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Discover Benelux | Dutch Design Special | Fatboy
Fatboy stands for good quality, original, fun and useful products – items that can take the wear and tear of everyday life and still look great.
The one and only beanbag TEXT: CAROLE EDRICH | PHOTOS: FATBOY
“There is only one bean bag!” proclaims the advert. That’s certainly true in mainland Europe, and Fatboy’s products, particularly their best-selling trademark beanbags, are growing in popularity at an immense rate in the UK. The reason for this is the consistency with which Fatboy designers create good quality, original, fun and useful products that meet stringent requirements regarding safety, sustainability and ethical standards. In fact, every Fatboy item shows a design quality, zest for life and depth of thought in their design that’s rare. The designers; who collaborate with suppliers, producers, thinkers and creatives all over the world in the development of a collection that represents an attitude to life as much as the brand, take inspiration from everyday products. They take away everything unnecessary (including the idea that products are supposed to feel and look a certain way), then give the designs an original Fatboy
twist until they are left with something iconic. It is this deep and careful consideration that makes the Fatboy collection so great. It all started when Alex Bergman saw the potential of a new way of seating when the first bean bag was created in Finland. From this, the Fatboy brand was introduced into the Netherlands in 2002. Twelve years later, every piece of the Fatboy Collection resists pigeonholing. The pieces are bold, unexpected and oversized. They’re bright, brash and fun, and they are used in the strangest of places. You’ll find them in superyachts and marinas, trendy outdoor cafés and museums, in festivals, peoples’ homes and even stylish kindergardens. The only thing these places have in common is that they show an appreciation of the original and a desire to relax, have fun and be different.
able online or from retail stores throughout the UK. One thing’s for sure, whether it’s the super-comfortable CH-AIR (an air-filled sofa with securing anchor), CO9 (a bemused-looking bunny bean bag that comes in the three sizes of bigger-thanbean-bag, comfortable-for-three and absolutely huge), the tablet tuxedo (a protective envelope that’s a cool combination of classic design and colourful fun) or RockCoco (the first outdoor LED chandelier in the world) your Fatboy product will be a useful, well designed, unconventional and a valuable asset. www.fatboy.com
Even if you don’t yet recognize the brand you’ll know the products, which are avail-
Issue 9 | September 2014 | 17