Every mapmaker's dream
Ever since Robert finished the monumental task of creating the global river basin maps back in 2018, he started dreaming about seeing his work on globes. After looking into potential partners he reached out to Columbus Globes, the oldest and most respected globe manufacturer in the world. After a positive response from Columbus they started working on the globes together aiming for a premium product fitting both the Columbus and Grasshopper Geography names.
A long and collaborative effort started, that included a personal visit to the Columbus Workshop in Krauchenwies, Germany in October 2022. From the mapmaker's side, creating a product so different than anything they've worked with before came with many unexpected challenges. Fine tuning every small detail on the globes took hundreds of hours of work from both sides, but seeing the final products there is no question it was worth every minute of it.
“The exceptional, highly detailed maps created by Grasshopper Geography were always fascinating to me – when following the main rivers up to their many, many roots you can see the attention to detail that Robert Szucs stands for. When my great-great-grandfather founded COLUMBUS Globes in 1909, his first principle was to bring globes with state-of-the-art maps and exceptional quality into people’s homes. Over the years, this principle has never changed and COLUMBUS challenges itself in this principle every day. Therefore, I believe that this collaboration is a perfect match. We are proud to take the Grasshopper Geography map line to a new dimension.”
Niklas Oestergaard, COO at Columbus Globes
About Columbus Globes
The oldest and most respected manufacturer in the globe industry, Columbus Globes was founded 115 years ago and is still led today by the Oestergaard family. With a history of excellence that spans five generations, their globes have been handcrafted with passion and precision for over a century. Their meticulous attention to detail and forward thinking design means that Columbus globes are built to last a lifetime to come. Pioneers in many areas, from illuminated glass globes to floating solutions, their DUO globe and the Explorer Pen, Columbus' long history shows us that tradition and innovation can come hand-in-hand.
"While there are already many nice occasions to look back at, from book covers to museum exhibitions, seeing my work on these globes is probably the proudest moment of my career so far as a mapmaker and artist. When I reached out to Columbus Globes a few years ago to bring my dream to life and see the rainbow coloured river basin maps on their gorgeous handcrafted globes, my offer of collaboration was met with an exceptionally professional and positive response. I am very happy with how the globes turned out and I am looking forward to many more years of our two family businesses working together."
Robert Szucs, founder of Grasshopper Geography
About Grasshopper Geography
Grasshopper Geography is a small family business, where Robert Szucs, a digital cartographer makes artistic maps, while Eszter, his partner, takes most business-related work off of his shoulders. Their maps have been helping people get closer to the beauty of geography since 2016, when Robert published his first colourful river basin map. These unique maps quickly gained popularity and were presented on the pages of many major media, from the CNN to the Smithsonian. Grasshopper Geography offers different map designs as wall art with both decorative and educational purposes, as their maps are not only pleasing to the eye but also scientifically accurate.
