For years, Waag Society has been the chief proponent of open design in the Netherlands. The organisation…
For years, Waag Society has been the chief proponent of open design in the Netherlands. The organisation plays a pioneering role, identifying, studying and fostering possibilities by initiating projects such as the Open Design Lab and making possible places like Fablab Amsterdam and the Dialogue Café. Waag Society helps people to imagine new possibilities in design, manufacturing and the use of objects. Sharing information and data means sharing culture. Open design is the future!
video commissioned by Premsela for the Rotterdam design prize
vote here: www.designprijs.nl
Ester van de Wiel has expanded the notion of the designer’s role by setting herself up as…
Ester van de Wiel has expanded the notion of the designer’s role by setting herself up as a project initiator and curator. On the basis of extensive preliminary studies, she designs frameworks for interventions in public space and invites designers and artists to respond within their parameters. Through this method of working, she inhabits an in-between position as a designer and creates space for an essential deepening of the design profession.
video commissioned by Premsela for the Rotterdam design prize
vote here: www.designprijs.nl
Hans Gremmen’s books and projects are compelling because of their keen sense of contemporary developments in photography….
Hans Gremmen’s books and projects are compelling because of their keen sense of contemporary developments in photography. For instance, he made The Mother Road, a film about Route 66, out of a sequence of Google Street View images. Gremmen’s designs are of a high quality, clear and effective. He is continuing the Dutch tradition of the photo book but taking it a step further.
video commissioned by Premsela for the Rotterdam design prize
vote here: www.designprijs.nl
Through the Freehouse project, Jeanne van Heeswijk has made the residents and businesspeople of Rotterdam’s Afrikaanderwijk aware…
Through the Freehouse project, Jeanne van Heeswijk has made the residents and businesspeople of Rotterdam’s Afrikaanderwijk aware of their neighbourhood’s cultural wealth and economic potential. She has come up with an intelligent way of getting them excited about working together on events and products that represent the local culture. The Markt van Morgen (Market of Tomorrow) is now well known, and Rotterdam has gained another world-class destination.
video commissioned by Premsela for the Rotterdam design prize
vote here: www.designprijs.nl
These two newspapers have distinct ways of communicating news and yet clearly make up a single portfolio….
These two newspapers have distinct ways of communicating news and yet clearly make up a single portfolio. Day after day, both NRC Handelsblad and NRC Next succeed in boiling down complex information without compromising on nuance. In design as well as writing, quality comes first. These two distinctive, inquisitive papers show respect for their readers. All this in a disposable product!
video commissioned by Premsela for the Rotterdam design prize
vote here: www.designprijs.nl
Bergmans’s clever work seems to have been created in passing, by intuition and on impulse, while in reality it is the result of keen observation and structured experimentation.
Blub – the name is as distinctive as Pieke Bergmans’s lighting objects themselves. A new population of rudimentary creatures with their own distinctive character seems suddenly – blub! – to take over the room. Bergmans’s clever work seems to have been created in passing, by intuition and on impulse, while in reality it is the result of keen observation and structured experimentation.
video commissioned by Premsela for the Rotterdam design prize
vote here: www.designprijs.nl
Rogier van der Heide is a lighting designer whose creativity knows no bounds. Working in partnership with…
Rogier van der Heide is a lighting designer whose creativity knows no bounds. Working in partnership with others, he achieves breathtaking results. His luminous costumes stole the show at the Black Eyed Peas’ Paris concert, and his lighting added an extra dimension to Zaha Hadid’s Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi. Van der Heide makes use of the latest techniques, but always in a subtle manner and in combination with craftsmanship and a fine sense of design.
video commissioned by Premsela for the Rotterdam design prize
vote here: www.designprijs.nl
The Brompton design district is always a wonderful area in the west of London to catch up…
The Brompton design district is always a wonderful area in the west of London to catch up with some of the RCA graduates of yesteryear. Most of the exhibits are held in empty basements around the area’s tube station. One of the organizers is Henny van Nistelrooy, who made this city his own after leaving the Netherlands to study abroad. Each of the Ground floor arrangement band’s exhibitors projects reflects the true spirit of each designer and their context in design.
The main intention was to consider the works on show as speculative reviews of objects both significant and mundane that propose new narratives for the old and familiar.
In this exhibition curated by Study O portable, the idea of imitation is explored through several projects created especially for the London Design week. The main intention was to consider the works on show as speculative reviews of objects both significant and mundane that propose new narratives for the old and familiar. Being a part of the London Design Festival places the exhibition within a bigger context of contemporary design and the object culture that surrounds us.
www.methodsofimitation.com
What happens when you take 10 designers based in London and you leave them for one week…
What happens when you take 10 designers based in London and you leave them for one week inside an empty furniture factory in the Dutch countryside?
Arco presented the result of a weeklong workshop in the netherlands. The designers were challenged to create something out of wood that is completely different from the products in the existing collection. Even though the designers usually work individually, as a group they really bring out the best in each other.
more info on www.okaystudio.org/arcookay
Enlightened waste showcases the work of Thierry Jeannot and Gisela Stiegler. Both artists use waste packaging material…
Enlightened waste showcases the work of Thierry Jeannot and Gisela Stiegler. Both artists use waste packaging material to create unique light sculptures. By re-staging our unwanted material the designers demonstrate pure and genuine upcycling, reminding us to value and respect our resources and look at the possibilities for raw material afresh.
www.marionfriedmann.com
As part of the London Design festival the Vyner studio hosted the Barcelona meets London exhibition in the east of the town.
As part of the London Design festival the Vyner studio hosted the Barcelona meets London exhibition in the east of the town.
During his childhood in Afghanistan, Massoud Hassani would make toys to be blown by the wind. Sometimes…
During his childhood in Afghanistan, Massoud Hassani would make toys to be blown by the wind. Sometimes they would end up in a minefield, where he could not retrieve them. Now Massoud’s wind-powered creations are re-designed specifically for clearing minefields.
www.massoudhassani.blogspot.com
Overview video of the main exhibition hall at the DMY Festival 2011 held earlier this year. Includes works by ESAD de Strasbourg, Lund university, Manufactory, Platform 10 of the RCA, Yiannis Ghikas, Eva Marguerre and Marcel Besau, DMY Makerlab, Fabien Dumas, Ett la Benn, E27.
Overview video of the main exhibition hall at the DMY Festival 2011 held earlier this year. Includes works by ESAD de Strasbourg, Lund university, Manufactory, Platform 10 of the RCA, Yiannis Ghikas, Eva Marguerre and Marcel Besau, DMY Makerlab, Fabien Dumas, Ett la Benn, E27.
The ‘Warm and cold cloths’ series is comprised of blankets and plaids (warm) as well as tablecloths and tea towels (cold).
The ‘Warm and cold cloths’ series is comprised of blankets and plaids (warm) as well as tablecloths and tea towels (cold). Merino wool was used for the warm cloths; linen for the cold. The initial tests involved experimenting with weave bindings and the combination of graphic patterns. These were judged to be too flat, so more depth was introduced in the woollen fabric. This is possible because in this thicker material, the warp thread (which is white) is ‘concealed’ within a double weave. For a linen cloth this is impossible, because it must be a single weave, given its use as a tea towel or tablecloth.
In response to the initial tests, the designer redrew the woven patterns in geometrical diagrams. These were converted into computer drawings that were transposed into fabric once again. The reason for doing this was that the pattern was still overly regimented and too monotonous.
In her ‘Species’ knitted collection, Nanna van Blaaderen allowed herself to be guided by the idea of offering an alternative for animal skins as a fashion and interior product.
In her ‘Species’ knitted collection, Nanna van Blaaderen allowed herself to be guided by the idea of offering an alternative for animal skins as a fashion and interior product. Fascinated by the beauty and diversity of the animal kingdom, she designed a series of knitted fabrics that represent the coats and markings of various animal species in their three-dimensional tactility and textures. She drew inspiration from images of animals and animal skins. She elaborated her ideas for the ‘Jaguar’, ‘Zebra’, ‘Cat’, ‘Zebra back’, Giraffe’ and ‘Scale’ knits at the machine.
In her quest to match the texture and markings of animal skins in knits produced on the Stoll Knit & Wear machine, Nanna van Blaaderen experimented not only with yarns and colours but with the gauge of the knitting stitch as well. In the test for ‘Giraffe’ she combined alpaca, cashmere and cotton, which did not yield the desired flexibility. The ‘Cat’, knitted with big stitches in brown, proved to be far too coarse, while the ‘Jaguar’ in white merino wool and cotton failed to yield the appropriate traction. Lastly, ‘Zebra’ was knitted in a combination of acrylic and cotton, which did not look rich enough and was lacking in three-dimensionality. For the definitive fabrics she primarily used merino wool, which consists of thin hairs and is therefore very soft.
Maarten Kolk and Guus Kusters used unbleached and uncoated yarn to produce tufted samples
Maarten Kolk and Guus Kusters used unbleached and uncoated yarn to produce tufted samples, which were executed in various materials: wool, silk, seaweed, raffia, viscose, wool, linen and silk. After tufting, dark blue residue ink from the digital printer was applied to the rear of the samples by hand.
When moistened, this ink soaks into the yarns. The goal was to see which yarns would optimally absorb the ink and transport it to the fabric’s upper side and to determine what would produce the most beautiful outcome. Next came a tufted sample made with linen, after a photographic image had been printed on the rear of the polypropylene backing. The last test, in which the rear was treated with pigment, which makes fixation unnecessary, was highly successful. It requires less than a third of the dyestuffs that are normally used in coloured yarns.
This video is part of the ‘Making of…’ series for the textile museum Tilburg, the exhibition can be still be seen until September. www.textielmuseum.nl
Borre Akkersdijk, who graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven last year, worked in the TextielLab to produce knitted textiles that are padded with a filler thread. The result is a range of ‘stuffed’ garments, including trousers, a parka, a cape and a jacket. When the pattern components emerge from the machine they are ready-made.
Borre Akkersdijk, who graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven last year, worked in the TextielLab to produce knitted textiles that are padded with a filler thread. The result is a range of ‘stuffed’ garments, including trousers, a parka, a cape and a jacket. When the pattern components emerge from the machine they are ready-made.
The fabric’s patterns are derived from an old kilim, which had belonged to a favourite aunt who recently died. This rug was woven by hand, so it exhibits crooked lines, irregularities and the marks of age, features that Borre imitated in the digital conversion. It is like his personal signature in an otherwise industrial product.
Borre Akkersdijk experimented with the production of thickly padded knits on the large circular knitting machine in the TextielLab. The machine was specially fitted with so-called padding mangle for this project, making it possible to produce knits that are padded out with filler threads. The investigation focused on the knitting of lengths of cloth in which the pattern components are filled out. The edges of each section remain attached, so the padding remains inside when the pattern components are cut from the base. Finishing is no longer necessary.
The first test, with just a sleeve, pointed in the right direction immediately. He then carried out colour tests on the actual pattern, a hand-drawn kilim motif. How do the colours mix together and to what extent must they vary and follow the pattern? He eventually decided to knit the garments in colour mixes, because this renders the fabric more lively and exciting.
More info on the artist: www.byborre.com
The exhibition can be seen until September 2011. www.textielmuseum.nl
Bertjan Pot presents his new tablecloths today for the textile museum in Tilburg.
Bertjan Pot presents his new tablecloths today for the textile museum in Tilburg. Designguide.tv was commissioned to make this ‘making of’ movie of his project ‘Font of the loom’ which takes us through his process of designing a typeface that could be weaved with pixel precise fabric bonds.
Bertjan chose to use a series of texts downloaded from wikipedia and used those to weave the tablecloths with. At first view the tablecloths look a little mundane but when you look closer you’ll see biographies of Michael Jackson or a detailed description of what a Haiku is. The most important thing is, according to Bertjan, not the content of the texts but the actual letter and with this project he tries to bring across the beauty of typography with technical precision.
Other designers taking part in the exhibition are Borre Akkersdijk, Maarten Baas, Nanna van Blaaderen, Barbara Broekman, Mae Engelgeer,Thomas Eurlings, Lizan Freijsen, Conny Groenewegen, Maria Hees, Bart Hess, Digna Kosse, Bertjan Pot, Mara Skujeniece, Studio Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters, Studio Makkink & Bey, JanTaminiau.
Opening today, June 11th at the textile museum Tilburg.
www.textielmuseum.nl
Erik Spiekermann on 3d printers:
“you can take a turd from the street and reproduce it at home, great.”
At the DMY/Premsela symposium copy/culture, Erik Spiekermann was asked to give his views on the topic of copying.
find more on this character on www.edenspiekermann.com
and the symposium can be found on dmy-berlin.com
