Sample Swell

Mairi Beautyman -- Interior Design, 2/1/2005 12:00:00 AM

Everyday items morph into the extraordinary under Dutch designer Hella Jongerius's touch—from tactile bathmats to polyurethane basins with flexible skins. "Hella Jongerius Selects: Works from the Permanent Collection," at New York's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, curated by the designer herself, adds her original textiles, created with contemporary needle-punch techniques, to pieces from the museum's permanent sampler collection. Included are Crowley's Fibre Letter Foundations, T.P. Durient's circa 1860 wool embroidery design, and an 18th-century French tape measure. Jongerius has chosen to display most of the items in their original museum storage containers, a nod to the museum's preservation mission. March 4–September 4; 212-849-8400; cooperhewitt.org.