Louis Christiaan Kalff (1897-1976)

Louis Kalff was a pioneering industrial designer in the Netherlands during the first half of the 20th century. With a solid background including studies in furniture design, sculpture, ceramics and architecture, he began his employment in 1924 at Philips (the consumer electronics company) marketing department, at which he later assumed responsibility. In 1929 he started a department for design of lighting products, and was later appointed responsible for the lighting sections of the World Exhibitions in Barcelona, Antwerp and Paris. Kalff was a multi-faceted designer who took on a lot of freelance projects for various producers.