Dutch Design Thinking with Piet Hein Eek

Piet says:

“I create my designs with what I am surrounded by in materials, textures and colors”

Piet is famous for his reclaimed design that travels the world and during my interview with him he reveals in detail his design philosophy, his view on sustainable design and how he selects colors while using the materials that he is surrounded by. How did his Dutch upbringing influence his designs and how come he works in an opposite manner as the rest of the world, never knowing what the end result of his designs will be like? Listen to our talk and find out also who was the main inspiration for his new paint color range!

Piet Hein Eek was born in the Netherlands in 1967. He graduated from the Academy for Industrial Design in Eindhoven in 1990. 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. Today, they continue to work in a 10.000 square meter multi-purpose space in Eindhoven, which includes a restaurant, a shop, a gallery, a showroom, and a studio.

Piet Hein Eek has built his business around old materials, saving discarded pieces of wood and working outside the circuit of mass production. His instantly recognisable work considers the tension between modernity and tradition, waste and sustainability. Piet Hein Eek’s work is sold in numerous galleries worldwide.

He has exhibited at venues like the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Milan Furniture Fair, Italy.