Artifort
Artifort
Est. 1890
About
Artifort is a Dutch furniture manufacturer that makes armchairs, chairs, sofas, barstools, special seating, tables, side tables and storage for homes and for contract interiors. Its office and principal factory are at Van Leeuwenhoekweg 20 in Schijndel, in the province of North Brabant, and the company states that it has been producing furniture since 1890. Since 1998 Artifort has been one of the brands of the family-owned Dutch group that now trades as Lande Family, formerly Lande Group; the legal entity behind the brand is registered as Lande NL b.v. The business began in 1890, when Jules Wagemans established himself in Maastricht as a decorator and upholsterer. His son Henricus Wagemans expanded the workshop into a furniture factory, trading as H. Wagemans & Van Tuinen, which had a showroom in Amsterdam by the end of the 1920s. The brand name Artifort was introduced in 1928; the company explains it as a contraction of the Latin words ars, meaning art or knowledge, and fortis, meaning strong or powerful. At the beginning of the 1930s the factory took up Epeda interior springing in place of the straw, horsehair and kapok used until then. The design direction that still shapes the collection dates from the late 1950s. Kho Liang Ie was appointed aesthetic consultant and designer in 1958, and Artifort credits him with attracting foreign designers including Pierre Paulin and Geoffrey D. Harcourt and with establishing what it calls the Artifort DNA; the company's Dutch history page records that he died in 1975 at the age of 47. Designs credited to him that remain in the range include the 070 sofa and the C416, C683 and C684 seating. Pierre Paulin joined as a freelance designer in 1959, and the company has marked 65 years of that collaboration with an anniversary edition limited to 65. Geoffrey D. Harcourt, born in 1935 and trained at the Royal College of Art in London, designed his first series of small office chairs for Artifort in 1962 and followed it with the 042 series in 1963; he was appointed Royal Designer for Industry in 1978. Several of Paulin's designs are still in production. The Mushroom (F560) of 1960 is a fully upholstered chair built on a tubular metal frame bent into interconnected circles, padded with foam and covered in stretch fabric; Artifort states that it is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The Orange Slice (F437), also from 1960, places two identical bent-plywood shells, one forming the seat and the other the back and armrests, on a four-legged steel base. The Ribbon (F582) of 1966 combines a tubular metal frame with horizontal springs, moulded foam and stretch upholstery over a lacquered pressed-wood pedestal base, and according to Artifort is in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. Little Tulip, Tulip F545, Tulip F550, Tulip Midi, Big Mushroom, Moulin and Moulin Lounge are also listed among the Paulin models the company still offers. Artifort continues to commission new work. Its designer index names Claesson Koivisto Rune, Gerard Vollenbrock, Jasper Morrison, Khodi Feiz, Luca Nichetto, Michiel van der Kley, Mike & Maaike, Monica Förster, Monika Mulder, Norm Architects, Patrick Norguet, René Holten, Richard Hutten, Scholten & Baijings, Studio Stefan Scholten and Tej Chauhan, alongside an in-house Artifort Design Group. Khodi Feiz was appointed art director in 2014. The company states that it produces all of its furniture and parts at its own production locations in Schijndel and in Lanaken, Belgium, and elsewhere describes family-owned production facilities in the Netherlands, Belgium and Turkey; its parent group lists a site in Bursa, Turkey making metal and wooden components alongside the Dutch and Belgian plants. Each product is issued with an eco product passport setting out material composition by weight percentage. Artifort specifies fabrics carrying the EU Ecolabel or the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 label, PEFC- or FSC-certified wood, and powder coating in place of chrome, and states that it buys sustainable materials only from certified suppliers. Artifort and Lande run a combined quality and environmental management system certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, which Artifort says is tested through periodic audits and an annual check. Artifort Shop, the company's own service operation, handles reupholstery, repair and partial renewal of furniture already in use and lists pre-used Artifort pieces. Artifort furniture is used in offices, restaurants, hotels, schools, airports, libraries and homes. It is sold through dealers worldwide, which buyers can find through the dealer locator on the company's own website, and it is shown in the company showroom at Van Leeuwenhoekweg 22 in Schijndel and at Design Post Amsterdam on the Cruquiusweg. For specifiers, Artifort publishes product specification sheets, eco product passports, 3D libraries for SketchUp and pCon.planner, and image material. Its collection keeps designs from the late 1950s and 1960s in production alongside work by present-day designers.
Specifications
- Categories
- homeofficehospitalityeducational
- Price Range
- $$$
- Founded
- 1890
- Headquarters
- Schijndel, Netherlands
- Certifications
- ISO 9001ISO 14001
Resources
Common Questions
Artifort's office and principal factory are at Van Leeuwenhoekweg 20 in Schijndel, in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands. The company also has a showroom in Schijndel and a presence at Design Post Amsterdam. Its furniture is produced in Schijndel and in Lanaken, Belgium.
The business was started in 1890 by Jules Wagemans, who set himself up in Maastricht as a decorator and upholsterer. His son Henricus Wagemans expanded it into a furniture factory trading as H. Wagemans & Van Tuinen, which had a showroom in Amsterdam by the end of the 1920s. The brand name Artifort was introduced in 1928, which the company explains as a contraction of the Latin ars, meaning art or knowledge, and fortis, meaning strong or powerful.
Artifort is known for upholstered seating, including Pierre Paulin designs such as the Mushroom (F560) and Orange Slice (F437), both from 1960, and the Ribbon (F582) from 1966. It also produces work by Kho Liang Ie, appointed aesthetic consultant in 1958, and by Geoffrey D. Harcourt, whose first Artifort office chairs date from 1962. Alongside these it makes chairs, sofas, tables, side tables, barstools and storage with present-day designers.
Artifort has been a brand of the Dutch furniture group Lande since 1998, when the group acquired it. The group is a family business run by the third generation of the Van der Lande family, and its corporate site lists Artifort alongside the Lande, Montis, Pörtner, Zwaardvis and A Lott Of Space brands. The company registered behind the Artifort brand is Lande NL b.v. in Schijndel.
Artifort products are sold through dealers worldwide, which can be found using the dealer locator on the company's own website, and are shown in its showroom in Schijndel and at Design Post Amsterdam. The company also runs Artifort Shop, a service offering reupholstery, repair and pre-used Artifort pieces. furniture.directory is an independent directory and does not sell furniture directly.
Artifort states that it produces all of its furniture and parts at its own production locations in Schijndel in the Netherlands and Lanaken in Belgium. Elsewhere the company describes family-owned production facilities in the Netherlands, Belgium and Turkey, and its parent group lists a plant in Bursa, Turkey that makes metal and wooden components alongside the Dutch and Belgian sites. Artifort and Lande operate a management system certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.