THRIFTY & THOUGHTFUL: ZUINIG & ZINVOL

Early works 1997:

ORDINAIRY FURNITURE: TÊTE À TÊTE SET (1997)
Tête à tête set - a small table with two stools - was the first set in this furniture collection out of recycled plastic in 1997. The furniture is wind-, water-, salt- acid- and UV-resistant.
At that time, furniture made from recycled materials was a novelty, but it was viewed primarily from a pragmatic perspective: the material and weight made it very suitable for outdoor use.
Since then Ineke Hans extended and refined the collection and it is still produced and sold from her studio in Arnhem today.


EAT YOUR HEART OUT (1997)
After working in London as a freelancer for Habitat UK, where flat packing, colour variations and stackability proved important for chairs, Ineke Hans designed the Eat Your Heart Out chair that incorporated all of these features. It was also an early exploration of CNC milling.
A standard sheet of plywood is laminated blue on one side and white on the other. Four sets of chairs can be milled from this standard sheet with minimal waste.
Each compact set of parts can be used to make a stackable chair with 16 different colour combinations.

Works 2002 - 2017:

LASER CHAIR (2002)
The – at the time – completely new digital technique of laser cutting was applied to a chair that appears to be handmade, but you can cut 12 in a morning. The laser perforated decorations such as the holes you cut out of folded paper as a child.
Experiments were also conducted with the limits of a sturdy construction by applying as many perforations as possible. The parts of the laser chair fit together compactly. There is little material loss.
The Laser Chair was part of the Black Magic Collection, a furniture series evolving from ‘new materials and techniques’.

INSTANT DESK (2017)
20 years after the Eat Your Heart Out chair, CNC routering was an interesting method for sustainable production.
Instant Desk - a foldable table for the London-based open source platform Opendesk - can be downloaded worldwide as digital file and produced by one of their 600 local workshops. It means that you only produce WHERE and WHEN it is needed.
The table is narrow (we mainly work on laptops these days), but this size means that TWO tables can be made from ONE standard sheet of plywood. Instant Desk also responds to the flexibility and mobility required in today’s workplace.

Works 2021 - 2024:

REX - THE FIRST DUTCH DEPOSIT CHAIR (2021)
Circuform gives industrially designed furniture a circular life and aims to minimise the use of expensive new raw materials and to maximise reuse. In 2021 Circuform relaunched an award-winning design by Ineke Hans engineered and produced as initially intended.
REX is sustainable and fully recyclable. The production has the lowest possible ecological impact. REX is made from controlled recycled PA6 industrial waste, such as office chair components, fishing nets or carpets.
In 2022 REX, won the Dutch design awards and 6 other international awards for design and sustainability.

TRAP COLLECTION (2024)
Social Label aims to create socio economic opportunities for disadvantaged persons in the ‘working world’ through design.
For their 10th anniversary, a cheerful and multi-purpose collection was designed for young and old, to take any step you want in life.
Made with care at social workshop ‘de winkel die werkt’ (the shop that works) it creates work experience. The festive, dots applied by the makers gives them the opportunity to finish the design themselves.
The collection was longlisted for the Dezeen Awards 2025.