was going to produce my own pieces of furniture and “A.theyWhen answered me I couldn't already know what I wanted to do because I was too young. But I was
“
very determined to not only design but also produce, distribute and do everything myself. And I did.
< CUT
What did Piet Hein Eek make?
B
I
O
-
G
R
A
-
P
H
Y
A
CUT
Piet Hein Eek is a Dutch industrial designer, born in April 29th, 1967. Eek attended the Design Academy in Eindhoven (also known as DAE). In 1990, Eek graduated from DAE with a box of scrap box. While at the Academy, he gained attention for his exam project Scrap Wood Cupboards. He sold all of the cupboards and used the money to start his own design studio in 1992. The following year he went into partnership with fellow designer Nob Ruijrok, establishing Eek en Ruijgrok v.o.f. Eek first developed an interest in old materials after restoring a cupboard for his sister; he thought the old wood looked nicer than the new. He has built his business around old materials, saving these discarded pieces of wood and working outside of the circuit of mass production. Since 2011 offers Wehkamp by Piet Hein Eek designed based collection of furniture. The first five pieces of furniture were presented in the workshop of Eek on October 22, 2011, the first day of the Dutch Design Week. In 2012, there are five pieces added to this collection. The furniture is completely dismantled so they can be delivered in a flat box with an instruction for them to assemble.
+ 04 / 29 / 1967 – Born
1
2
+ – –/– – / 1990 – Graduated
Partnership with Nob
Ruijgrok (Established en Ruijgrok v.o.f)
of th five
4
+ – –/– –/ 1993 –
e
CUT
5
+ 10 / 22 coll ecti /— on — pre – sen Fir ted st
3
+ – –/– –/ —— – Starts his own studio
Design Academy of Eindhoven
+ – –/– –/ 2011 Wehkamp furniture collection
T i m e
7
+ – –/ – –/ mor 2012 e ad – ded to th Five e co llect ion
6
L i n e
A. When I was studying. I told my teachers I was going to produce my own pieces of furniture and they answered me I couldn't already know what I wanted to do because I was too young. But I was very determined to not only design but also produce, distribute and do everything myself. And I did.
<
Q.When did you decide you wanted to start producing your own furniture and why?
CUT
+ Work and Images copyrighted to Piet Hein Eek + Book Designed by Jiyoon Cha + Information Reference: Museum of Art and Design Collections, Times Magazine, Lancia Trenvision, and pietheineek.nl + Paper: Environmental® Papers | Quest White | Vellum Finish | 24W Environmental® Papers | White | Felt Finish | 80T
Bye bye
“The chunky beam bench is part of a series of objects made from enormous old beams. Since there is only a limited stock of these beams, the series is limited. A chunky beam armchair, as well as a number of other objects, is also being produced. The idea is inspired by a large number of beams we purchased a few years back and which we had been at a loss at what to do with ever since. So this back-to-basics design, in all its simplicity, is the result of a rather longprocess of designing, experimenting and producing. The models are numbered consecutively by name (i.e. armchair no. 1, bench no. 2, and so on).”
CEREMIC FACET VASE COLLECTION
Chunky Beam Bench Collection
furniture back in 1993 for a law firm housed
“ I came up with the idea for the first aluminium
in a magnificent canal-side building in Amsterdam. The aluminium collection
the timelessness and quality of the collections. But aluminium appears to be coming into favour well before my demise (hopefully and sales have suddenly improved. Reason enough to dust off the armchair and sofa (which, incidentally, never were big sellers), reupholster them and offer them a second chance. The time is simply ripe for this. Otherwise, we’ll simply revert to the inheritance scenario once again. The entire aluminium collection was the result of me walking into a factory which held a punching machine for the first time. The machine is a kind of robot that pulls thin sheets of metal under a punch, which then creates various shapes. By folding the parts and assembling them, you can make all kinds of three-dimensional shapes. I was fascinated by both the materials and technical possibilities.”
wooden scrap collection
was born not long thereafter. We occasionally sold a piece, the crowning touch being the delivery of a large number of chairs, stools and tables to the MoMA in New York. Sales declined more and more after that, which led me to often joke that the sales of the collections would not pick up until after I was gone, giving the children plenty to look forward to. After all, I’ve never doubted
tion
ollec
ure C
Furnit
inum
Alum
TUBES CHAIR
COLLECTION