The TC stool is one of Ruud-Jan Kokke’s best-known designs. It is rewarded with several awards and included in the permanent collection of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and MoMA in New York. Designer Ruud-Jan Kokke (Velp, 1956) had only just begun working on his own design agency for a few years when he was asked in 1989 by gallery owner and museum guide Threes Coenders for a design that could be used to sit on during tours. Coenders was tired of the folding chairs that were used in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen; they were relatively heavy and the angular shape sometimes bumped into a wall or leg, with all the consequences that entailed. Kokke immediately caught on to Coenders question. He is a designer in the tradition of Gerrit Rietveld; a maker who excels in form and construction. Not someone who is guided by fuss, but one who is only satisfied when a balance has been struck between material, form and function.

The TC stool is a typical “Kokke chair”. A simple and pure design at first glance, that is the result of thorough knowledge of materials and a well-thought-out construction. “I come from a family of goldsmiths and my father was a historian, which shaped me. For me every design starts with knowledge of materials and technique. For the TC Stool I started working with aircraft plywood; Which is incredibly strong but also easily pliable and only two millimeters thick.” Kokke bent the material into a cone shape, milled a handle into the seat and gave the stool the initials of his client. But the first version looked too massive according to the maker, who then disassembled the stool to mill horizontal slots in the hull. Typical Kokke: even the surprising striped pattern, which gives the stool its light-footed and playful character, is rooted in functionality. Kokke was one of the first designers to use aircraft plywood in this way.

The TC stool was a breakthrough for him: within a year the design was purchased by both Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and MoMA New York. Meanwhile, the stool was awarded several prizes and featured in leading publications, such as the Design Yearbook 1998. The TC stool is now brought back on the market again by KOKKE House. KOKKE House is an initiative of daughter Romy Kokke and her husband Daniel Beasley; it is a design studio and a family business brin- ging iconic designs by Ruud-Jan Kokke back on the market. “I’ve been living with this stool all my life,’ says Romy (Oosterbeek, 1986). “Everywhere I’ve lived, there was at least one TC stool present. As a stool at the table, but also as a laundry basket or as storage space for children’s toys. It is a very self-evident design, which in my opinion deserves more attention.” To celebrate the relaunch, director Bart van den Aardweg together with the OKA Foundation made a short documentary about the working method of Ruud-Jan Kokke. In addition, a number of limited editions released in collaboration with artists such as Klaas Gubbels and Petra Hartman.