Ocean Collection

Archived collection story: This page describes earlier versions of the Ocean Collection. Current material information is available on each product page; current Ocean Green products use recycled plastic from discarded medical products.

Ocean Collection by Jørgen & Nanna Ditzel

The Ocean Collection originally designed in 1955 by some of the 20th century's most renowned designers, Jøgen and Nanna Ditzel. Selected Ocean variants use recycled plastic from discarded fishing nets, post-consumer e-waste or discarded medical products. The series is characterized by its light structure with repeated slats and metal frames, made and tested for outdoor use. The Ocean Collection is designed for disassembly and repair.

It all began with fishing nets

In a nod to its materiality, selected Black and Sand versions of the Ocean Collection use recycled plastic from discarded fishing nets. A new innovative business model motivates fishermen across the world to dispose of their discarded fishing nets.

Ocean Collection - Black and Sand

The classic Ocean Collection comes in two variants. Both are made of upcycled fishing nets and upcycled hard plastic with a steelframe of hard gunmetal. Explore the Ocean Collection in Sand and Black below.

Ocean Collection - Green

The earlier Ocean OC2 Collection, a 1955 outdoor series designed by the recognized Danish design couple Jørgen & Nanna Ditzel, reimagined by Mater in Carlsberg's used plastic beer kegs.

The earlier Ocean OC2 Collection in Green was Mater's reinterpretation of the Ocean Collection, with slats made from plastic beer kegs, from one of the leading breweries in the world, Danish Carlsberg. When the beer kegs are emptied after use, they get deflated, granulated and cast into the characteristic green coloured slats of the Ocean Collection in Green.

Jørgen & Nanna Ditzel

Nanna og Jørgen Ditzel were born in 1923 and 1921. They met each other at the Danish School of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen, where they both studied.

In 1946 they established their own design studio. The period from 1946 to 1961 was very productive for the young couple. After Jørgens death in 1961 Nanna continued their joint project alone. Many new things were designed the following years, until her death in 2005.

In our search for a design that could fit this production method, we partnered with Dennie Ditzel, manager of the design legacy after the late Jørgen and Nanna Ditzel. Together we screened the archives for designs that could be ideal for this new material and production method of using fishnets and other plastic from discarded fishing nets, resulting in an outdoor collection we named “Ocean”.