2012 - Words by Louise Schouwenberg - The Blue Collar Bottles are based on 17th and 18th century cabinet pieces, lushly decorated cups and vases that were placed on cabinets and mantelpieces, as a testimony to the wealth as well as the good taste of their owners. They were produced by a number of earthenware factories in Delft and are still much in demand as collectibles. Although Arian Brekveld designs objects that are meant to be used, the Blue Collar Bottles, like the traditional cabinet pieces, are primarily designed as decoration. The ribbed exterior of one of the bottles gives it a rugged and masculine quality, while others display a feminine elegance. Their sober forms, which characterize Brekveld's style, show that they contemporary designs, as does the unorthodox combination of materials.
As decoration, the designer used hand-painted motifs from the glory days of Delftware. As a modern affordable translation, the motifs were burned through ceramic transfers. The modern expression is complemented by the soft, blue textile cuffs that reinforce the beauty of the Delftware decoration. In addition, they carry the brand name as an extra decorative element The title, Blue Collar Bottle, refers to the working classes, to laborers, in a tongue in cheek reference to white collars, the ‘higher‘ staff. Unlike the original Delft cabinet pieces, these Blue Collar Bottles are affordable for everyone.
As decoration, the designer used hand-painted motifs from the glory days of Delftware. As a modern affordable translation, the motifs were burned through ceramic transfers. The modern expression is complemented by the soft, blue textile cuffs that reinforce the beauty of the Delftware decoration. In addition, they carry the brand name as an extra decorative element The title, Blue Collar Bottle, refers to the working classes, to laborers, in a tongue in cheek reference to white collars, the ‘higher‘ staff. Unlike the original Delft cabinet pieces, these Blue Collar Bottles are affordable for everyone.
Inspired by an archetypal vase shape, the fluid form in this new design is subtly interrupted by a network of horizontal and vertical paths. Continue to the full article here.
With the Back Me Up Lounge and Salon versions, Brekveld puts a contemporary spin on the voluminous club chair.
“The name refers to the back of the chair, the side that is most visible in everyday life. I’ve tried to make this stand out by pushing it up by a few centimetres. ”
Bat Trang is the city in which the vast majority of all the Vietnamese ceramics are made. The city lives and breathes ceramics. There are countless manufacturers, each with their own specialism.
"Car seats are always comfortable. They are beautifully made, the materials are used in a clever way and, although they are small, they provide a lot of comfort! I wanted to translate those qualities in this design."
A refined, architectonic family of crystal carafes that come in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors. These pieces are individual characters, yet are similar in their construction.
For Imperfect Design, Arian travelled several times to Vietnam, to develop products with craftsmen. One of the resulting products is the lacquer tray. It takes 16 individual layers of lacquer to produce the perfect end result.
In 1995, Brekveld was one of the first contemporary designers to embrace traditional crafts and use them to design new products. This series of tin vases was made by one of the last remaining tin industries in the Netherlands.
The title refers to the working classes, to laborers, in a tongue in cheek reference to white collars, the ‘higher‘ staff. Unlike the original Delft cabinet pieces, these Blue Collar Bottles are affordable for everyone. Continue to the full article.
We see an outspoken form exploration has taken place, reminding us that a sitting object claims its own spatiality because it has a front, sides and back.
A piece of furniture that can be custom-made to any desired length, accurate up to the centimeter. For the upholstery, the entire width of a roll of fabric is used, leaving almost no remaining fabric.
Behold this beautiful new addition to Gelderland's collection: the Bend armchair. It was made as it was initially conceived.
1995 - One of the oldest designs in the collection is the Softlamp for Droog Design. Thanks to its glossy exterior, the lamp has a ceramic quality, but it is soft and supple to the touch.