chris kabel: beyond convention

Rotterdam

It was my first year of my product design studies when I begged my design tutor if I can join the 2nd year students at a workshop with Chris Kabel and Wieki Somers. Both of them were one of the first designers I got in contact with. And the first designers I payed attention to. Back than this blog not even existed. Now I went an visited Chris in his studio in Rotterdam.

Sticky lamp for droog

Chris’s signature piece is the sticky lamp for droog. It’s a lamp he developed for his graduation and which, after it was picked up by the dutch conceptual design producer, went in production. This year Chris celebrates ten years of ‘official designing’. The shared space III for Witte de With is one of his last big projects. Its is a circular bench made from one 10 metre-long wooden beam. Simple and nifty.

Shared space III for Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art

Chris’s studio is not far away from the station. Some designers would dream of such a spacious space in the centre. He got lucky and is happy about it, even if he could be kicked out anytime, which seems not going to happen because he settled there in 2007. When I enter I meet two of his interns while they work on a new chair project. They are both not dutch. Obviously they and want to have an insight in the dutch way of creating things.

Flames for Moooi

Both interns made a good choice, because even if Chris is just in his mid thirties, he is one of the founders of what people would call Dutch Design. He likes to give things which have long been ascribed a function to elicit something new in order to appreciate them in a different way. Funny enough I just had a look at Wikipedia and typed in ‘Dutch Design’. Chris is missing. Can someone edit this bloody post??

Money vase

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