kikkerland  home

May 20 - 23, 2007 and open house on May 21, 2007 6-8pm

Kikkerland Design and MXYPLYZYK present 15 Years of Design from New York City

Kikkerland Design Inc., known for innovative design objects, and MXYPLYZYK, the popular West Village design shop for savvy gift buyers, will host an open house on Monday May 21, from 6-8pm, to celebrate 15 years of design from 17 designers. On view will be a window display by Kikkerland’s secret weapon, Swiss-born bad boy designer/stylist Thomas Buchheim, who has a no-nonsense approach to everything from Scotch whiskey to his brilliant trade show booths for Kikkerland. The open house at MXYPLYZYK (125 Greenwich Avenue) is scheduled to coincide with the ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) and The Stationery Show at Jacob Javits Convention Center. Refreshments will be provided by Grolsch. The first 50 people to arrive at the event will receive one of Chico Bicalho’s Critter wind-up toys, the item that cemented Kikkerland and MXYPLYZYK’s relationship in the early 1990’s.

Kikkerland Design started with a vase imported from Holland in 1992 and now has a collection of 700 of the most whimsical products in the market today. Holland-born entrepreneur and man of many parables, Jan van der Lande, Kikkerland's president, resides with his family, in true Dutch form, on a boat in the 79th Street Boat Basin. In developing Kikkerland, his focus has been on objects that tell a story, usually a humorous one.

Kikkerland first runaway success was Chico Bicalho’s spasmodic wind-up Critters. In the early ’90s MXYPLYZYK’s Kevin Brynan introduced Chico to Jan, who endeavored to mass-produce the ingenious toys. Rhode Island School of Design–grad Chico lives in Rio de Janeiro, and proceeds from his Ze-Car toy are used to save the Brazilian rainforest.

Also included in the exhibit will be eco-designer David Dear (also from RISD), who’s Solar-Powered Rainbowmakers dance color spectrums around any sun-lit room. Dear’s new design, the power-hungry Battery-Eater sucks the last bit of juice from an AA battery before disposal. The remaining charge makes the figure’s eyes blink until the battery is completely dead.

Renowned lighting designer David Weeks' new set of slip-cast porcelain votives, which evoke three archetypal hearths in miniature - a campfire, a glowing oil drum, and a ski lodge-style chimnea -, will make their first US retail appearance. Weeks states that “Staring into a fire inspires personal reflection, but urban life offers little room for hearths or meditative moments.”

Design darling Josh Owen, whose face has graced numerous design magazines, is known for his work exploring the boundaries between art and design. His sculptural pieces for Kikkerland include bowling pin–shaped Knock-off Lamps, Magnito Salt and Pepper Shakers, corkscrew sets and bottle openers, which will be on display.

Also featured will be:

• Russian-born designer Constantin Boym, who according to Karim Rashid “flirts with poetry, playing off an almost flea-market find, doing well-considered and humorous products”.
• New York City–born Gabriel Lewin’s twisted set of Children’s Playing Cards, Felt Placemats and futuristic chrome ashtrays.
• Soho-based Pollen Design’s wobbly bobble bottle openers. Their Parking Meter Alarms have saved New Yorkers from many parking tickets.
• Inna Alesina’s hilarious Inflatable Pin cushions.
• Pieter Woudt, a graduate of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, relocated in 1988 to New York, where he designed for MTV. His million-seller Invisible Playing Cards are putting his two kids through school.
• Lev Zeitlin of Red Square Design’s magnet games.
• RISD-grad and former Motorola Design Director, Jozeph Forakis recently won the Good Design Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design for his Tape Timer. He also designed the best-selling Swatch watch of all time.
• Droog Design’s Richard Hutten.
• Michael Daniel, who started a new trend in Flip Clocks.
• English-born Chris Collicott, who adds a very masculine style to his products like Pushing Man Bookends, Table Gardens and his new Peace concept item of an extra large toy soldier with candle stick in hand. Collicott was a TV set designer in Los Angeles before turning to product design. He resides in New York City.

Full biographies of each designer can be found at www.kikkerland.com. Kikkerland Design is showing at the National Stationery Show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, May 20-23, Booth #3902. MXYPLYZK is located at 125 Greenwich Avenue at West 13th, and can be found on the web at www.mxyplyzyk.com.

Contact:
Laura Kellner
Kikkerland Design Inc.
423-427 West 127th Street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10027
Tel.: 800-869-1105 x100
Fax: 212-678-6296
Lkellner@kikkerland.com
www.kikkerland.com