In october 2024, twice on BNR News Radio 📻

Mark Suurbier shares the export success and challenges of the “Dutch Oven” Combek, made from recycled bicycles and railways. 

Also, Roland Roolvink, commercial director of Sunware, smart, functional and stylish storage solutions for at the home, sharing his experience with exporting to 40 countries and how TRANSFER provides successful business support in the French market.

Dutch Design: The simple and humorous ideas shaping our world 

🌐 History

• Emerged 1990s in the Netherlands 
• 1993 Milan Design Week show by Droog is regarded as key moment for Movement
• Droog design (Dutch label) left significant expression on foreign critics 
• Remy Ramakers and Gijs Bakker creators of the label of collection of products home design

🔑 Key Characteristics

• Minimalism: Dutch Design often features clean lines, simple forms, and a focus on essential elements.
• Innovation: It emphasizes experimental approaches and the use of new technologies or materials.
• Unconventional thinking: Dutch designers are known for challenging the status quo and approaching problems from unique angles.
• Humor: A playful or quirky element is often present in Dutch Design, adding a touch of wit to functional objects.
• Sustainability: Many Dutch designers focus on eco-friendly materials and processes, often incorporating recycled or repurposed elements.
• Conceptual approach: Dutch Design typically goes beyond mere functionality, incorporating a strong conceptual or narrative element.

🙌 Social Impact 

• Address challenges in a creative way in order to tackle societal issues
• It has a strong focus on being as inclusive as possible 
• Creative industries main goal is to be able to solve complex social issues 
• Governments are tending to acknowledge even more often the value of creative industries  

📚 Examples of Dutch Design 

• Red-blue Rietveld chair
• The clogs of Viktor and Rolf
• Tejo Remy’s Chest of drawers 
• Rody Graumans 85 lamps 

How big is the Dutch design industry? 

• Creative Output
  • Top 10 for trade, jobs, and brands in creative industry
  • More creative output than any other country (relative to size)Education
• 30 Dutch knowledge institution offer Creative Arts and Design courses 
  • Producing a high number of skilled professionals 
• Dutch Design week 
  • More than 2,6000 designers 
  • around 350,000 visitors 

Economic Impact 

• Export value of Dutch creative service and goods: 8.9 billion euros in export value 
• • High-tech manufacturer (include some design sectors)
    •  Contribute 6% of dutch GDP
    • 4% of total jobs 
      • 50% of these jobs are better paid than in other sectors 
      • Gross value added per employee is more than 187,000 euros 
  • Global Brands (Nike, Adidas, Heineken) rely on Dutch created campaigns 
    • Amsterdam, known as Ad mecca
    • Most of these brands have HQ in the Netherlands 

Dutch design in other countries 

🇺🇲 USA 

• Henk Ovink (Dutch) led “Rebuild by Design”
  • Used Dutch water management and disaster prevention techniques to create a solution for areas that are prone to flood 
  • The Netherlands has partnered with states like Louisiana, Florida, and California on water management projects.
• Products/Brands 
  • EarthHero: reusable kitchenware, organic cleaning supplies, and sustainable personal
  • Oakywood: create office accessories from natural materials, planting a tree for every item sold.
  • Pela Case: phone and AirPod cases made from compostable materials

🇪🇸  SPAIN

• Dutch design spirit has left a deep impact on new Spanish trends 
• Use of geometric forms and primary colors has made an impact to Spanish modernism 
• Desigual:
  • Brand that focuses on the pillars of Dutch design 
  • They pride themselves on having a sustainable, inclusive and bold style
    

🇫🇷  FRANCE

• Architectural Projects bring innovative solutions that align with their philosophies
• Influence of De Stijl 
  • Movement created by Piet Mondriaan and Gerrit Rietveld (dutch designers)
  • Minimalistic functionality resonates with French designers
  • Les Architectes du Groupe “de Styl”
    • First architecture exhibition featuring this type of style towards french audiences 

🇩🇪 GERMANY

• Furniture and interior design 
• Combination of Dutch design aesthetics with German production capabilities 
  • Fair price for high quality furniture
• Creative industries 
  • Dutch embassy promotes Dutch arts and industries in Germany 
• The focus is on furniture and interior design, offering fair prices for high-quality furniture.
• The Dutch embassy promotes Dutch arts and industries in Germany.

🇧🇪 BELGIUM

• The Dutch design element of sustainability within Belgian mindset 
• Belgian designers have taken inspiration from the influence of Piet Hein Eeek (Dutch) and his sustainable ideals

🇹🇼  TAIWAN

• Architecture firms are developing designs in order for the city to be space-efficient 
• Gijs Bakker, co-founder of Droog, has trained many new designers in Taiwan and worked as creative director for the Taiwanese brand Yii.
• Examples of Dutch firms working in these type of spaces
  • MVRDV
  • OMA
  • Mecanoo

🎤 Listen to the radio interview here:

https://omny.fm/shows/wereldspelers-bnr/stakingen-in-amerikaanse-havens-gooien-export-over/embed

https://omny.fm/shows/wereldspelers-bnr/ondernemer-in-spanje-het-is-hier-een-soort-warzone/embed?style=cover&image=1&description=1&download=1&playlistImages=1&playlistShare=1&share=1&subscribe=1&background=f5f5f5&foreground=000000&highlight=ffd200

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