For sale in Spring 2026
The creation of the Verte Chair started when I won the Zuiver Scholarship of 2024. I was going to design a product for the Zuiver Collection, in a factory abroad. Where exactly, and in what type of factory I would land was still a surprise. Just a few days before departure I learned that I was going to seating factory in China! What a joy to hear, as I have lived in China for half a year doing my internship, this area has a special place in my heart.
Off course I did my research on what was missing in the Zuiver Collection. What could I add that had both a presence in the collection, but also serves as a statement piece for my first brand collaboration and my own portfolio. The fact that the factory’s core business was creating chairs, made me inevitably go in that direction. As there is just so much one can do in 4 weeks. Getting to know the factory, the Chinese colleagues and the city, I had to make choices fast. So I planned my month as best as I could. 1 week of research and sketching, second and third week were for concept development and the last week was for prototyping. With the goal of sitting on a chair I designed at the end of the month.
In the second weekend I travelled to Shanghai for the ultimate inspiration boost. Shanghai is such a busy but organized city, full of modern, changing surroundings but also past treasures. I really enjoyed being back in the city, remembering places and also seeing new ones. In such a busy city of over 25 million people, I am always amazed by the fact that there are places of ultimate calmness. This was again one of the most striking things to me and is still one of the things that makes me love Shanghai so much. One good example is the central metro station called Peoples Square. Right below the central park of Shanghai called People’s Park. This is one of the busiest metro stations in the world, but insanely well organized. Right when you exit the station, almost pushed out by the chaos, you can enter the Peoples Park, and there is nobody. You will hear the birds, park noises, but it is so peaceful. These kinds of contrast is what China is so good at.
And it is ultimately what inspired me for the design of the Verte lounge chair. The way parks and gardens are meticulously designed, using symbolism as a key for design decisions, inspired me to dive deeper into Chinese gardening philosophy. The seat is inspired by the flow that is created with the arcs and bridges. The lines in the seat and backrest create a visual flow in the design next to being common patterns in Chinese gardens. Giving the chair a “smile” which visually conveys a positive appearance. The chair must function not only when you sit in it, but also when you look at it, which will be most of the time.
The contrast of the structured straight buildings of the city and the nature in the gardens and parks is resembled in the metal frame in combination with the soft seat. Then the ton sur ton aesthetics still bind them together.
Borrowed scenery, such as mountains in the background, connect the gardens to their surrounding environment. The factory owner had a very beautiful example of this made in his lunch room. Verte stands for “distance” in Dutch, which originated from the feeling the chair should give when you sit in the Verte chair and look into the distance. These parks and gardens are meant for contemplation and reflection, with the use of nature and harmony. In this way they resemble the experience of the Verte lounge chair. Eventually, it is my down-to-earth view on Chinese symbolism that is translated into this snapshot of my time there.
