Curated Section Kitchen

ALISA LIM A PO

Alisa Lim A Po (Amsterdam, 1975) is a Dutch multi-disciplinary visual artist. Her work reflects on various aspects of human behavior and emotions. Based on her personal vision on this theme, Lim A Po creates conceptual series of artworks, bringing the work to a general and recognizable platform.

Abstraction, layered structures, and unity of form and color are essential factors in her work. Her work can be defined by a layered palette and an organic character, at the same time abstracted into unrealistic form and new reality. With this, Lim A Po answers her search for a reduced concrete translation, in order to create in this way of depicting, a more objective image. At the same time, the work refers to the splendor of nature, fragments from life or intimate atmospheres and dreamy scenes.

EOB – EXTRA ORDINARY STUDIO

EOB is a contemporary furniture and object design studio operating between Rotterdam (NL) and Seoul (KR). Founded by Ki and Heon, the studio emerged from a shared vision born out of years of friendship and dialogue, culminating in a collaborative space that embodies their creative synergy.

EOB explores the intersection of experimentation and functionality, seamlessly blending these dualities into cohesive, parallel visual narratives. Through their work, the studio redefines simplicity, crafting objects that resonate with precision, curiosity, and a refined sense of purpose within niche design contexts. EOB’s approach transforms ordinary materials and ideas into extraordinary explorations of form, balance, and storytelling.

A2 STUDIO

Bilal Salmi and Jerome Dieu, hailing from diverse creative backgrounds, fused their expertise to establish A2Studio. This experimental hub based in Brussels, Belgium, blurs the lines between Art and Design, showcasing a unique aesthetic born from their shared passion for refined craftsmanship.

Their collaboration merges Bilal’s background in Fashion as a Creative Windows Dresser with Jerome’s experience in Creative Design for the digital industry. With several years’ experience in the creative world, their eye has been sharpened, and today they sculpt and craft objects together, infusing them with artistic sensibility and professional expertise.

Employing mixed lightweight materials and varied techniques, they explore shapes and volumes, achieving a delicate balance between sculptural containment and bodily intimacy. Their creations, inspired by nature, animals, and bodies, evoke a universe characterized by both order and chaos.

Driven by a relentless pursuit of innovation, Bilal and Jerome’s curiosity extends to realms such as Arts, architecture, and photography fueling their works.

BENJAMIN MOTOC

Benjamin Motoc is a French artist designer who studied applied arts in Paris and Reims, before graduating from the Design Academy Eindhoven (Netherlands). Dividing time between Paris, Rotterdam and Doha, he explores the potential of materials by creating innovative fabrication techniques, forging a strong bond between aesthetics and production.

The creative studio bridges the gap between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design ethos.

The work celebrates the art of designing while making, as Motoc engages in hands-on ‘fundamental research’ ; and through these manual explorations, he has developed alternative production methods, resulting in a diverse body of work that includes bronze, aluminum, and resin.

Art furniture, objects and sculptures, ranging from unique pieces to limited editions.

LUKAS COBER

Lukas Cober founded his eponymous studio in 2018, following an education as a product designer in Maastricht and Lisbon and a formative assistantship with his mentor Valentin Loellmann. An unbridled urge to create that has driven him, since childhood and continues to this day to dedicate himself to form and to matter, to generating beauty that — averse to trends — expresses an idiom in which authenticity sets the tone. Whether working with wood or fibre glass, with resin or cast metal, he invariably explores their possibilities, and considers the handling of the material to be at the heart of the process.

RINK SCHELLING

Fueled by curiosity, and a continuous fascination for material possibilities and craftsmanship. The journey of Rink’s research started with going back to her origin in Zeeland. This Dutch province is known for its high dunes along with wide beaches. Here, the soil is made of fertile sea clay, thanks to their world famous Delta Works that make it possible to live below sea level.

One particular perception occurred during her research; creating a product can be a transparent and honest process, as often most raw materials are all around us. Therefore, it made sense to start creating ceramics from natural clay close to home. Producing locally with regional materials. Moving away from complex industrialized processes created her counter reaction to complex production processes. Letting go of industrialized clay in which all characteristics of the original material are completely lost. In her work Rink combines ancient crafting techniques combined with contemporary techniques she developed due to her own research. Embracing the unpredictability of the material. Every branch, leaf and root has a significant effect on the process as the final product. Her cases tell the story of their origin; the used materials show to characteristics from their region.

Rink’s research led to a collection of organic shaped ceramic objects. Her aim is to combine craftsmanship, design and nature; she lets the material lead the process of making.

DIRK VAN DER KOOIJ

The core tenets of longevity, functionality, and joy guide the Kooij collection. Of each object we ask: is this a permanent, worthy application of the resources used?

In 2009, Dirk van der Kooij founded this studio in the basement of the Design Academy, Eindhoven. His guiding question was seemingly simple: could plastic be an honest, durable material? Six pizza ovens welded together proved that yes, it could. The resulting Elephant Skin series saw recycled plastic wrinkle and contract as it cooled outside of a mould, conjuring a rich, living tactility. The ultimate imitator had finally found an identity of its own.

Elephant Skin set a precedent for the work that would follow: across the collection, we have found new life in unlikely places. Discarded CDs, leather sofas, kitchen appliances, chocolate moulds, and diseased wood all present rich textural and structural fodder.

A romance with unconventional materials necessitates that form follow process. Our family of house-developed presses, robots, and extruders have directly shaped the identity of the collection. The limitations of these imperfect machines have gifted a visual language which envelops the function, tactility, and beloved oddness of the Kooij collection.

Working alongside our patchwork of machines is a studio of highly passionate craftspeople. Carpenters, welders, colourists, and finishers breathe life into the work. It is only through a union of crafts and technology that we are able to carry waste from loss to luxury.

A decade since this adventure began, we produce a tightly curated range of forever furniture in our Amsterdam-based factory. Select pieces have joined the permanent collections of the Stedelijk museum, MoMA New York, MoMA San Francisco, Vitra Design Museum, Design Museum London, and the National Museum in Oslo.

STUDIO THUS THAT

Led by Kevin Rouff and Paco Böckelmann, ThusThat bridges collectible design with material science to create pieces that are strong, simple, and direct in form, keeping the complexity packed within the materiality itself. Their work with wastes of the mining and metallurgy industries have received widespread recognition, exhibition, and international awards, with pieces in the permanent collection of the London DesignMuseum and Design Museum Gent. They received the Wallpaper* design of the year for 2021 for material use, and were shortlisted for Dezeen’s “Emerging studio of the year”.

As graduates of the Royal College of Art (MA) and Imperial College London (MSc), our work with overlooked materials involves moving between scientific research, industrial practices, and making. We hope that this approach results in a body of design work that is intellectually engaging, aesthetically rich, and ultimately communicates to a wider audiences. ThusThat aims to unearth the material backstories of our everyday surroundings. Our work primarily focuses on the use of uncommon materials such as industrial wastes, to suggest alternative possibilities.

INTRODUCING DESTROYERS / BUILDERS

Inspired by architectural shapes that are foremost functional and all have an elementary character, the collection highlights the field between human and industrial through diverse materials. Within the works of Destroyers/Builders an interaction between the furniture pieces exists in an overarching inspiration; found in architectural elements, materials or building techniques.

Linde Freya Tangelder, founder of the studio, strives for sensory relevance and cultural value in detail and on a larger scale. The works have a sculptural and architectural character, and balance between contemporary and traditional elements. Inspired by architectural shapes, the furniture pieces highlight the field between industry and human, through diverse materials. Constructions are scaled down to human sizes, and translations result into sculptural gestures. Both low- and high-end materials get re-valued, reconsidered and transformed. The interventions and finishes by hand, give these architectural objects a tactile aspect. The contrast in materials, the touch ability, and the human traces that are still visible in the object, explain the method of Destroyers/Builders.

The urge to situate the works in a spatial context, in which the specific architectural space will start a dialogue with the objects therein, is a main focus of the studio. Integrations and relations between the context and the work, whether it is a sculpture, a furniture piece or an architectural fragment, result into inseparable connections between the disciplines. Destroyers/Builders takes on projects that range from commissions to self-initiated projects, and extend across the realms of both architectural furniture and interior projects. The practice is founded in 2014 and Antwerp & Brussels based.