You can bet the farm on them, Atelier NL

Auteur : Esther | 05-08-2010

These past few years, with my husband, we have taken a great interest in buying locally grown foods and buying locally made products. This is the first reason the Atelier NL struck a chord with me. Lonny van Rijswijck and Nadine Sterk, who together make up Atelier NL, create pottery with clay dug from Dutch farms. They then label these pieces with the precise coordinates from where the clay was obtained. This leads me to the second reason the Atelier NL caught my eye, this pottery could potentially be made from the same soil my forefathers once cultivated.

Lonny and Nadine spent months leading a research expedition exploring the fields, culture, and the distinct agricultural characteristics of the Noordoostpolder region of central Netherlands. The outcome is a tableware series called ‘Polderceramics’ and a dinner service collection made in collaboration with the Dutch porcelain manufacturer, Royal Tichelaar Makkum.

These beautiful plates and bowls are each different in color and shape, thereby representing the local characteristics from which the clay came from. They are designed to serve vegetables grown in the very same soil.

«Le plus important, au-delà de la création de la série, c'était de conserver intacte la symbiose entre l'objet et son origine». (1)

Each piece is marked with a code referring to the farm of its origin.

I loved how Atelier NL designer Nadine Sterk explained it, “A bucket filled with earth is anonymous, but the stories of the farmer who works the earth lend it its identity”. (1)

I am someone especially interested in storytelling and the idea behind these pottery pieces is impressive.

Storytelling seems to be a general theme for the girls of Atelier NL. They recently presented a lovely wall-mounted timepiece called “Story Time” in collaboration with Laikingland in their exhibition space for kinetic objects in the Ventura Lambrate district during the 2010 Milan Furniture Fair. (2)

This concept forces us to question how we see time. Basically, it’s a reel of thin tape with a story written on it. When unraveled, the story unfolds. The design studio hopes to collaborate with writers to create a series in the “Story Time” collection.

Although there are many more creations designed by the atelier, I especially want to bring your attention to this piece.

“Where there is light, there is life. When you switch on the lamp, it provides you with light. You provide it with the generating power it needs to grow.” (Text Theodora Antonopoulou for Atelier NL).

Similar to living organisms, this lamp contains all the essential “mechanisms” that will enable it to develop. All it needs is energy and it starts creating its own lampshade. It knits it slowly around the lamp, pausing only when the light is off. Its growth places it beyond the bare utilitarian necessity of artificial light. The lamp becomes an animate part of space, an existence in its own right. (3)

These cocottes are definitely on the move, whether that is digging up clay on the farm or scouring secondhand shops for mechanical inspirations. It is indeed difficult to get a hold of these designers who create within a 1970-remodeled church, which is now a loft conversion in Eindhoven. Whatever they are doing, I am certainly intrigued as to what lies ahead.

Works Cited
(1) Bio’s & work of finalist, Rado Young Designer Award - www.dutchdesignawards.nl
(2) Design in Daba -
www.designindaba.com/news-snippet/laikingland's-kinetic-sculptures-milan-2010
(3) Atelier NL, Sleeping beauty - www.ateliernl.com/site/sleepingbeauty_more.html