Marañon Hammocks was featured in the October 2003 issue of the New York Times magazine (Home Design).

By Marianne Rohrich



“Idiosyncratic shops
are a delight.”

Opposite the stalls of the Amsterdam flower market is Marañon, a shop filled with hundreds of brightly colored hammocks. Marañon has been in business since 1991 and sells only hammocks, hammock stands and hammock hardware. The large emporium is owned by Gilbert Stork, who said, "I am passionate about hammocks like a couturier is about clothes." Though he has traveled the world looking for hammocks, most of the designs are from South America, and many are hand-woven of natural materials, ranging from cotton to palm leaves.

"Some of my hammocks take weeks to make," he said. The most unusual is a baby hammock. "In the
early 1990's, a hospital in Amsterdam ordered some from us for babies who had stomach problems and
cried a lot. The rocking motion is very soothing."

The shop does a large Internet business, and while I looked around, I eavesdropped on an architect from New Mexico who had gone to the store for the first time after ordering from the store’s Web site.

Marañon, 488 – 490 Singel, 031-20-622-5938.

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