70s Cees Braakman TU30 japanese series dining table for Pastoe

Dutch designer Cees Braakman was born in Utrecht in 1917. At the age of 17, he began working at Pastoe, a Utrecht-based furniture manufacturer, where his father was the company’s head draftsman and manager. In 1948, Cees Braakman became Pastoe’s manager and designer, he would remain so until 1978.

In 1947, Braakman travelled to the United States to visit other furniture manufacturers and observe their designs and practices. He was particularly inspired by the Herman Miller Company and by Charles and Ray Eames. Back in the Netherlands, he began experimenting with bent plywood and created Pastoe’s first modern furniture line. In the following years he developed several lines of popular furniture. The designs, tailored for smaller spaces, feature clean, elegant lines and a keen sense of proportion. Many of these designs, notably the birch -, Japanese – and combex series, are very sought after today.

In 1958, Braakman designed the ‘Japanese Series’. The serie derives it’s name from the clean and angular outside lines that brings to mind traditional Japanese designs. There are no decorative elements and the wooden storage space has a floating appearance.