Design research and product development for organisations that want to make things better |
For over a decade we've been researching everyday problems with a big environmental impact, and turning that research into products people actually use.
We do that for our own brand, and we do it for others. |
Who we are
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House of Thol is Jana Flohr and Thomas Linssen.
We have been inseparable since Milan in 2005, and professionally joined forces in 2013. Our first product, Waterworks, was crowdfunded and launched in 2014. We work from a converted horse stable in Overasselt, near Nijmegen, in inspiringly green surroundings where we also attempt to grow our own vegetables, never quite manage to be self-sufficient, and juggle a family with two teenagers and intense sports schedules. We're always looking for ways to make our own everyday easier and more sustainable, and what we learn along the way, we share. |
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How we work
Every project starts with a question |
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Jana digs into the research, mapping out what's known, what isn't and where the real opportunity sits.
Thomas translates that into something tangible: a technique, a material, a working prototype. We don't design for the sake of designing.
We look for the smallest change that makes the biggest difference, and we test it with the people who'll be using it. |
What we can do for you
Design research with purposeStarting from your challenge, we conduct in-depth research, identify opportunities and translate them into future-ready concepts.
We work with scientific sources, historical techniques and behavioural insight, and we deliver something you can act on. |
Product design for changeFrom first concept to production-ready design.
We have extensive experience creating sustainable products that make it to the shelf, including the packaging, the instructions and the story around them. |
Design consultancyWe guide design thinking and brainstorming sessions, and work alongside your team to bring sustainable innovation into practice and make the theoretical tangible.
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Circular design with your materialsYour residual materials, given a second life. We design and produce circular furniture and objects tailored to your project, custom-made, in series or as one-of-a-kind pieces.
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Art and installations for public spaceWorks that tell the story of a place, temporary or permanent. Built from natural materials, designed to sit lightly on what's already there, and made to be taken down again when the time comes.
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Hands-on design supportConcept presentation, Graphic design, packaging, technical drawings, product development.
Flexible, skilled, and exactly where you need us. |
Selected work
Easy Green Living Collection
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Functional products that make green living easier: keeping plants alive, growing your own food, making flowers last.
Made from materials like terracotta, glass, brass and stainless steel and produced within the EU. |
We know what it takes to get from first sketch to a product on a shelf, including the tooling, the packaging, the margins and the retailers.
Sold through our own shop and stores across Europe. Available as business gifts. |
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Cibus Domus
Ongoing research project into fresh fruit and vegetables
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A library of fruits and vegetables: how they ripen, how long they keep, what they need to stay fresh, and where they come from.
Built from around 200 species, grounded in open-source scientific studies and historical preservation techniques from around the world. |
The research led to a product line, including Patera Magna, Patera Matura, Patella Crescenda and Patina Germina, as well as the informative Cibus Domus Quartet and an upcoming Cibus Domus handbook, and shows how we work: dig deep, verify it, then make it usable for everyday life.
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Bakens van hoop - Dijkmagazijnen Maas&Waal
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A temporary art installation for eleven historic dike warehouses, where sculptural waves appear to emerge from the windows.
The work draws on the ecology of the river itself, giving each building a story visitors can read from the dike. |
Built entirely from natural materials, with no plastic and no drilling into the historic brickwork.
Every piece comes apart for transport and storage, and was produced together with a local sheltered workshop. |
Why us
We make complex challenges tangibleWe unravel complex problems, work with verified scientific sources, and make what we learn tangible and relevant for the everyday. |
We design for behaviour changeA sustainable product only works if people want to use it. That's why form, packaging and instructions matter as much as material and function. |
We make things that lastNothing we design has a plug. Nothing is glued shut. Every part can be reordered. If you can't open it, you don't own it. |
Company CV
Awards & accolades2026
Selected for Secrid Talent Podium @ DDW 2026 2025 Patera Magna selected for 3 International Sustainable Design Awards (with this back-story) 2024 Awarded Building Talent Grant by Creative Industries Fund Patella Crescenda shortlisted LICC Awards 2023 Honorable Mention Design Intelligence Awards (DIA) Patella Crescenda Personal presentation for HRH Queen Maxima at DDW 2023 Patella Crescenda nominated for a Green Product Award 2022 Successful crowdfunding Patella Crescenda on Kickstarter Best Eco-friendly Home Decor Designers - Benelux Luxlife Global Excellence Awards Awarded Building Talent Grant by Creative Industries Fund 2021 Winner Ondernemerspitches Rijk van Nijmegen with Poma/Olera Most Sustainable Home Decor Business Benelux Enterprise Awards Patera Magna longlisted for the 2021 Dezeen Awards Selected for Design to Market Accelerator for design talent by Provincie Noord Brabant 2020 Awarded Post-Covid Professionalization Grant by Creative Industries Fund Winner MKB Export Award 2019 Participation SIB Export Trajectory 2019 Winning pitch & participation ABN AMRO Gamechangers pavilion DDW 2019 Part of Top 9 of MKB Export Award 2018 2018 Successful Crowdfunding Flower Constellations on Kickstarter Selected for Driving Dutch Design: masterclass series by BNO, DDF & ABN AMRO 2017 Awarded Talent loan by Culture & Entrepreneurship foundation in collaboration with Triodos Bank 2016 Awarded Professionalization Grant by Creative Industries Fund 2015 Waterworks Nominated for a German Design Award Awarded Product Design development Grant Creative Industries Fund in collaboration with Pols Potten 2014 Waterworks successfully funded via Dutchdesignstarter 2013 DDW Audience Award (by Dutch Design Starter) Vertical Divider
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projects & products2026
Cibus Domus the book Bakens van Hoop Public space artwork Maas & Waal Patera Matura ripening bowl 2025 Cibus Domus Quartet cardgame Patina Germina growth kit for sprouts Domus Fungi Oyster mushroom growth kit 2024 Made in Holland research project icw Ian Zhang 2023 Mayoral ReCabinet Municipality of Heumen 2022 Patella Crescenda The Future Proof Material Library icw Atelier LvdW 2021 Poma/Olera: Patera Media Lepus & Cygnus Flower Constellations 2020 Waterworks 2.0 Wren & Kiwi bamboo in collaboration with Ay Illuminate 2019 Poma/Olera: Patera Magna Flower Constellations: Ophiuchus Flower Constellations: Helios Rijks / Locavore Restaurant: Trading Spaces Wren & Kiwi in collaboration with Ay Illuminate 2018 Flower Constellations ReCabinet 2017 Trapping tension research project Tension candlevase Tension shelves Tension pins 2016 Thol lamps in collaboration with Pols Potten 2015 In the Clouds porcelain tableware 2013/2014 Waterworks |
publicationsfeatured in, amongst others:
Volkskrant magazine, FD Persoonlijk, Seasons, De Gelderlander, Dezeen.com, Tocco Earth, Schweizer Garten, Groei & Bloei, Happinez, BNR Nieuwsradio, Natur im Garten, Residence, VTwonen, Inhabitat, Designboom, AD, Elle Decor IT, Marie Claire Maison, and many others Recent features and full publication archives found here Vertical Divider
selected exhibitions & fairs2026
Secrid Talent Podium @ DDW Eindhoven De Moestuinbeurs Landgoed Middachten Object Rotterdam Passagen Köln 2025 Design Passage Den Haag DDW @ Piet Hein Eek Innovate Experience - Musis Arnhem Formex Stockholm Object Rotterdam Passagen Cologne 2024 DDW @ Piet Hein Eek VT Wonen & Design beurs ShowUP Expo Greater Amsterdam Nordstil / Nordlichter Hamburg 2023 Design Passage Den Haag DDW @ Piet Hein Eek DDW Klokgebouw startexhibition ShowUP 's Hertogenbosch Nordstil Hamburg Passagen Keulen Object Rotterdam Trendset München Upcoming exhibitions and full archives found here Vertical Divider
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partners & affiliations
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