Designer of the Month: Tord Boontje

Week 2: furniture and tableware

Man oh man do we have a lot of ground to cover this week. Tord Boontje has created such an incredible array of designs for furniture and tableware that it's hard to choose just a few things to look at this, but you'd better believe that I have some great stuff picked out for you. Let's start with some background and see where we end up, shall we?

Tord Boontje and Emma Woffenden, tranSglass vessels, 1997. Courtesy of the Design Museum of London.

Boontje was born in Enschede, Netherlands in 1968, and first studied industrial design at the Design Academy in Eindhoven from 1986-91, followed by a Masters Degree from the Royal College of Art in London from 1992-94.[1] Shortly after graduation, Boontje founded Studio Tord Boontje in London, where he stayed until 1996, then moving to Bourg-Argental, France, where he founded the current incarnation of the Studio in 2006.[2] Seeking to marry design with emotion in a way that is both broadly accessible and enticing, the Studio's designs draw on a belief that modernism does not mean minimalism, that contemporary does not forsake tradition and that technology does not abandon people and senses - and have done so in a very successful manner.[3] A great example of this is the tranSglass series, created by Boontje in collaboration with wife and partner Emma Woffenden. Made from glass wine bottles, which were readily available in London recycling centers, Boontje and Woffenden were able create a collection of glassware without the need to produce the glass themselves, successfully transforming discarded objects into useful items of contemporary beauty.[4] Much of Boontje's early work reflects his belief that a positive attitude towards recycling is necessary in a consumer culture, an idea that was further expanded upon in his Rough-and-Ready series from 1998.[5]

Tord Boontje, Rough-and-Ready Chair, 1998. Courtesy of the Tate Modern.

As Martina Margetts explains in her monograph of Boontje, the crucial development for his work came with his tranSglass series, where he was able to produce work that attracted both commercial and cultural recognition, an idea which he then expanded upon for his Rough-and-Ready works.[6] Made from materials that have been salvaged or are commonplace and inexpensive, the name of this collection evolved from that fact that these items do, in fact, appear rough and ready, and are meant to have a sense of incompleteness.[7] These works were to be made with the aid of free drawings and building instructions - a sort of do-it-yourself kit - with a person meant to collect the materials necessary to build the desired piece of furniture.[8]

Tord Boontje, Wednesday Chair, 2002. Courtesy of the Design Museum of London.

While tranSglass and Rough-and-Ready brought Boontje press attention and an affirmation of cultural significance, wider recognition followed with his Wednesday collection.[9] As Boontje explains:

After my low-tech, austere period, I became very interested in decoration and homeliness. Probably a big motivation was the birth of my daughter in 2000. Technology for me is a means of creating new methods to make new expressions. Also I am interested in 17th, 18th and 19th century objects because I like the richness of the sensual use of materials and surfaces.[10]

After Boontje and Woffenden's daughter Evie was born, Boontje found himself interested in much warmer, loving items, and the Wednesday collection was not only a product of this change, but it helped establish the decorative style that Boontje has since become known for.[11]

Tord Boontje, detail of Wednesday Table, 2002. Courtesy of the Design Museum of London.

As Boontje explains about the inspiration behind the Wednesday collection:

This is everyday furniture which is decorated with ordinary animals - foxes, crows, rabbits - and made using simple techniques. But I didn't want to be too perfect or too fashionable. It's neither the past nor the future. It's normal - like a Wednesday. Wednesday mixes the handmade and the machine made, the historical and the digital.[12]

Tord Boontje, Table Stories Plate, 2005. Manufactured for Authentics.

In 2005, Boontje and his family moved from London to southern France, looking for the space, peace and natural environment that they desired.[13] It was around this time that Boontje began creating designs geared specifically towards mass production, and the Table Stories series is a great examples of this. Designed for Authentics - manufacturers of simple, functional and industrially produced products for everyday use - this series, created from a delicate porcelain, was intended to serve as both a special and everyday, informal collection of tableware.[14] The designs for Table Stories include animals and flowers that seem to merge and grow out of each other, with some hidden designs created within the patterns, allowing one to discover new elements over time and use.[15]

[1] Studio Tord Boontje, "Biography: Introduction & Philosophy," http://www.tordboontje.com/, (accessed May 12, 2010).

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Martina Margetts, "Being & Becoming," from Tord Boontje (New York: Rizzoli, 2006), 82.

[5] Design Museum of London online, "Tord Boontje: Product Designer (1968-)," http://designmuseum.org/design/tord-boontje, (accessed May 12, 2010).

[6] Martina Margetts, "Being & Becoming," from Tord Boontje (New York: Rizzoli, 2006), 82.

[7] Studio Tord Boontje, "Rough and Ready," http://www.tordboontje.com/, (accessed May 12, 2010).

[8] Ibid.

[9] Martina Margetts, "Being & Becoming," from Tord Boontje (New York: Rizzoli, 2006), 83.

[10] Design Museum of London online, "Tord Boontje: Product Designer (1968-)," http://designmuseum.org/design/tord-boontje, (accessed May 12, 2010).

[11] Ibid.

[12] Studio Tord Boontje, "Rough and Ready," http://www.tordboontje.com/, (accessed May 12, 2010).

[13] Martina Margetts, "Being & Becoming," from Tord Boontje (New York: Rizzoli, 2006), 86.

[14] Studio Tord Boontje, "Rough and Ready," http://www.tordboontje.com/, (accessed May 12, 2010).

[15] Ibid.