Willem H. Gispen(1890-1981)

After finishing grammar school, Willem Hendrik Gispen came into contact with the ideas of the "Arts and Crafts" movement during one of his visits to England. Inspired by these ideas he decided to apply for a study at the "Academy for Visual Arts and Technical Sciences" in Rotterdam, in 1913. During the first world war he stopped with his studies and worked as a volunteer at an architectural firm for some time. On September 14th, 1916 he took over, with loaned money, a forge and settled himself as W.H. Gispen & Co, which was renamed Gispen Metalwork's after a turbulent period of growth.

In 1927 he received international fame on the exhibition "Die Wohnung" in Stuttgart where he showed his Gisolamps. Two years later he was the first to start the massproduction of tubular steel furniture in The Netherlands. Characteristic for his furniture designs is the balance between form and function. A few of his armchairs are still considered as milestones in the history of Dutch industrial design. In the early seventies W.H. Gispen ended, at the age of 79, his carrier as an industrial designer in order to enrol in the Academy of the Hague to study graphic art.