2012 feature: Champagne

Who knew I'd ever fall for Dutch champagne? Head over heals, even. Zarb is a completely new champagne brand developed but a year ago by THEY (see at theyhaveawebsite.com). 'Zarb' means bizarre in French slang and Zarb is exactly how I want to travel to 2012.
I welcome any concept that makes champagne 'an everyday tradition, like brushing your teeth or losing your car keys'. The website kindly reassures us that Zarb champagne is best served everywhere, anywhere, here, now: may it be at our ex-partner's wedding, at confession or while riding a mermaid.
Napoleon said it all: in victory you deserve champagne, in defeat, you need it.
The two bottles featured above are from Zarb's special art edition: the latter was designed by Tjep. and the former by La Bolleur. [Press here in order to see the other inspiring bottles from this edition.]
If interested in buying, you are best advised to do so on Thursdays. That is when Ivan is working, Zarb's 'employee of the month and fastest bottle picker'.

Tjep.

The 'Lucky Building' in New York City: "[a]nd who would want to crash a plane into such a friendly looking building...," indeed.
New York City skyline received this makeover from Tjep., a Dutch design studio formed by Frank Tjepkema.
(A while ago, Gem featured another Tjep.'s project.)
Note that dot: not 'Tjep', but Tjep. is the name of this studio with a dot on elegance, technology and poetry.

Training table manners

De Tafelwip (loosely translated: 'the courtesy table') is a playful, if slightly scornful Dutch design by Marleen Jansen. If you are going to be so rude as to leave the table before everyone has finished dinner, you will cause the other diner to crash down.

Designtellers

A cloud umbrella


Pillows blanket


Back-to-nature speakers


A sea-wave sound chair, a rocking chair...


... giving out the sound of waves and providing you with the illusion of a beach...

All above featured products were designed by Studio Joon&Jung from Eindhoven in the Netherlands. The designers, Joonsoo Kim, Jungyou Choi and Hyunwook Lee, are originally Korean and graduates from the Design Academy Eindhoven. Their unique blend of Dutch and Korean approaches to design makes up for a delightfully unexpected portfolio. It is becoming more apparent by the day that also in design Asia is the new frontier.

Cottage Town

'Cottage Town' by Ontwerpduo: a mini village in your potplant. "Ordinary plants," is written by Ontwerpduo, "will be turned into huge trees or fields."
The constructions are also water resistant.

Black pots and magic

If there is such a thing as radical design, Ineke Hans would fit the bill. This brutally beautiful black porcelain coffee pot is from her 'Black Gold Modular' series (2002): it's all pipes and poetry.



Ineke Hans is a Dutch designer that countinues to stretched the boundaries of (industrial) design. Black porcelain held her gaze because it's difficult to produce: it behaves awkwardly during the firing process. Black is also the primeval (lack of) colour: it undefines objects and fades them out, so that they appear as mere silhouettes.
"I feel more like a magician," informs us Ineke Hans.
And a rug, she adds, can be a boat.

Stories at High Tea, And More

Jorine Oosterhoff is one of those almost-fairy sort who looked through the looking glass. Her designs are playful: she admits herself that her little porcelain pieces (like the set 'mad hatters' above) are meant to come alive on your table, ‘like soldiers in a little nation’.


Sugary soldier & Milky major

“I like to create series,” muses Jorine, “put more products together like a family. This gives me more opportunities to create...

... a story.” They really do look as if they are going to attack you, don't they?
"En garde!"

Good morning, Monday

Monday's pleasure: a pompous cupuccino!
'Café Pompose' - a coffee set consisting of
a cappuccino cup: a fat lady,
an expresso cup: a stately gentleman,
a ristretto cup: their little child.
These intriguing morning porcelain and coffee stories are by Jorine Oosterhoff,
a Dutch designer from Arnhem.

Frederik Roijé

Holy Homes (2007)


Breed Retreat (2010) - an architectural hen house to breed and retreat

Frederik Roijé is a young Dutch designer (his website includes a webshop). He first caught my interest a while ago with his 'Spineless Lamps', showcased and distributed through Droog.
I've been looking to buy that holy home for birds for some time now. Main obstacles: EUR 215 a piece, coupled with a socialistic upbringing.


Spineless Lamps (2003)

The Lucid Dream

The Lucid Dream is a bubble lamp designed by Eric Klaverbeek, a Dutch designer extraordinaire. It is obvious what inspired Klaverbeek: the blowing of bubbles. Klaverbeek literally hand-blew the lamp. In the short film posted above, Klaverbeek presented his work method applied to develop this beatiful product. What's more, Klaverbeek developed other inventive products, to name but a few below:


the eye jewellery project (see also video)


3-D curtains (made on assignment)

Dandelight

A dandelion turns into a dandelight at the magic hands of Ralph Nauta and Lonneke Gordijn, who took hundreds of real dandelion seeds and connected them, one by one, to little LED lamps. If eager for more, check Drift's website. You can also purchase a dandelight here.

My High 5ves: Arnhemse Meisjes and the best of the rest

'Arnhemse Meisjes' is a collective of nine recently graduated product designers (all girls) from Arnhem:








Below is my selection of the best of the rest that was showcased in the hall of indie designers in Klokgebouw. Ontwerpduo and Nieuwe Heren are missing, as I've already posted about them last week.

Olav Slingerland:




Chris Ruhe, 'Only doors' collection:




Co.M:




Tom Frencken:




Michiel Cornelissen: