Blu Dot returns to NYCxDESIGN: A Collaborative Exhibition with DUDD HAUS Celebrates 20 Years of the Strut Table

This NYCxDesign, Blu Dot returns to the festival to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Strut table. For the occasion, Blu Dot will debut the modern icon in a range of new colors, and mount a group exhibition in partnership with DUDD HAUS, the Philadelphia-based collective gallery and exhibition platform extending from JONALDDUDD.

On display within Blu Dot’s NoMad shop at 79 Madison Avenue from May 17-26, This is Not a Strut features 21 new works commissioned from DUDD HAUS members; a diverse vision of Strut’s lasting impact on the furniture landscape—viewed through the lens of today’s most exciting emerging talent. The group was prompted by DUDD HAUS to devise designs based on the concept of Strut, both as a noun (the engineering technique for creating a rigid structure) and verb (to walk with swagger). The new works will be presented alongside Strut tables within a gallery-like setting curated by JONALDDUDD co-founder Chris Held and creative director Charles Constantine.

“Having just launched DUDD HAUS earlier this year, we’re thrilled to get the call from our friends at Blu Dot for a collaboration like this,” says Held. “It is clear that we share an irreverent approach to design and place creative expression above all else. Partnerships with like-minded brands are a great way to increase visibility for our designers.”

“Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s Blu Dot established itself through its presence at ICFF and during New York design week,” says Sam Grawe, the company’s newly-appointed Chief Creative Officer. “Now that we’re a little more grown up, this is a great time for us to extend that opportunity to a new generation of designers—and to demonstrate our commitment to inspiring creativity in everyone.”

For two decades, the Strut table has exemplified Blu Dot’s design ethos—functional, modern, and playfully irreverent. Its material simplicity and graphic quality have made it a mainstay in homes, offices, and creative spaces for a generation. Its enduring success has led to further iterations as coffee, side, bar-height, console, and outdoor tables. For its anniversary, in fall 2025 Strut will be offered in both large and medium sizes in a range of new colors, including celery, rust, cobalt, grey blue, and berry. These new tables will debut during NYCxDESIGN.

Alongside the activations at their NoMad shop, Blu Dot will also furnish the cafe at the inaugural Shelter exhibition by Afternoon Light, alongside brands like Carl Hansen & Sons, Moooi, Tom Dixon, and USM. This emphasizes Blu Dot’s belief that good design is good when people are using it for its intended purpose. It also reaffi rms the brand’s lasting support for new initiatives and dialogue within the design community.

ABOUT BLU DOT

Blu Dot are designers, manufacturers, and distributors of modern furnishings and accessories. Founded in 1997 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the American company was started by three college friends who dreamed of bringing good design to as many people as possible. Almost thirty years later, the business is still led by co-founder and CEO John Christakos, and has expanded to include retail locations across the United States, Mexico, and Australia.

Blu Dot’s approach to design has always been guided by practicality, accessibility, and a healthy dose of irreverence. While their offering has expanded and diversifi ed to satisfy the needs of both residential and commercial customers across multiple categories, every design the company produces out of their Minneapolis headquarters demonstrates the same level of thoughtfulness, attention to detail, and purpose. For this, they were recognized in 2018 with a National Design Award from the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum.

ABOUT DUDD HAUS

DUDD HAUS is a design collective and storefront focused on showcasing the work of underrepresented studios that use design as an expressive medium. The collective is an extension of JONALDDUDD, an NYC Design Week exhibition (2015–present), committed to showcasing emerging designers whose works demonstrate critical thinking in contrast to industry norms. DUDD HAUS applies principles of collective action to push past the gatekeepers of gallery representation while opening doors to client access.