founded by willem hendrik gispen in 1916. gispen taught french in england and later started studying engineering at the academy of visual arts and technical sciences. after completion, he became a designer at an art forge factory for decorative wrought iron in rotterdam. gispen took over the business in 1916, renaming it w.h. gispen & co art forge, located in rotterdam, the netherlands.
w.h. gispen and anna gisolf, his wife, worked on the giso-light fixture line-up. at the time, philips was the largest manufacturer of light bulb and light fixtures in the netherlands. however, giso lamps took over a decent chunk of the market. this was done through clever marketing and graphic design which gispen took great pride in.
gispen was also responsible for the complete refurbishment of the van nelle factory in rotterdam, in gispen’s signature style of the new objectivity movement.
it also boasted innovative new designs such as central heating around which a two-sided sofa was placed.
gispen also furnished the now famous residence sonneveld. the furniture consisted of arm chairs, tables and lamps alongside custom-made pieces for the residence. one such piece is the dining room table with integrated electrical telephone system.