Horsing Around

Images via Thomas Eyck.

The Dutch furniture manufacturer Gelderland has been making high-quality sofas and chairs since 1936. When cutting out the upholstery fabrics, they inevitably end up with waste material. On behalf of Gelderland, the designer Christien Meindertsma has devised a charming way to use these offcuts: “Gelderlander,” a fabric horse. The selvedge of the fabric forms the mane, the tail consists of the chain removed from the fabric and the filling consists of residual material that is used in the production of the sofas. The legs are each provided with a wooden claw that is used in the manufacture. Watch the horse come to life from factory to final product.

De Gelderlander is a powerful warm-blooded horse breed that is characterized by its reliability, and long life. The breed was previously bred in the province of Gelderland as a versatile work or police horse and is still used as a carriage horse at the Royal Stables. The small-scale design distributor Thomas Eyck has picked up the collection and sells the unique horses online, “Because our horses are made from the residues of the fabric, we never know which colours we have in stock.” 

Thomas Eyck publishes and distributes characteristic and exclusive contemporary design products. The company values the care and love for choosing materials to work with, its producers and production techniques as well as the skill and creativity of its designers. Thomas Eyck chooses the designers he collaborates with based on their handwriting: ‘I believe that the union of design and material and a careful process of product development – from the first idea until the ‘finishing touch’ – are very important.’ Yearly one or two designers are commissioned to design a series of products in a given material; the collection develops slowly. The on-going search for materials to discover has so far led to collections in (amongst others) pewter, flax and borosilicate glass.