HAY

Why it is renowned

By 2015 HAY was selling in more than 50 countries, and its Mini Market of small objects had appeared at Selfridges in London, Le Bon Marché in Paris and the Tsutaya bookshop in Tokyo.¹ It came to the United States in 2015 through the MoMA Design Store in New York, and Herman Miller, which took a majority stake in 2019, opened HAY stores in Portland, Costa Mesa and Chicago.¹ Louise Campbell's Prince chair and Stefan Diez's Rope Trick floor lamp, both made by HAY, are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.¹

The story

Mette and Rolf Hay, who had met while working at the furniture company Gubi, founded HAY in Copenhagen in 2002 with backing from Troels Holch Povlsen of Bestseller.¹ The first collection was shown at the imm Cologne fair in January 2003; the first shop opened on Pilestræde in Copenhagen in 2004, and HAY House followed in 2007.¹ The founders remain its creative directors, Rolf for furniture and Mette for accessories, and work with designers such as Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Naoto Fukasawa, Inga Sempé and Scholten & Baijings.¹

What to know it by

• Prince chair2002Louise CampbellChair in MoMA's collection
• PalissadeRonan & Erwan BouroullecOutdoor steel furniture
• Rope Trick2013Stefan DiezFloor lamp in MoMA's collection
• ÉlémentaireRonan & Erwan BouroullecChair