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Designer Job van den Berg transforms dismantled FREITAG Store interiors into one-of-a-kind lamps

For Dutch Design Week 2025, Zurich-based bag maker FREITAG teams up with Eindhoven designer Job van den Berg to give its own retired store interiors a new life. In a special exhibition, Job van den Berg has transformed old FREITAG pegboards and hooks into a bold series of one-of-a-kind lamps – colorful, surprising and unmistakably repurposed. The installation is showcased within the iconic space of local upcycling design legend Piet Hein Eek.

Thinking and acting in cycles has been part of the FREITAG DNA since 1993. For this year's Dutch Design Week, the brand is taking it a step further, asking the question: What happens when our store interior reaches the end of its life cycle? The answer comes from Eindhoven-based designer Job van den Berg, whose work is driven by a hands-on, material-first process of experimentation. In a playful act of discovery, he has dismantled used, robust, long-serving FREITAG Store furniture and reassembled them into entirely new upcycled objects with a distinct character.

The result is a bold and colorful small collection of one-offs. Old pegboards have been turned into luminous table, pendant, and floor lamps, supplemented with truck tarp leftovers from bag production to ensure each piece is unique. To honor the brand’s origins, the series also features striking wall pieces by using a hydraulic press to flatten secondhand toy trucks. A nod to van den Berg’s signature "Car Crash" collection, reinterpreted here as "Truck Crash" to celebrate the raw material of FREITAG from the road.

"At FREITAG, we think in cycles not just for our products, but for everything we do," says Thomas Wakeford, Creative Director at FREITAG. "Job van den Berg’s design philosophy and hands-on approach was the perfect match to collaborate for this project. He didn’t just recycle the parts; he found a new character and function within them, proving that the end of one cycle is always the beginning of another."

"My process always begins with the material itself, and the FREITAG Store parts were fascinating to work with," adds designer Job van den Berg. "My goal was to respect the past while transforming them into playful, surprising upcycled objects."

The exhibition "Reused. Remade. Repurposed." is installed on the ground floor of Piet Hein Eek’s showroom during Dutch Design Week from October 18-26, 2025. All one-off upcycled items on display during Dutch Design Week are for sale via Job van den Berg.

Opening hours:
October 18-25 from 10.00 - 20.00
October 26 from 10.00 - 18.00

Location:
PIET HEIN EEK
Halvemaanstraat 30
5651 BP Eindhoven

Reused. Remade. Repurposed. by Job van den Berg for FREITAG Exhibition on the ground floor

FREITAG Bags & Accessories Shop on the ground floor at De Winkel

ABOUT FREITAG

FREITAG makes bags and accessories from used and, increasingly, circular materials. What began in Zurich in 1993 with messenger bags made from discarded truck tarps now comprises around 60 models, every product a one-off. Thinking and acting in cycles is deeply rooted in FREITAG's DNA: thanks to holistic product design and well thought-out services such as repair, bag exchange and take-back, the life of its bags and accessories is extended and material cycles are closed. FREITAG has its headquarters in Zurich-Oerlikon, is still owned by the two founders, brothers Daniel and Markus Freitag, and employs around 230 people. The company also runs 30 FREITAG Stores worldwide, including one in Amsterdam and a Shop-in-Shop at Piet Hein Eek.

ABOUT JOB VAN DEN BERG

Job van den Berg, a 2015 graduate of the Design Academy Eindhoven, is a Dutch furniture and product designer with a fascination for materials and making processes. Through his design studio, he collaborates closely with the manufacturing industry to explore the possibilities of materials – ranging from traditional craftsmanship to advanced automated techniques. His work begins with items found in factories and workshops and hands-on experimentation, always starting from a material, craft, or machine. This collaborative, practical approach results in contemporary designs that foster a deeper appreciation for materials and the objects we interact with.