KAISER Idell

Why This Belongs at BINK

• Bauhaus’ Dark Horse: Christian Dell (Weimar’s metal workshop master) made these after Gropius left

• Danish Rebirth: Fritz Hansen’s production elevates them with matte powder-coating even Dell would approve

• Cross-Collection Alchemy: Pair with Jieldé’s brute strength or Bolichwerke’s precision for a materials masterclass

The Origin Story of a Bauhaus rebel

1932, Frankfurt: Dell—a Bauhaus professor, got fired for refusing to toe the party line. His got his revenge.

• 1933: The Bauhaus was under pressure from the Nazi regime, which deemed its modernist ethos “degenerate.”

• Dell’s Stance: As head of the metal workshop, he resisted design compromises demanded by political forces (like adding ornamental or “traditional” elements). Dell was eventually fired for rejecting design dogma.

Why It Matters for Kaiser Idell:

• His firing wasn’t just political—it fueled his design rebellion. The Kaiser Idell’s minimalist steel curves became a silent protest.

• The lamps were his middle finger in polished form:

  • No decorative concessions

  • No material compromises (aircraft steel during wartime scarcity)

  • Just pure, ungovernable function

Fun Fact: The first 100 lamps were sold to Parisian jazz clubs—the only spaces wild enough for them.

How to Pair It

• With Flyte: Kaiser’s grounded heft vs. Flyte’s levitation

• With JUMO: Germany’s steel meets France’s Bakelite in a materials debate

• With BINK’s Upcycled Shelves: For a workspace that whispers “I know what you did in 1932”

SHOP KAISER IDELL — Timeless enough to outlast regimes.