Design Passport

Jacu Strauss, creative director of the Pulitzer Amsterdam hotel, finds inspiration in every corner of the Netherlands’ capital. Aside from Dutch Masters and boat trips on its waterways, here are his favourite finds in the city, including a few that he thi

Jacu Strauss on Amsterdam’s take-home treasures

DENHAM JEANS

It’s been said that Amsterdammers live in jeans and Strauss favours local label Denham the Jeanmaker (denhamthejeanmaker.com). Its scissors logo, often on the back pocket, is crafted from 691 stitches.

ACE & TATE EYEWEAR

Amsterdam-based label Ace & Tate (aceandtate.nl) produces youthful-looking shades and specs with inexpensive flat pricing, “allowing you to change glasses for the mood you are in”, says Strauss.

VanMoof bicycle

“The only way to get around the city like a real Amsterdammer is on a bike,” says Strauss, who likes the lightweight frames from VanMoof (vanmoof.com). The company was founded by brothers Taco and Ties Carlier, both industrial designers born and raised in the Netherlands.

LOOKING GLASSES FROM ANOUK BEERENTS

Anouk Beerents (anoukbeerents.nl) has dealt in antique French and Italian mirrors for 30 years, restoring them using traditional methods and materials while preserving the original glass. Her studio in an old paper factory is one of Strauss’s favourite places in the world.

LIVING IN STYLE: AMSTERDAM

Mendo (mendo.nl), a travel and design bookstore in the Nine Streets area, collaborated with book publisher teNeues to curate this coffee-table title. It’s a loving look inside Amsterdam’s hotels, apartments and historic houses.

“Smoke” series by Maarten Baas

In the galleries district of the Jordaan, Moooi (moooi.com) sells an ever-changing roster of pieces by quirky European designers. Maarten Baas made this chair and chandelier for Moooi as part of his “Smoke” series – the furniture is burnt then coated and preserved.

Plywood print stool by Piet Hein Eek

Netherlandish designer Piet Hein Eek (pietheineek.nl) prints flat-pack bar stools with wellknown paintings and drawings by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Jan Asselijn and others. Strauss used the “playful” furniture to bring Dutch Masters into the Pulitzer Amsterdam’s lobby.