Gelderlander by Christien Meindertsma | Fabric Horse | no.2

The Gelderlander is a horse made of fabric, built from offcuts from the furniture industry. It is a design by Christien Meindertsma for the brand Kuperus & Gardenier, created in collaboration with furniture manufacturer Gelderland. The selvedges of the fabric form the mane, the tail is made of warp threads pulled from the cloth. In the legs of the horse sit small wooden spools, also from the furniture production. The same offcuts also become the Pigeon Service and the Bird t..

This horse is made from a dark yellow upholstery fabric, a deep ochre with more of mustard about it than lemon. Warm enough to sit beside wood and wool, and bold enough to fill an empty shelf.

Every horse is one of a kind

Furniture maker Gelderland has been making sofas and chairs since 1936. Cutting the upholstery fabric leaves strips along the sides: the selvedges. Christien Meindertsma was asked by Gelderland what could be done with them, and the answer turned out to be a horse. Because every horse comes from a different fabric, no two are alike, and which colours exist depends on what the factory has left over that week. The photographs on this page are of this very one. If it is sold out, sign up to be notified: as soon as a new horse takes this place, you will hear about it.

Specifications

• Brand: Kuperus & Gardenier
• Design: Christien Meindertsma
• Material: selvedges of upholstery fabric from furniture maker Gelderland
• Mane: the selvedge of the fabric
• Tail: the warp threads pulled from the cloth
• Filling: offcuts from the production of the sofas
• Legs: each with a wooden spool from the furniture production
• Dimensions: L 35 | W 6 | H 30 cm
• Made in: the Netherlands

The horse behind the name

The Gelderlander is a powerful warm-blooded breed, known for its reliability and its long life. It was bred in the province of Gelderland as a versatile work and police horse, and is still used as a carriage horse at the Royal Stables. Christien Meindertsma gave the fabric remnants of furniture maker Gelderland the shape of the horse, which in turn owes its name to the province of Gelderland.

Thomas Eyck

Thomas Eyck took care of the production and included the Gelderlander in his collection t.e. Eyck published exclusive contemporary design and worked with designers such as Studio Job and Hella Jongerius. After his death in 2023, Jan Kuperus and Rienk Gardenier took a number of these designs into their own collection so that they would not be lost.

About Christien Meindertsma

Christien Meindertsma studied at the Design Academy Eindhoven from 1998 to 2003, taught among others by Hella Jongerius. Her work examines the lifespan and the use of products and raw materials. Careful research and documentation, and themes such as local production and untapped raw materials, characterise her work. She also sets out to make the origin of everyday products legible again, something globalisation and industrial production have largely put out of sight. Sometimes the research itself is the end result. In other cases her investigations lead to commercial products. Meindertsma's work is held in the collections of MoMA, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Vitra Design Museum. She has won numerous prestigious awards, among them several Dutch Design Awards, the Index Award and the Future Award.

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Returns within the Netherlands cost €3.95. You can cancel your order up to 14 days after receipt without giving a reason via the email from our shipping partner Sendcloud. This email contains a link to the return portal, where you can create a return label.
After cancellation, you have another 14 days to return the product at a PostNL point. You will receive the full order amount back, excluding any shipping costs to the customer. The product must be returned with all accessories and, if possible, in its original condition and packaging. We will refund the amount within 14 days of receiving the return shipment. For other European countries, a return fee applies, calculated via the Sendcloud link.