Seattle and Raleigh-Durham marketing, graphic and brand design studio Design Kompany

Last month I spent a couple weeks traveling around The Netherlands and Germany as part of the film crew, shooting a great band from Idaho.

We homebased it in Amsterdam, holing up in a modern apartment building near the southern edge of town. When I wasn’t checking out museums, “borrowing” bicycles” or reveling in the glory of Europe’s public transit, I checked out Droog, a Netherlands-based design collective. Akira blogged about a Droog show in NYC in December, so I was eager to see where it all began.

Situated on Staalstraat (where Rembrandt spent most of his life), the inside of this small brick shop was adorned in white — the floors, the walls, the shelves, the tables. Over a doorway, you see the phrase “every product tells a story.” Look around and you will agree.

Every furnishing goes beyond function, to being either overstated or understated. You could envision some of the items in your home, while others seem closer to something from A Clockwork Orange. It’s probably worth mentioning that in ACO, “droog” is used as slang for “friend.”

I would describe more of these products in detail, but why do that when you can watch a video?!? Go to http://www.staalstraat.com/, twiddle your thumbs during the short intro, then click on the second box in the second row. Report back here in two minutes.

I’ll wait.

Isn’t it great? Doesn’t it look like each product has a mind of its own? It’s like they all attended the same rave, and there was something funky in the Kool-Aid. Now that I mention it, Droog WAS located next to a smart shop. Ahh… good old Amsterdam.

If you’re interested in other cool things I saw in Amsterdam, see the list below:
FOAM (featuring amazing James Nachtway photos)
World Press Photo exhibit at Oude Kirk
Anne Frank House
Van Gogh Museum,
Vondelpark
Zandfoort, on the North Sea

Also see: DK’s report on Droog from New York Museum of Modern Art