Netherlands A Gulf; A Commonwealth; A Context In the course of his great many letters to his pupil, the Rotter Dam aan Maas, letters in which are contained the earliest known descriptions of the provinces that comprise the contemporary Netherlands*, the ancient scribe Oranje Tulpenbol of Old Amsterdam tells how there once existed in those provinces two antagonistic tribes of native Meubilairers: one occupying an area sited roughly between the contemporary Den Haag and Apeldoorn, the other
read more
Modular lighting is a seldom encountered genre, and when it is encountered, then invariably in a very technical form, a form that implies the computer software has taken a greater role in the creative process than the designers understanding of form-giving, There are however exceptions..... 304 by Nick Beens, as seen at Dutch Design Week Eindhoven 2017 Although we saw the 304 collection by Nick Beens' at the 2017 Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Exhibition, it's inclusion here should in
read more
We were first introduced to the work of Berlin based designer Uli Budde when we saw his "Reading Table" project at Designers Fair 2010 in Cologne. A delightfully simple object Reading Table combines table top and magazine/newspaper storage space in a manner that is as painfully obvious as it genial. An easily accessible, contemporary object the fact that no producer has seen fit to take it into production is one of those design mysteries which often keep us awake at night. Having begun his
read more
As we've often noted/complained/mocked in these pages, for a town widely lauded as being the most creative in the universe, there isn't that much evidence of design, creativity or innovation to be found in Eindhoven. Or at least not in downtown Eindhoven. Go a little bit outside to the former Philips industrial estate at Strijp on the western edge of the city or the Sectie C complex to the east, and you'll find seemingly inexhaustible communities of creatives holed up like rabbits in warrens,
read more
Throughout 2015 some thirty European museums and cultural institutions will mark the 125th anniversary of Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh's death with a series of exhibitions, events and cultural exchanges. As previously noted, just as we have an innate mistrust of "lifetime achievement awards" for the living and lively, so to do we find "celebrating" deaths somewhat macabre. Especially in the case of Vincent van Gogh given the gory and tragic circumstances of his passing. But we famously don't
read more
As older readers will be aware, one of our all time favourite projects is, was and probably always will be the majestic Spore Vase by Paulo Sellmayer. Not just because as an object it teaches us so much about contemporary society and the absurdity of the perceived control we have over the natural world; but because through discovering and dissecting Spore Vase we learned and understood an awful lot about our job and our responsibilities. Since we saw Spore Vase in Smalle Haven in Eindhoven we
read more
In 1951 the German designer Wilhelm Wagenfeld created a glass punch bowl for Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik, WMF: the clou of which is a glass tube which passes through the lid and down to the bottom of the bowl. The ideas being to fill this tube with ice, when the ice, inevitably, melts the resulting water remains separate from the punch, can be thrown away and replaced with fresh ice. Thus ensuring your punch remains chilled, and unadulterated, until the last drop. A revolution in its
read more
Despite what popular myth may have you believe, the Design Academy Eindhoven is not alone responsible for Eindhoven's current status as one of the most important design city's in Europe. But love it or loath it there is no getting away from the Design Academy's influence on the development of contemporary European design. And so of course on Eindhoven's current status as one of the most important design city's in Europe. Consequently the annual Design Academy Graduate Show is one of the
read more
