product and furniture designers, born 1973 and 1972, office in Hanover / Lower Saxony

 

The little plastic woodpecker, just five centimetres tall and clipped onto the back of a file, brings a bit of colour and wit to the often humour- free zone of the workplace. Patrick Frey and Markus Boge, the originators of this exotic office bird, seek to develop simple solutions and then create products that are easy to use. The idea itself is hardly new, but its consistent application can lead to something novel. The maxim of “simple but not simple-minded” seems to work for Frey and Boge. They both studied design in Hanover until 2002 and, two years later, f o rmed a creative partnership that lasted for three highly successful years. Their twin concept of simplicity was apparent from the outset in two pieces they had submitted for theirdegrees: The office table Kant and the shelving system Marketing are both strikingly coherent solutions (both for Nils Holger Moormann). In the case of Kant, the sharp fold at the back creates additional storage space and adds to stability. Theheight-adjustable Marketing, which can be assembled without tools and was inspired by the principles used in market stalls, proves that modern variations on Germany's ever-popular theme of system furn i t u re are still possible, and in a way that is visually out of the ord i n a ry. A later addition was Trick Stick (k p.29), awardrobe consisting of just three wooden beams that simply leans against the wall, stabilized by its own weight. Other manufacturers soon took note of Frey and Boge.Magazin/Manufactum brought out their minimal wall-mounted drawer Wandsinn, Bree a shoulder bag, and Richard Lampert a serving trolley. The young Cologne company Skia began largescale production of their eccentric sunshade Camerarius with itsmultiple umbrellas curving upwards. The elegant eye-catching shade-makers have proved a solid commercial success. Other Frey and Boge prototypes are still awaiting a producer, like a stackable chair consisting of two bowed surfaces, which theydeveloped in collaboration with plywood specialist Becker, and a neo- romantic garden bench with integrated street lamp.