If you’ve been pining after Tejo Remy’s drunken chest of drawers--with its secret compartment containing a gold gun, a line of cocaine, and a diamond ring--but can’t tear yourself away from the plunging Nasdaq to get to Amsterdam to score one, take heart. Droog, the devilish Dutch outfit that first introduced the iconic piece opens its flagship store in New York City today.
Droog is an Amsterdam-based design collective launched in 1993 by Renny Ramakers and Gijs Bakker. It first caught the attention of the international design world at the Milan Furniture Fair, where the group staged an exhibit featuring designers who shared the collective’s sensibility, such as Marcel Wanders, Hella Jongerius, and Remy, who have since become contemporary masters.
It championed economy, simplicity, responsibility and wit (droog is Dutch for “dry” or “wry”). In many ways, their aesthetic was a reaction against the excesses of the 1980s (sound familiar?). They were early advocates of designs that emphasized ingenuity over extravagance, often using found objects assembled in unexpected ways to create something entirely new and delightful.
Remy’s chest, called “You Can’t Lay Down Your Memory,” is now in MOMA. The limited edition version, which is on display at Droog’s new store at 76 Greene Street in New York’s SOHO district, features a secret compartment containing a gold-plated revolver, a line of cocaine, a string of pearls, and a diamond ring. In short, all the stuff you might hide in your bedroom dresser. NB, NYPD: the stuff is encased in acrylic resin, so nobody's stopping by for a snort.

Designer Ted Noten first created the secret drawer for an exhibition at Art Basel in 2007. It’s on sale now for the princely sum of $142,500. But think what you’ll save in air fare and hotels by not having to travel to Amsterdam!
Here are a few other iconic pieces on display at the store.
Tree Trunk Bench by Jurgen Bey
Red Blue Lego Chair by Mario Minale
Crystal Virus: Massive Infection by Pieke Bergmans
Marcel Wanders's Knotted Chair
Lucky cat pinball machine by Tadaaki Narita
Related Stories: | Topics:Innovation, Design, lego chair, graphic design, Amsterdam, gijs bakker, furniture design, gold gun, Milan furniture fair, renny ramakers, Droog, Tejo Remy, Amsterdam, Marcel Wanders, Renny Ramakers, Gijs Bakker, Tadaaki Narita |