50 chairs, 50 possible beginnings: For Dutch Design Week 2026 the Dutch designer opens his new Eindhoven studio to reveal how ideas emerge through making.
A wooden beam split with an axe has an idea of form all its own. It breaks along its fibres, leaving cracks, edges and a surface that can scarcely be repeated exactly. For Teun Zwets, this is where the design begins. The Dutch designer works with what the material offers, creating furniture whose bold colours and glossy finishes keep the traces of its making visible.
For Dutch Design Week taking place from 17 to 25 October 2026, Zwets brings this appetite for experimentation into a new exhibition. His NEW STUDIO SUPER SHOW introduces 50 entirely different chairs. Each could become the beginning of a collection. What develops from them remains open.
Start by making
Born in 1992, Zwets graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven in 2020. His graduation project, Teunland, a colourful furniture collection made from found materials, already revealed the qualities that continue to shape his work: a direct engagement with materials, humour and a willingness to be surprised by the process. In 2021, he received the Kazerne Design Award.
In the workshop, he has little need for a fully resolved plan. An idea is enough to get started. Construction, proportion and surface develop as he works, with practical decisions guiding the next step.
“By just doing things, I find out what works and what doesn’t.”
— Teun Zwets,
The 50 chairs take this approach further. After spending two years largely expanding his existing collection, Zwets wanted to discover what other possibilities his practice might hold. Each new chair offers a chance to explore a material, an unfamiliar construction or a technique he has never used before.
Some will remain individual pieces. Others could occupy him for years. This openness gives the project its appeal: the exhibition presents designs at a moment when their future is still up for discussion.
Form begins with an axe
The Splitted Collection demonstrates how a single experiment can grow into an entire design vocabulary. Its first chair emerged in 2023 from wooden beams Zwets had split with an axe. The series now includes tables, cabinets, seating and lighting.
Douglas fir gives each piece its individual structure. The surfaces are carefully sanded, primed and finished with a durable high-gloss lacquer. The cracks created by splitting and the grain remain visible. Craftsmanship and bold colour give the wood a new presence.
The result is an engaging tension between rough texture and glossy finish. The furniture feels forceful, occasionally eccentric, with a humour that needs little explanation. A chair is allowed to look a little strange here.
Zwets’ work has been presented at Rossana Orlandi in Milan and in solo exhibitions at CIBONE in Tokyo and B1OCK in Hangzhou. His approach also appears at Hotel Piet Hein Eek in Eindhoven, where he designed the Nachtwacht room.
A studio of different worlds
Since early 2026, Zwets has been working from his new studio on Hallenweg in Eindhoven. During Dutch Design Week, its wood and metal workshop will house the 50 chair designs. Upstairs, he brings together new work, existing collections, art and installations to create distinct spatial worlds.
One develops in collaboration with artist Merijn Kavelaars, whose paintings feature bold lines, vibrant colours and organic forms. A painting sits within a Splitted frame made by Zwets, while a chair and sideboard become part of the same installation. Elsewhere, an entire spatial world is made from cardboard.
The Splitted Collection continues to grow, too, with a new corner sofa and an oval table announced for the studio presentation. In parallel, Zwets will exhibit new mirrors, wall cabinets, shelves and other wall objects at FORM Designlab at Piet Hein Eek, alongside new work with photographer Jeroen van der Wielen.
Zwets invites visitors into a practice that remains in motion. Among the 50 chairs, the next major body of work may already be taking shape. Or an unusual piece of furniture may simply remain a one-off. There is room for both – and plenty of encouragement to try making something yourself.
Exhibitions: NEW STUDIO SUPER SHOW, Studio Teun Zwets, Hallenweg 11a, Eindhoven; Splitted: Wall Works, FORM Designlab, Halvemaanstraat 22, Eindhoven. Both run from 17 to 25 October 2026, daily 11am–6pm, with free admission.
