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Eric Janssen (b. 1964) has been designing products and furniture in New York City since 1997. Originally trained as a graphic designer (MFA Rhode Island School of Design, 1993) Janssen began by designing, manufacturing and distributing products independently from his studio in the Chelsea area of Manhattan. Janssen's products and furniture have many sources of inspiration. He is particularly fascinated with archetypes. "How does one pare an object down to its essence while commenting on its greater social context?" Materials and methods of production are also of great interest: "Materials like cardboard, styrofoam, rubber, cheap plastics and so on, are ubiquitous in the landscape of American industrial production. They seem to me to be the obvious materials for an American designer to work with." Eric Janssen first showed his work at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in 1999. Since that time, his designs have appeared worldwide in exhibitions, trade shows and publications, including Abitare (Italy), The New York Times and in the book American Contemporary Furniture. | 