He is the avant-gardist designer of the Giso lamps (1926) and the famous chairs with steel-tube bases. Gispen is famous to have purchased a small smithy factory in 1916. The company met with great success thanks to a rigorous technical production.
Biography
Willem Hendrik Gispen was born in 1890 in Amsterdam. In 1913, he started his design studies at the Academy of Visual Arts and Sciences in Rotterdam. He founded his own workshop three years later by purchasing a small company. He designed many types of furniture such as clocks and lamps. In 1920, he co-founded the Opbouw circle which permitted to build the bases of Dutch functionalism movement. By creating the Giso Lamp, Gispen knew how to combine aestheticism and economic. His success became quickly international: he opened several showrooms in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels and in London. In 1949, he published many articles in the Goed Wonen magazine. Then, he became interested in architecture. The Gispen factory always has a huge success.
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