Hella Jongerius

Hella Jongerius was born in de Meern, The Netherlands in 1963, and graduated from the Academy for Industrial Design in Eindhoven in 1993. In Jongerius’ designs, she often manipulates ancient craft technique and modern technology to yield a product that is of our time. Her early work for Droog Design, the Dutch design collaborative, has been a standout in the world of product design for over two decades. At her design firm, Jongeriuslab, established in Rotterdam in 1993, materials largely determine the direction of the designs. The range of materials and techniques used at the firm are diverse and very broadly derived. For example, an exploration of polyurethane resulted in Soft Vases (1994), where the form of an antique urn is recast in soft, malleable polyurethane, and, in another project, a primitive wooden African prie-dieu, or prayer desk, is transformed into the Kasese Chair (1999), which couples the elemental nature of felt with futuristic carbon fiber while still preserving the poetry of the original form.
 
Her unique approach to design objects, specifically textiles, and her willingness to experiment leads to inspired final products. She has worked for numerous clients around the world, including KLM, Vitra, Maharam, IKEA, Camper, Nymphenburg, and Royal Tichelaar Makkum. Her designs are included in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; and The Design Museum, London. Jongerius was the guest curator for Cooper Hewitt’s Selects series in 2005.