Tord Boontje

Designer Tord Boontje was born in Enschede, The Netherlands in 1968. He studied industrial design at the Design Academy Eindhoven, graduating in 1991. He next attended the Royal College of Art, where he earned his Masters in Design Products in 1994, before opening Studio Tord Boontje in London in 1996. He lived and worked in London between 1995 and 2005, subsequently relocating his studio and home to Bourg-Argental, France. In 2009, he accepted an appointment as a professor and Head of Design Products at the Royal College of Art, but is stepping down as of September 2014.

Boontje continues to work out of his own studio, now once again located in London. His work combines artisanal techniques and advanced technologies, and his limited-edition and mass produced glassware, lighting, furniture, textiles, and product designs blur the boundaries between craft and design.

Boontje has been the recipient of several honors, including Elle Décor’s 2003 Designer of the Year award and the 2005 Dutch Designer of the Year. His work is included in the permanent collections of esteemed institutions around the world, including the Cooper Hewitt and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Crafts Council in London, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Helsinki Design Museum, and Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum, among others.