Tapio Wirkkala

One of our heroes is Tapio Wirkkala (1915-1985). He was a very versatile designer and sculpurer, found inspiration in urban environments as well as the highlands in Lapland, worked in wood, glass, porcelain, metal and plastic. We love his philosophic view on materisla: all materials have their own unwritten laws. You should never be violent with a material you're working on, and the designer should aim at being in harmony with his material.'

Zumthor in Leiden

One of our heroes, famous among all architects, is doing his first project in the Netherlands: Peter Zumthor @ meelfabriek in Leiden. All structures will be preserved, but most facades will be substituted. They are simply too fragile and uncomfortable for future use. A lovely, simple site tells us all about the project:  www.demeelfabriek.nl. We selected the wonderful model pictures below.

Very Special Fan Mail

Some time ago 'De Volkskrant' published an interview with British fashion designer Sir Paul Smith. Never a fan but after reading the interview, consider us team Smith. He seems just lovely, always positive, curious and quirky. A fan of his started sending him small gifts about 20 years ago. The objects are seemingly random, never in a box, stamps and adress directly on them. All Sir Paul knows is that the stamps are american. He keeps them in his studio, his 'Wunderkammer'. Hence the choice of name for our studio. 

Benjamin Wigley made a wonderful short movie about the stamped objects: