60s William Watting small sideboard 3 drawers 1 door for Fristho

Furniture manufacturer Fristho was one of the most prominent Dutch furniture makers in the 1950s and ‘60s, alongside Pastoe, Artifort, Gispen, and ‘t Spectrum. The company was established in 1921 as Friesche Stoel-en Houtwarenfabriek (Friesian Chair and Wood Factory), referred to as Fristho for short, in the town of Franeker. It is unknown who established the factory, however, it is confirmed that in the beginning, the factory produced wooden chairs for the domestic market.

In the early 1950s, Fristho sought out young designers eager to embrace new styles, including the American designer William Watting, German designer Rudolf Glatzel, and Danish designer Inger Klingenberg (1932-1997). Watting’s ‘Modern Art’ collection, in particular, sparked Frishto’s new direction in furniture with Scandinavian influences. In 1956, Fristho appointed Chinese-Dutch designer Kho Liang Ie (1927-1975) and graphic designer Wim Crouwel to lead the company in a new direction characterized by innovation and modernist values.

Throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, Fristho became very successful producing a wide range of modernist furniture – spanning sideboards, wall units, coffee tables, and dining tables –  that became representative of postwar European design. These designs reflected a new era of consumer prosperity and technological progress, using prefab materials for the production.

By the 1970s, Fristho sold their furniture in cities such as Los Angeles, Paris, and Milan. In the late 1970s, due to the economic crisis in the Netherlands, Fristho suffered financially and the factory closed its doors forever in 1978. Today, the vintage pieces produced in the 1950s up until the ‘70s are popular on the vintage market, praised for their postwar aesthetic.

This 125cm wide sideboard is in good condition consistent with age and use.