Beautiful Traces

In all modesty: as a maker and designer of products, I alter the physical world. It is often incredibly beautiful to see those small changes — or the traces they leave behind. At the same time, I am acutely aware of the less beautiful traces I leave. I create waste and consume energy, which in turn leaves its own marks.

Through my experiences, the realization has grown that it is almost impossible to live and move through the world without leaving traces. Precisely for this reason, I want to commit myself to ensuring that my traces — and perhaps also yours — can disappear as quickly as possible. I do this by keeping the footprint of my making process as small and as reversible as possible.

In both the design and production process, I do everything in my power to create products that last as long as possible. I want each product to possess the functional and mechanical qualities required to fulfill that promise. At the same time, in my design work I aim to shape the aesthetic qualities in such a way that my custom designs have the potential to be cherished, passed on, and reused — by others, or by future generations.

continued below

designs

A personal design approach

My design approach is personal. Personal in the sense that I consistently seek to integrate my own artistic signature, in ways that can be both subtle and pronounced. At the same time, this approach is personal because it concerns my clients, their living environments, and their daily lives.

In practice, this means that we first engage in an in-depth conversation about your taste, wishes, and ideas, after which I visit your home to fully understand the context and to get to know you a little better. I then present an initial sketch or concept, which I ask you to carefully analyse and provide feedback on.

Based on this feedback, I further develop the design into a second, more refined and personal concept. In doing so, we address a range of considerations, including ergonomics and durability, as well as aesthetics and the soul of the object. In this way, we work together towards a personal and realistic design.

The design process may take several weeks or months, but in some cases it can also be completed within one or two hours. I work with clients across a wide range of budgets, provided that I can work with sustainable materials (i.e. wood).

The actual production takes place in my workshop. I usually with wood (lumber) from my personal stock (library of trees). Depending on the materials of choice the process takes a couple of weeks to be completed and installed at your place.

 

Select one of the images below to view more examples of the same sort