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Marcel Wanders
Worldwide Wanders
Marcel Wanders’ international breakthrough came 12 years ago, with his Knotted Chair. He developed this piece, made entirely from rope, together with the Technical University, Delft. Since then, the technically innovative but simultaneously warm, romantic design has become a classic. Marcel mainly designs products and interiors, and nearly everyone has seen at least one of his works, whether they realise it or not. His work is inventive and very broad: he designs everything from cars to coathangers, and makes both one-off pieces and large series. In 2005, his Carbon Chair won a prize in the Elle Decoration International Design Awards, and the year after the same awards crowned him Designer of the Year.
Marcel takes issue with the large role that technology and industry presently plays in design: “You don’t design for industry, but for people,” he says. “You must be able to understand people’s dreams, not just design things so that the industry can manufacture them in the easiest way possible.” As an example, he points to the sofa, an object with hardly any detail and where the customer can only select colour and fabric – and then waits 12 weeks for it to be delivered. This is the way the system works. “With Moooi Boutique, I’m working on a sofa that can be delivered immediately, with covers that are very different from normal. I’m trying to change the industry with this,” says Marcel.
Amsterdam is the base for Marcel Wanders and his team of 32 employees, but the world is their working area. At least half of the team comes from abroad, and the office works with global suppliers, from Italy to India and China. What’s more, 95% of Marcel’s customers are outside the Netherlands. “We work on some of the world’s biggest projects,” he says. “Beautiful projects for which we find the most talented people to work with. Amsterdam is a fine place to live and work. Maybe here and there you’ll find a better place, but it has a strong attraction, and people who work here have a great time.”
As well as a pleasant lifestyle, Amsterdam offers good opportunities for Marcel Wanders to excel at his profession. Within the context of Europe, it has an advantageous location. Furthermore, he points to the good transport infrastructure, which makes it easy to visit international clients: Schiphol Airport is practically on the corner. Finally, business here works fast and well – something the Dutch perhaps overlook, because it’s under their noses. “You can react rapidly where business is concerned,” says Marcel. “If you work worldwide, you see how well organised many basic services are in the Netherlands. Try sending something by post in some other countries.”
Marcel Wanders
industrial designer
Most proud of:
Learning to walk. With scarcely a single lesson, after two years you don’t fall over anymore.
Dream job:
Develop nice plans for Amsterdam, for example to create a super-hip going-out island on Pampus, an island near Amsterdam – you arrive at 8 o’clock at night and leave at 8 the next morning
Biggest opportunity for the creative industries:
Contributing to the success of Amsterdam.