Vega Bench by Jasper Morrison for Artifort, 1990s

Born in London in 1959, English furniture and product designer Jasper Morrison studied at Kingston Polytechnic Design School, graduating in 1982. Between 1982 and 1985, he attended the Royal College of Art for postgraduate studies–including a year of studies at Berlin’s Hochschule der Kunst (HdK) on scholarship—ultimately earning his Master’s degree in design. After graduating, he opened his Office for Design in London in 1986. Soon after, two projects helped place him on the international design map: His work was included in the Documenta 8 exhibition in Kassel in 1987, for which he designed the Reuters News Centre. The next year, he was invited to take part in “Design Werkstadt,” part of the “Berlin, Cultural City of Europe” program, for which he created the plywood furniture and room installation Some New Items for the Home, Part I, at the DAAD Galerie.

From the outset, Morrison was determined to design for industrial production. As a young designer, he sought out small, London-based industrial workshops to fabricate his designs using ready-made industrial components. It didn’t take long, however, until major brands—SCP, Vitra, and especially Cappellini—began to pursue Morrison. Over the years, he has added Alessi, Alias, Canon, Flos, Magis, Muji, Olivetti, Rowenta, Rosenthal, Samsung, Sony, Established & Sons, and others to his portfolio of clients. Regardless of client, however, a minimalist aesthetic–driven by function over expression—characterizes Morrison’s work.

In 2005, Morrison partnered with Naoto Fukasawa to develop the Super Normal project, which resulted in a book and exhibition. The project served to articulate Morrison’s design philosophy, that design should be used to enhance the human environment, through simple, well-made, and nearly invisible functionality.

Morrison’s work has been exhibited in a number of solo exhibitions, including, but not limited to presentations at Tokyo’s Axis Gallery, Yamagiwa, and HH Style; Au Musée at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs Bordeaux in 2009; and the traveling career retrospective Thingness, first launched in 2015 at the Grand-Hornu, Belgium, accompanied by the monograph A Book of Things. In 2011, he curated the show Danish Design, I Like It, at the Copenhagen Design Museum. He has been recognized as a Royal Designer for Industry since 2001. 

As of this writing, Morrison has offices in London, Paris (opened 2002), and Tokyo (opened 2007). 

Wallpaper hanger and upholsterer Jules Wagemans (1866-1943) laid the foundation for Dutch manufacturing brand Artifort when he opened his bespoke furnishings atelier, H. Wagemans & Van Tuinen, in Maastricht in 1890. In 1920, his son Henricus Wagemans (1892-1948) took the helm and re-focused the company on the production of solid, well crafted, upholstered armchairs and other seating in traditional styles. In 1927, Henricus changed the company name to Artifort, which he derived from the Latin words, “ars,” meaning “art,” and “fortis,” meaning “strength.” Moving on a trajectory toward an ever-more progressive design approach, in the early 1930s, Artifort acquired a patent for “Epeda” single-steel-wire springs, which had already been used in mattresses and car seats, but never before in domestic furniture. This innovation allowed Artifort to produce more comfortable chairs and sofas in less time and with fewer materials. 

In 1939, Dutch designer Theo Ruth (1915-1971) became head of design and development—a position he maintained until his death in 1971—and proved instrumental in establishing Artifort as one of the most design-conscious companies of the 20^th century. After World War II, under the directorship of Henricus’s son H. J. J. (Harry) Wagemans (b. 1921), Artifort acquired a high-pressure molding machine, which allowed for much more minimalist yet cushioned designs. Early examples of this reduced style include Ruth’s Congo Chair (1952) and Penguin Chair (1953).

Artifort’s signature vibrant and biomorphic aesthetic fully blossomed when Dutch designer Kho Liang Ie (1927-1975) agreed to consult for the company, starting in 1958. In addition to designing a number of iconic pieces for Artifort, Kho instigated important collaborations with foreign designers, most notably French designer Pierre Paulin (1927-2009) and British designer Geoffrey Harcourt (b. 1935). As tastes for space-age designs peaked in the 1960s and 1970s, Artifort found international success, especially with Paulin’s colorful, jersey-covered “seat sculptures,” like Orange Slice Chair (1960), Model 560 Mushroom Chair (1963), Model 582 Ribbon Chair (1966), and Model 577 Tongue Chair (1966-7). Since the 1970s, a variety of standout designers have collaborated with Artifort, including Gijs Bakker, Jasper Morrison, René Holten, Patrick Norguet, and Khodi Feiz.

Artifort pieces are included in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and Centre Pompidou in Paris, and Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein. 

In 1998, the Lande Group in Schijndel purchased Artifort from the Wagemans family, opening new factories in Schijndel and Lanaken in Belgium. The company celebrated its 125^th anniversary in 2015. 

* All images courtesy of Artifort.