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Dutch design continues at Atelier Courbet, where a series of hole-filled furniture by designer Gijs Bakker will be on display. (175-177 Mott Street)
Dutch design continues at Atelier Courbet, where a series of hole-filled furniture by designer Gijs Bakker will be on display. (175-177 Mott Street)
Gijs Bakker created this piece of titanium drilled with 2799 dots that's inspired by Planet Earth.
Gijs Bakker created this piece of titanium drilled with 2799 dots that's inspired by Planet Earth.
Tiddo Bakker’s In Vena Verbum (Message in a Vein), is a kinetic metal sculpture, with motors and circuitry activated by a houseplant that is stimulated by light. At his eponymous studio that is affiliated with Collaboration O’, Bakker enlisted the help of physicist Henk Jalink and his team at the Centre for BioSystems Genomics to measure the activity and stress level of the plant and transmit that energy digitally to cause the sculpture to move.
Tiddo Bakker’s In Vena Verbum (Message in a Vein), is a kinetic metal sculpture, with motors and circuitry activated by a houseplant that is stimulated by light. At his eponymous studio that is affiliated with Collaboration O’, Bakker enlisted the help of physicist Henk Jalink and his team at the Centre for BioSystems Genomics to measure the activity and stress level of the plant and transmit that energy digitally to cause the sculpture to move.
The Fume chair was inspired by "simple church and peasants' furniture." The chair contains just enough elements to function as a seat, and no more.
The Fume chair was inspired by "simple church and peasants' furniture." The chair contains just enough elements to function as a seat, and no more.
Illustration by David Galletly
Illustration by David Galletly
Illustration by David Galletly
Illustration by David Galletly
Anura was initially created for the Wallpaper* handmade series in collaboration with leather manufacturer Santiago Gonzalez. The commission resulted in a stool with a "submissive, animal-like posture." The sulfur-colored version is the latest edition.
Anura was initially created for the Wallpaper* handmade series in collaboration with leather manufacturer Santiago Gonzalez. The commission resulted in a stool with a "submissive, animal-like posture." The sulfur-colored version is the latest edition.
To create Pose, Bakker considered "the most elemental and the quickest way to create a bench: two vertical parts with a horizontal bar on top of them, a U shape upside down."
To create Pose, Bakker considered "the most elemental and the quickest way to create a bench: two vertical parts with a horizontal bar on top of them, a U shape upside down."
Aldo Bakker designed a watering can that's reduced to the simplest shape possible.
Aldo Bakker designed a watering can that's reduced to the simplest shape possible.
A porcelain reservoir for vinegar.
A porcelain reservoir for vinegar.
In the living area, a 2010 Vertigo lamp by Constance Guisset hangs above a 1974 Gijs Bakker Strip table; the residents believe the floor lamp in the foreground is Murano glass. Dark panels of metal, left behind by the previous homeowners, were stored outside until a rich patina developed. Now they hide a library.
In the living area, a 2010 Vertigo lamp by Constance Guisset hangs above a 1974 Gijs Bakker Strip table; the residents believe the floor lamp in the foreground is Murano glass. Dark panels of metal, left behind by the previous homeowners, were stored outside until a rich patina developed. Now they hide a library.
Avant-garde Dutch designer Aldo Bakker's 3dwn1up chair is built from five pieces of wood: one seat and four "legs," one of which functions as a backrest.
Avant-garde Dutch designer Aldo Bakker's 3dwn1up chair is built from five pieces of wood: one seat and four "legs," one of which functions as a backrest.
Three Pair is crafted from three abstract stone components that form a stool.
Three Pair is crafted from three abstract stone components that form a stool.
The Hands Off installation at the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco included Martijn Koomen’s wood-and-glass cylindrical pavilion and Tiddo Bakker’s kinetic sculptural chandelier In Vena Verbum, hanging from a three-legged wood arch.
The Hands Off installation at the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco included Martijn Koomen’s wood-and-glass cylindrical pavilion and Tiddo Bakker’s kinetic sculptural chandelier In Vena Verbum, hanging from a three-legged wood arch.
Bakker’s girlfriend, fashion and furniture designer Brecht Duijf, sometimes suggests colors for designs. “I would not have been able to think of these colors,” Bakker says, holding up tiny ceramic chips she selected to determine the palette for Jug, a water carafe with a neck bent over a drinking cup, looking like a primordial creature feeding its young.
Bakker’s girlfriend, fashion and furniture designer Brecht Duijf, sometimes suggests colors for designs. “I would not have been able to think of these colors,” Bakker says, holding up tiny ceramic chips she selected to determine the palette for Jug, a water carafe with a neck bent over a drinking cup, looking like a primordial creature feeding its young.
Tonus is a sculptural stool made in 2010 from a solid block of oak that continues to swell and shrink like a “living, breathing” creature.
Tonus is a sculptural stool made in 2010 from a solid block of oak that continues to swell and shrink like a “living, breathing” creature.
Leen's reading area.
Leen's reading area.
Bakker has designed many new kinds of vessels for producer and curator Thomas Eyck, his friend and first patron, including a watering can made of a single copper tube. “With the watering can, I questioned the relationship of its elements. I made the spout, handle, and container continuous and the same size. Everything is now container, handle, and spout at the same time.”
Bakker has designed many new kinds of vessels for producer and curator Thomas Eyck, his friend and first patron, including a watering can made of a single copper tube. “With the watering can, I questioned the relationship of its elements. I made the spout, handle, and container continuous and the same size. Everything is now container, handle, and spout at the same time.”
When working in the studio, Bakker says, “I always need to speak my idea out loud. Speaking and sketching at the same time help me to explain the idea. Then I do all the technical drawings myself because they drag me out of the illusion that I am almost there.”
When working in the studio, Bakker says, “I always need to speak my idea out loud. Speaking and sketching at the same time help me to explain the idea. Then I do all the technical drawings myself because they drag me out of the illusion that I am almost there.”
This optical illusion-like Royal VKB Stainless Steel Fruit Bowl designed by Gijs Bakker looks more like a decorative art piece than a fruit container, but trust us, it's fully functional.
This optical illusion-like Royal VKB Stainless Steel Fruit Bowl designed by Gijs Bakker looks more like a decorative art piece than a fruit container, but trust us, it's fully functional.
Aldo Bakker and Louise Campbell collections for Georg Jensen. See it at Rossana Orlandi, Via Matteo Bandello 14-16.
Aldo Bakker and Louise Campbell collections for Georg Jensen. See it at Rossana Orlandi, Via Matteo Bandello 14-16.
Among Bakker’s cherished objects that began as shapes with no fixed purpose is the 2006 three-legged Urushi stool coated with several layers of transparent Japanese lacquer that seem to “tremble next to each other.” That piece later evolved into Stool, an all-wood version, which won international plaudits on its release in 2010. “Home is very important to me but Brecht has more exquisite ideas about the interior,” Bakker says of their 850-square-foot harbor-front apartment. Duijf designed their coffee table—a beanbag-style base with a solid onyx top—and also scattered tons of little Ikea cushions onto a navy blue couch that the couple’s baby, Zora, likes to play on. Bentwood chairs and a leg splint by Charles and Ray Eames are complemented by sheepskin rugs and Bakker’s sample Stool.
Among Bakker’s cherished objects that began as shapes with no fixed purpose is the 2006 three-legged Urushi stool coated with several layers of transparent Japanese lacquer that seem to “tremble next to each other.” That piece later evolved into Stool, an all-wood version, which won international plaudits on its release in 2010. “Home is very important to me but Brecht has more exquisite ideas about the interior,” Bakker says of their 850-square-foot harbor-front apartment. Duijf designed their coffee table—a beanbag-style base with a solid onyx top—and also scattered tons of little Ikea cushions onto a navy blue couch that the couple’s baby, Zora, likes to play on. Bentwood chairs and a leg splint by Charles and Ray Eames are complemented by sheepskin rugs and Bakker’s sample Stool.
Bakker’s 2010-2011 3dwn1up stool is crafted from elm and comprises a seat and four legs, one of which functions as an unconventional backrest
Bakker’s 2010-2011 3dwn1up stool is crafted from elm and comprises a seat and four legs, one of which functions as an unconventional backrest
11th Anniversary: Steel Pitcher by Aldo Bakker for Georg Jensen Living, $380
11th Anniversary: Steel Pitcher by Aldo Bakker for Georg Jensen Living, $380
In the living area, a 2010 Vertigo lamp by Constance Guisset hangs above a 1974 Gijs Bakker Strip table; the residents believe the floor lamp in the foreground is Murano glass. Dark panels of metal, left behind by the previous homeowners, were stored outside until a rich patina developed. Now they hide a library.
In the living area, a 2010 Vertigo lamp by Constance Guisset hangs above a 1974 Gijs Bakker Strip table; the residents believe the floor lamp in the foreground is Murano glass. Dark panels of metal, left behind by the previous homeowners, were stored outside until a rich patina developed. Now they hide a library.
Flatware gets a distinctively Dutch touch with this set of utensils by Richard Hutten for Royal VKB, which give the staid, straight lines of basic silverware a playful peephole. The stainless steel set is one of the iD / Cutlery collections from designers which also include Gijs Bakker, Atelier Bow Wow, and Ineke Hans.
Flatware gets a distinctively Dutch touch with this set of utensils by Richard Hutten for Royal VKB, which give the staid, straight lines of basic silverware a playful peephole. The stainless steel set is one of the iD / Cutlery collections from designers which also include Gijs Bakker, Atelier Bow Wow, and Ineke Hans.
Aldo Bakker's stainless steel pitcher for Georg Jensen is as much a sculptural object as a functional one. For Georg Jensen's exhibition at Rossana Orlandi in Milan, each object was displayed as its opposite: an oil pourer set on a platform topped with a thin layer of oil, a water pitcher suspended in a transparent box filled with liquid.
Aldo Bakker's stainless steel pitcher for Georg Jensen is as much a sculptural object as a functional one. For Georg Jensen's exhibition at Rossana Orlandi in Milan, each object was displayed as its opposite: an oil pourer set on a platform topped with a thin layer of oil, a water pitcher suspended in a transparent box filled with liquid.
Joseph Coughlin is the founder and director of AgeLab, a research center dedicated to exploring quality of living for the elderly and those who care for them.
Joseph Coughlin is the founder and director of AgeLab, a research center dedicated to exploring quality of living for the elderly and those who care for them.
Fong has designed a range of interiors, including Michael Voltaggio’s Ink restaurant. In 2009, he opened Galerie Half in Los Angeles, which showcases 20th-century design, European antiques, architectural elements, and art.
Fong has designed a range of interiors, including Michael Voltaggio’s Ink restaurant. In 2009, he opened Galerie Half in Los Angeles, which showcases 20th-century design, European antiques, architectural elements, and art.
Rob Fissmer of the furniture company Vitsœ lives with his wife in a restored, A. Quincy Jones-designed house in Crestwood Hills. (Get a full tour of the space here!)
Rob Fissmer of the furniture company Vitsœ lives with his wife in a restored, A. Quincy Jones-designed house in Crestwood Hills. (Get a full tour of the space here!)
DISHMOP SPONGE Washing up is rarely as enjoyable as the eating that precedes it, which makes us appreciate simple cleaning tools that somehow manage to bring a little levity to the sudsy process. Dutch industrial designer Gijs Bakker made the Dishmop for Droog (the company he co-founded in 1993), and using it is not unlike taking tongs the serving dish to sneak the last meatball. Simply grasp the round sponge between the ends of the steel utensil, secure, and start scrubbing.
DISHMOP SPONGE Washing up is rarely as enjoyable as the eating that precedes it, which makes us appreciate simple cleaning tools that somehow manage to bring a little levity to the sudsy process. Dutch industrial designer Gijs Bakker made the Dishmop for Droog (the company he co-founded in 1993), and using it is not unlike taking tongs the serving dish to sneak the last meatball. Simply grasp the round sponge between the ends of the steel utensil, secure, and start scrubbing.
Roman Alonso founded L.A. based design collective Commune with Steven Johanknecht, Pamela Shamshiri, and Ramin Shamshiri in 2004. The group collaborates on commercial spaces, retail environments, restaurants, residences, packaging, corporate identities, and websites.
Roman Alonso founded L.A. based design collective Commune with Steven Johanknecht, Pamela Shamshiri, and Ramin Shamshiri in 2004. The group collaborates on commercial spaces, retail environments, restaurants, residences, packaging, corporate identities, and websites.
Angie Myung and Ted Vadakan founded the lifestyle design brand Poketo in 2003; they opened their flagship shop in Downtown Los Angeles in 2012.
Angie Myung and Ted Vadakan founded the lifestyle design brand Poketo in 2003; they opened their flagship shop in Downtown Los Angeles in 2012.
Claudia & Harry Washington run an eponymous design studio in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Claudia & Harry Washington run an eponymous design studio in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Austere is retail, showroom, and event space celebrating Scandinavian design in Downtown Los Angeles.
Austere is retail, showroom, and event space celebrating Scandinavian design in Downtown Los Angeles.

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