'Nieuw Deurne' or 'DH05' Coat Rack by Friso Kramer for 't Spectrum, 1950s

Through both his bold furniture designs and his teaching and administrative positions within the architecture and design industries, the solution-oriented Friso Kramer helped elevate industrial design to a venerated place in the modernist canon.

While the mid-century years saw no shortage of function-minded modernists, Kramer may have been the most extreme of them. “If form does not contribute to the function, it has no right to exist,” the Dutch designer once said. Born in Amsterdam in 1922 to the pioneering architect Piet Kramer, Friso studied architecture, industrial design, electrical engineering and interior design. He cut his teeth in the studios of architect Jan Piet Kloos and interior designer Frans Paulussen, then, in 1948, went to work as a designer at the steel furniture manufacturer De Cirkel (part of the Ahrend group), where he would design some of his best-known work.

The 1953 Revolt chair, which is among his most celebrated seating and a darling of Dutch mid-century modernism, embodied Kramer’s function-first design; its skeletal, industrial form provides for maximum comfort and ergonomic support with minimal material. He joined forces with Wim Rietveld, son of celebrated Dutch modernist Gerrit Rietveld, for the 1958 Result chair, which married elements of the Revolt with forms from Rietveld’s Pyramid series. Kramer found numerous ways to riff on and perfect his brand of minimalism: The 1960 Resort and Repose armchairs demonstrate how he slightly tweaked the skeletal frames for different postures and uses.

In 1963, Kramer left Ahrend to found Total Design Studio with Wim Crouwel, Benno Wissing and Paul and Dick Schwartz. The firm grouped graphic, industrial and spatial design under one roof with the shared belief in functionalism. Though Total Design Studio is still in business today, Kramer left the company to return to Ahrend in 1971, serving as art director until 1983. Following Kramer’s death in 2019, Ahrend teamed up with Danish design brand HAY to relaunch the Result and Revolt chairs.

Find vintage Friso Kramer chairs, sofas, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.

Dutch furniture company ‘t Spectrum — later Spectrum — was established in 1941 with a run of pieces that were spare and outwardly industrial in appearance. Its early armchairs and dining chairs were often framed in tubular metal, and boast clearly defined lines and minimal curves. The vintage ‘t Spectrum seating in the decades that followed, which was designed by the likes of Gerrit Rietveld and Wim van Gelderen, is characterized by the angular forms and Pop art-hued colors that we associate with the best of mid-century modernism.

‘t Spectrum emerged in 1941 as an offshoot of the Dutch fabric manufacturer De Ploeg. When a shortage of textiles and other materials took shape owing to the demands of the Second World War, De Ploeg director Piet Blijenburg changed gears, and sought to broaden the manufacturer’s offerings as well as prevent the company's employees from being forced into work for occupying military forces. 

‘t Spectrum was a brand devoted to furniture and interiors — as well as goods and decor for the home such as coat racks, napkin rings and beds. Legendary modernist furniture designer Gerrit Rietveld — an integral part of the Dutch art and design movement of the early 20th century called De Stijl — was brought on in a supervisory role in its early days, and designer Martin Visser was installed to oversee the production of furniture. 

The end of the war brought a greater availability of metals and other materials to ‘t Spectrum, which became more focused on creating affordable furniture for the era’s new homeowners. A new factory designed by Rietveld was built in Bergeijk in 1957. During the late 1960s, ‘t Spectrum offered a richer range of furnishings, incorporating alluring hardwoods and leathers as part of sophisticated lines of seating and other pieces designed in the mid-century modern style. Visser recruited the likes of Friso Kramer, Benno Premsela, Constant Nieuwenhuys and others to design for ‘t Spectrum over the years.

With competition for cheaper furniture on the rise in the 1970s, ‘t Spectrum liquidated in 1974. A group of employees acquired the designs and continued the company under the name of Arspect. The firm produced ‘t Spectrum designs and works from other designers. 

Arspect closed its doors in 1986. A former employee bought the company and renewed it with the name Spectrum. Today, Spectrum operates in Eindhoven in the Netherlands, creating contemporary designs alongside pieces dating back to the look and feel of the products offered by the original manufacturer. The company is also reproducing original designs created by Visser and Rietveld.

On 1stDibs, browse a selection of vintage ‘t Spectrum Bergijk seating, tables, storage pieces and more.