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DDW 2014: DUTCH DARLINGS PROVES THAT CRAFTING IS COOL

A crafty design competition and exhibition put on by Crafts Council Nederlands

Handcrafted design isn’t just for DIY Pinterest projects, we promise. In fact, we dedicated an entire e-magazine to the topic! And with the help of associations like Crafts Council Nederland (CCNL), craftsmanship is rising up the design ranks to become a category of its own.

Dutch Darlings is a competition organized by CCNL to encourage, exhibit and reward sustainable craftsmanship in design. Candidates were asked to design a new souvenir based on traditional Dutch techniques with a profitable production method and a preference for locally sourced materials and labor. The goal was to challenge participants to reinvigorate the country’s rich traditional craft history with a contemporary interpretation that would appeal to tourists.

Submissions were divided into three categories: products with a proposed retail value of less than 10 euros, products with a proposed retail value of 10 to 30 euros, and products with a proposed retail value of 30 to 60 euros. A jury composed of industry professionals judged the individual submissions.

Three winners were chosen from the first and second category. Jennifer de Jonge took first place in the first category with BOET, a DIY kit that teaches the traditional art of fishnet mending. Jurrijn Huffenreuter took second place with his licorice key chain and Luuk Wiehink‘s Honey lollypop took third place.

First prize in the second category was won by Janneke de Bruijn‘s beautiful reinterpretation of the pomander, a spice and herb receptacle made to be worn. A DIY dye work kit by Monique Horstmann took second place and Ricky Langveld‘s clocks made from upcycled Dutch freight wagon wood took third place.

The third category proposed four encouragement prizes – one for innovation, one for technical aptitude, one for design and one for sustainability. Noëlle Ingeveldt applied basket weaving techniques to sunglass frames for the Innovation Encouragement Prize, while Yvet Verhees embroidered Dutch landscapes onto pillows for the Design Encouragement Prize. Maurits Büsse won the Sustainability Encouragement Prize for his lamps made from broken oak fishing poles reclaimed from the Zuiderzee Bay, and finally, Jacques Sleutels received the Technical Encouragement Prize for his needle case made from an almost-extinct basketry technique called willow skeinwork.

The nominations are currently being exhibited at Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, but if you’re not in the Netherlands, you can check out all of the nominees below!

Wicker Sunglasses by Noëlle Ingeveld

Details

  • Netherlands
  • Crafts Council Nederlands