 | |
| Industry | Interior Design |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2001 |
| Founders | Marcel Wanders and Casper Vissers |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations |
|
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products |
|
Number of employees | 120 (November 2019) |
Moooi is a Dutch furniture, interior, and lighting modern design company. [1] It was founded by Marcel Wanders and Casper Vissers in the Netherlands in 2001.
Designer Marcel Wanders first approached Moooi co-founder and former CEO Casper Vissers to help him market a designer lamp shade. Together they founded Moooi in 2001 with the intention of working with unconventional designers. [2] The company's name, "Moooi," is a twist on the Dutch word "mooi," meaning beautiful, with an extra "o" added to differentiate it and because the domain mooi.com was already taken. [3]
Wanders acts as both the Art Director and a designer of Moooi. [4]
Moooi's first international show was the Salone del Mobile in Milan in 2001. In 2002, entrepreneur Hans Lensvelt, owner of the LENSVELT brand of office furniture, became a 33% owner of the company. Prominent Italian design brand B&B Italia acquired a 50% share in the company in 2006, which it held until 2012. [5] That year, founders Wanders and Vissers became the majority owners again after buying back half of the stock owned by B&B Italia and the remaining shares held by Lensvelt (by this time 10%). [6] In 2015, Wanders and Vissers, who previously owned 50% of the company, again became the majority shareholders. [7]
Vissers stepped down as Moooi CEO in 2015, and he and Wanders announced Robin Bevers, the Managing Director of the Marcel Wanders Studio from 2005 to 2010, as his replacement beginning in September of that year. [8]
The company carries lighting, furniture, accessories, wallcovering and carpet collections. Moooi designs are available in 82 countries: via (e-commerce) retailers, project- and contract dealers, agents & distributors, their own (brand)stores and their website. [9]
The company frequently collaborates with photographers such as Erwin Olaf to present collections, beginning with the brand’s first Salone del Mobile in 2001. Collaborations have included “Naked Portraits” (2002-2006), “Super Heroes” (2007-2008), “Luxury Accessories” (2008), “Inside the Box” (2012). For Moooi's new collection presentation in Milan in 2013, Wanders asked Olaf to select photographs from his personal work, a collection of interior design photography. [16] For the 2014 exhibition, the brand collaborated with photographer Massimo Listri. [17] In 2015 it was Rahi Rezvani. [18] Levi van Veleuw's work was installed in the Amsterdam and London showrooms in 2013. [19] Rezvani's work is also currently featured in Moooi's new NYC showroom. [14]