Vintage adjustable colorful shelving units by Tomado, Dutch 1917s

A. D. Dekker : The designer is best known for a series of colorful, adjustable shelving units produced by Dutch brand Tomado. The colorful shelves of Dekker’s design, which call to mind the primary colors of Gerrit Rietveld’s Red & Blue Chair (1917). Dutch kitchenware company Tomado was founded as a small manufacturer of copper hooks in 1923 in Dordrecht, Holland by the Van der Togt brothers. In the years leading up to World War II, however, Tomado expanded its metalwork production to include functionalist cookware, knives, small appliances, and storage solutions. In the postwar era, Tomado’s modular, self-assembled, multifunctional wire shelves and racks became a near ubiquitous feature of Dutch homes. Tomado’s lacquered metal shelves have become highly collectible, especially the versions painted in the red-yellow-blue primary colors associated with the Dutch ‘De Stijl’ movement. This piece shows a good condition consistent with age and use.