"Sometimes Failure Leads To Success"

As discussed in the previous post, "From Delicateness to Strength," Wanders had taken his prototype of the Lace Tables and transformed it into something that is now sold in stores and at his own company, Moooi.  

Crochet Tables

These "Crochet Tables" represent the softness and delicate ornate patterns of the doilies while subtly displaying the minimal structural form of a cube.  Although this piece may be simplistic in design, it is heavy in its conceptual design.   It is a piece full of contrasts.  The "Crochet Tables" is an expression of beauty versus functionality. By manipulating its form into a box-like, angular shape using epoxy resin,  it challenges the softness of the materials.  It also mixes the old traditional, kitsch doilies that has been part of the Dutch culture with the new, contemporary designs.  Wanders has manipulated the "closed volume" nature of a cube by creating a hollow form using an "open web" material.  He was able to make a form that feels heavy and full of volume, feel light, delicate and beautiful.

This is an example of Wanders' ability to make the expected, unexpected.  He believes that there are no boundaries when it comes to design.  It just shows that sometimes ideas are limitless as long as you allow your mind to explore new things.  The crochet cubes set an example of Marcel's love for playing with "under-experimented" textiles and materials because of their "structural complexity."
 

Wanders didn't stop with just the "Crochet Tables".  He also designed a "Crochet Chair" along with many other functional pieces.  The "Crochet Chair", also made of handmade crochet cotton that has been hardened with epoxy resin, speaks out form and function in the most minimal design.  The simplicity of the shape is intensified through the use of handcrafted, floral doilies that have been joined together to form a beautiful pattern.  It allows you to appreciate the beauty of the old kitsch design in a whole different light and larger scale. 

These Crochet Chairs add great texture to a minimalist space,  It also creates beautiful shadows as the light travels through the hollow form and transfers the intricate patterns of the doilies onto the ground.

Here are some other products from the Crochet Series featured by Moooi.

Topiaries

Crochet Lamp Blossom

 

"From Delicateness To Strength"

"Marcel Wanders.  Just as a snowflake is formed, one crystal deposited upon another, a crocheted doily grows through an accretive process - one knot built upon a previous knot until a perfectly symmetrical pattern takes shape.  From a single string - knotted, looped, and twisted repeatedly - the intricate order of the doily emerges, bringing comfort to pattern-seeking minds."           - Mara Holt Skov           

Lace Tables Prototype

How a man is able to transform something so ordinary in our everyday lives, like a doily you place at the dinner table, into something extraordinary, conceptual and unique is almost unfathomable. 

If I was given the challenge to turn a doily, which is so delicate, flimsy and ornate, into something differerent, I may have thought of a cushion cover or candle holder.  But I would not have thought of taking the elements of a doily and crochet technique and transform it into a table.  Why?  Because I would be afraid of it failing.

However, with Wanders, he is constantly keeping an open mind.  Rather than focusing on the results, he is always thinking of every possible way there is to "transform the familiar into something different and deeper."  And because of this allowance to keep his creativity flowing, he is able to design things that are not stuck in the past and already done before.  Instead, he is always coming up with new ideas and starting new trends.  

He first began with the "Lace Table".  He was to turn something soft, lace, into a familiar object, which in this case was a table. This Swiss lace had to be hardened with resin and shaped into a cube shape to transform a soft material into a structure that was supposed to be able to withstand weight. Though it only went as far as a prototype because the lace was too soft to be functional, the creativity of thinking outside the box was more valuable than the actual object developed. It opened their eyes to things that has never been thought about before: to change handmade textiles into something that could essentially be considered as a raw material, such as the new age wood or metal.

The "Lace Table" was a project Wanders constructed during his early years working for Droog.  It brought about more questions that they did not have answers to.  However, it enforced change as it lead to new directions.  It impacted the way people thought and made them realize that having an open mind may not lead to the desired result but it could light a match to a new flame.  With Wanders' ambition and drive, he was able to take the ideas he learned in the prototype stage and transformed it into something functional and usable, which will be discussed in the blog post "Sometimes Failure Leads To Success". 

Although this design may not have served its purpose as being a functional table, being a consumer, I'd buy it as decoration and it would be a beautiful, delicate and exquisite feature piece.

"His Contribution To Droog Design"

Marcel Wanders designed many products for Droog Design.  　

“Swing”

http://www.droog.com/store/accessories/swing-with-the-plants/

Quoted by Wanders, “I believe that every girl dream to be a beautiful princess, hoping for her prince to come, swinging gently in a summer garden on a green covered swing full of green glossy leafs and fresh white flowers."

The seat is made of polyethylene and hung by ropes. There are two openings on the ends of the seat where soil can be added and planted with seeds. When these plants have grow ninto the beautiful vines that wrap around these ropes, “it becomes a poetic resting place for either your garden or your living room.”

 An event called “Garden of Delight” was held in Milan by Droog Design where the swings were featured as one of the hands-on installations. People came in to relax, get away from the dangerous world and could just enjoy themselves without worries. They entered into an enchanted forest, got massages, enjoyed a picnic and wonderful, calming music of birds chirping, while swinging on the “Swing” that hung from the ceilings. More information and images can be found on this website :
http://www.drooglab.com/projects/events/garden-of-delight/.

　
　　

“Set Up Shades”

http://www.moooi.com/products/set-shade

These lamps designed by Marcel for Droog Design took the expected, which is the usual, simple shades that we expect to buy when we purchase a lamp and transformed it into the unexpected by stacking a series of shades on top of each other. Available in three sizes, they not only look like a sculpture or artwork but it displays Marcel‘s play with type-forms to make something unsual but beautiful. This is a great example of Marcel‘s ability to take something like a lamp shade, challenge its limitations by “exploring the boundaries” and making it into something striking, unique and innovative.

 

"The Knotted Chair"

Another prototype that Wanders made was the Knotted Chair. The Knotted Chair brought about questions that people never thought about before because it has never been done.  But he made the impossible, possible.  He opened their eyes to new and innovative ways that a chair could be designed, rather than sticking to the normal 4 straight legs and straight back. He also expanded their views on uses of materials that were out of the norm. Constructing a chair out of knots seemed impossible but he was able to compose a prototype. The prototype received so much positive feedback and stirred huge discussions in the design world that he decided to take it a step further.  The chair was to be sold in stores for the world to enjoy and appreciate such great design. Never did they think that it would become marketed in the design world but it got the attention and was high in demand.  Manufactured by Cappellini, an Italian manufacturing company, it is still a desirable product today.

The Knotted Chair is a fusion of the unordinary with the ordinary and is a display of obvious contrasts. It combines the old techniques of hand-crafted work with the new age way of making things using factories and machinery. It defies the softness and forgiving nature of rope by making it into something functional, sturdy and 3-dimensional.  It maintains its beauty and is made obvious what material was used to construct such a striking piece of furniture.

It combines macramé made of rope with a rough, raw material using strong carbon metal to create a contrast between soft and hard materials, as well as old and new materials. These materials have been braided using an aramide technique with a carbon centre to create the many knots that compose the shape and design of the chair. It is then soaked in epoxy, which is hardened using a frame to sustain its shape along with gravity to add the finishing touches.  The transparency of the chair makes it look light and airy, as well as complicated in its structure. The complicated twists of the braids and knots represents strength and resistance to breaking down and collapsing.

The “Knotted Chair” is the perfect example of what Wanders loves and believes he was born to do: making something that is so familiar like a simple knot into something that it large scale and unimaginable. It also shows his insanely creative mind of being able to transform something soft and flat into a voluminous, strong, sturdy and rigid structural form that is usable, functional, durable but also stunningly designed. He also displays his love of reviving the old with the new: bringing the old, traditional macramé braiding technique from the sixties back by incorporating industrial, technological influences into the design.

Born and raised in Boxtel, Netherlands, Marcel Wanders, is “one of the legendary, larger-than-life designers of our time,” as well as, a respected individual, creator, designer and “iconoclast” in the creative, design world.

However, his whimsical and interesting designs didn’t always come easy and was not always as easily accepted as it is today. During his enrollment in design school, when he was asked to design a clock, he did not get the praise that he thought he would receive. Instead his teacher told him that the clock had a good concept being “theoretical and dogmatic” but “too bad it’s ugly.” Such a comment had an impact on him as he decided that he would design things that were unusual and out of the box but “there was no reason he couldn’t make beautiful things.” Though he was kicked out of design school after his first year, in 1988, he graduated cum laude from the School of the Arts Arnhem.

It wasn’t until he started working as one of the major designers for a renowned Dutch company called Droog Design that shaped him into the cutting edge and influential designer that he is today. Situated in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Droog Design was founded by designers Gijs Bakker and Renny Ramakers in 1993. The name Droog, which means “dry” in Dutch, is fitting for their company as they were known for their highly conceptual but simplistic and dry humour products. This pioneering company believe in breaking from the familiar and the conventional. They question many objects of design including what is considered the norm and accepted by consumers as being a good, asthetically-designed product, as well as, its functionality, appearance, texture, choices in materials and manufacturing process. The company’s mission is to create familiar objects, such as furniture, into something that serves the same purpose but has a “raw strangeness and style resistant nature.” They want to figure out how to design products in a way that no one has ever done before.

This was everything Wanders could dream of.  He basically had free reign to design anything his imagination allowed him to explore.  Whatever his heart desired, he could express it through his designs. It trained his mind to constantly question and challenge limitations by opening his mind to every thinkable possibility rather than the result.  This influenced him to create strong and conceptual objects that were unique and different.  His ability to break out of the static and uniform way of thinking was shown in his first Droog project of the "Knotted Chair".

In 1995, Wanders started his own company at a studio in Amsterdam called Marcel Wanders studio, once known as Wanders Wonders studio.  Despite his achievement, it was the year of 1996 that sparked the beginning of his fame as a globally recognized designer when he gained recognition for his "Knotted Chair".  It received many positive feedback internationally and has become an iconic piece to this day.  Wanders is now unstoppable and “ubiquitous.”  His works can be found in all of the big, high-end European design companies including Bisazza, Cappellini, B&B Italia, Flos, Moroso, and especially Droog Design and Moooi.

He also became the co-founder and art director of Moooi in 2001.  He and his partner, Casper Vissers, make a perfect team.  While Wanders contributes creatively through his passion for design, Casper’s strong marketing skills with his great design sense has made them successful. This company is a great representation of Wanders as the collections presented are “timeless objects of beauty which possess the uniqueness and character of antiques combined with the freshness of modern times.” Thus, the name Moooi is derived from the Dutch word “mooi” for beautiful but an extra “o“ is added to emphasize its “beauty and uniqueness.” Although the works of many other famous designers, along with Wanders' designs, are featured in Moooi, Wanders has total control over what is to be carried by Moooi, in order to ensure the company maintains its mission statement.

But Wanders' talent doesn't just stop there.  Besides designing objects and furniture, he also has a knack for architectural and interior design.  He has designed many retail and hospitality interiors, including Villa Moda and Kameha Grand Bonn hotel, which received the MIPIM Awards 2010 in the hotel category.  His success has been recognized globally as he has won many awards including Elle Decoration International Design Awards Designer of the Year in 2006, Philadelphia Museum of Art’s modern design collaborative award, and Collab, the Design Excellence Award in 2009.  His talents and success is truly unstoppable and he has become a leading force in the design world.