Dutch designers Studio Makkink & Bey have created a furniture collection in which every element - from carpentry to embroidery - is produced in their studio by a hired team of artisans.
The Repacked collection, which is on show at Mitterrand+Cramer gallery in Geneva, Switzerland, consists of 19 handmade pieces.
The display forms part of a series of exhibitions at the gallery showcasing work by contemporary designers, which has so far included Belgian designers Studio Job and British designer Tom Dixon (see our previous story).
Repacked continues at Mitterrand+Cramer until 11 July.
Here are some more details from Mitterrand+Cramer:
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Studio Makkink & Bey
Simultaneously to the common opening night of the « QuARTier des Bains », Edward Mitterrand and Stéphanie Cramer are pleased to announce the third episode of a series of exhibitions dedicated to a selection of the most prominent contemporary designers.
Thus, after Studio Job and Tom Dixon, Mitterrand+Cramer, helped by swiss design curators Sophie et Philippe Cramer, are now proud to inaugurate the first solo exhibition in Switzerland by architecture and design studio Studio Makkink & Bey.
Fusing the best of both creative worlds, architect Rianne Makkink and designer Jurgen Bey founded Studio Makkink & Bey in 2002 and have enjoyed the benefits of joint talents and joint minds ever since.
On the occasion of RePacked they have selected a special team to design and handcraft all of the 19 pieces exhibited which are handmade by the studio: the embroidery, woodwork, blue foam pieces.
The Dutch designers imagined this project with the idea of re-interpretation, re-use of studio projects fitted for a contemporary art gallery exhibition.
Some of the pieces were especially made for the gallery and have never been shown before.
The Centerpieces for instance are created by stacking wooden crates and showcases, the most precious and vulnerable items being safely packed in the core of the stack.
The idea is that the piece will reveal itself like a matroeska.
Other works, like the Social sculptures and the Hommage to Rietveld furniture have been re-interpreted as special editions for the gallery.
The Crate Cabinets was a project launched in 2003-2004, in which packing material was given a new meaning.
The Crate is the packing and the Cabinet at the same time.
For this project Studio Makkink & Bey used -instead of a wooden box- more delicate and precious materials, like plexiglass.
This way, you can see through the cabinet, it becomes the ultimate showcase.
Studio Makkink & Bey is helmed by Dutch designer Jurgen Bey, who is known for his innovative designs and commitment to design education and research, Together with architect Rianne Makkink.
Bey is a Senior Design Tutor in the Design Products Department at the Royal College of Art (London) and continues to run his design studio in Rotterdam.
The philosophy of Studio Makkink & Bey is 'to consider urban and architectural planning as being indissolubly linked to the design of products'.
Studio Makkink & Bey has been commissioned by Swarovski, Jean Paul Gaultier, Sketch in London, and has exhibited at Centre Pompidou, Stedelijk Museum, and the V&A Museum among other venues.
More Dezeen stories about Studio Makkink & Bey:
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