ABOUT ME + MY APPROACH
As a polyvalent designer, my designs span from 3 grams to over 3000 kilos, moving across contexts and disciplines. They are defined in different ways depending on where they are encountered, as art, as design or as a product. Guided by what is already present, I look closely at architecture, interiors and context to understand what is needed. My work adds a quality that allows people to feel naturally in place.
portraits for various magazine interviews
Design elements that enhance and refine spatial experience. Architects and interior designers involve me when they seek an extra dimension. A tangible layer that strengthens identity, adds meaning, and at the same time can influence behavior and soften imbalances such as acoustics.
Light, textiles, color, and circular materials converge into designs that bring comfort, functionality, and a human scale, in full harmony with the architectural concept and interior design. With minimal means, I create maximum sensory depth. In this way, my work strenghtens the interior concept and contributes to spaces where people feel a sense of belonging.
Attuned to what people and places reveal beyond words, I honour what is scarce and draw from what already exists, transforming it into designs where form and function merge. Each piece carries lasting beauty that continues to resonate over time. Form, light, acoustics, and [non]color become an emotional palette, softening what unsettles and amplifying what supports. From intimate interiors to monumental expressions, this fusion of technical precision and sensorial richness creates spaces of balanced beauty and wellbeing.
That is Woest Aantrekkelijk Design.
WHY WOEST AANTREKKELIJK DUTCH VERSION
Waarom Woest Aantrekkelijk
Duurzaamheid wekt zelden verlangen op. Woest Aantrekkelijk Design wel.
Mijn werk gaat zorgvuldig om met schaarste en maakt gebruik van bestaande rijkdom.
Schoonheid verleidt en doet zo goed voor mens en omgeving.
Invoelen en afstemmen
Ik vertrek vanuit wat er al is. Door scherp te kijken naar ruimte, mens en context wordt zichtbaar wat nodig is. Samen met vakmensen vertaal ik dat inzicht naar een helder plan en één element. Soms feestelijk en licht, soms geruststellend en weldadig. Het geeft rust of juist energie en altijd een positieve ervaring die bij blijft.
Magnetische aantrekkingskracht
Voor mij maakt een ontwerp pas echt verschil als het iets met je doet. Het roept beelden op die verrassen en tegelijk herkenning geven. Dat geeft een vertrouwd en geborgen gevoel, alsof het er altijd al was, en versterkt identiteit. Mijn werk brengt een kwaliteit waardoor mensen zich als vanzelf op hun plek voelen.
Werking en beleving vergroten
Ruimtes beïnvloeden gevoel en gedrag. Sfeer, licht, akoestiek en kleur zet ik in als een emotioneel mengpaneel.
Negatieve invloeden verdwijnen, positieve worden uitvergroot. Schoonheid is de onzichtbare aanjager van welbevinden en harmonieus gedrag.
Zinnenstrelend functioneel
Gevoel én functie. Mijn ontwerpen zijn eenvoudig in gebruik en doordacht in werking, met aandacht tot in het kleinste detail. Zinnenstrelend functioneel en verrassend vanzelfsprekend.
Zorg in elke laag
Alles wat ik toepas voldoet aan de hoogste normen voor veiligheid en gezondheid.
Van brandveiligheid en gifvrije materialen tot gecertificeerde esthetiek.
Elk element draagt bij aan een gezonde omgeving met prettige akoestiek, fijn licht en schone binnenlucht.
Schoonheid met karakter
Hoogwaardige en eerlijke materialen vormen de kern van mijn werk. Ik kies voor unieke reststromen, overschotten en grondstoffen die moeiteloos terugkeren in productie of opgaan in de natuur. Met verbeelding en vakmanschap transformeer ik wat er al is tot iets radicaal nieuws. Schoon geproduceerd en sociaal verankerd. Minder verspilling, meer karakter. Gebruiken wordt zo genieten.
Buiten naar binnen
Ik haal zoveel mogelijk buiten naar binnen. Licht, water, lucht en ruimte krijgen vrij spel. Natuur wordt voelbaar in beeld en kleur. De werking is subtiel en heeft een heilzaam effect.
Universeel en uniek
Met archetypen en oervormen raak ik iets wat we delen. Ze spreken het collectieve geheugen aan en worden persoonlijk in gebruik en ervaring. Het ontwerp is herkenbaar voor velen en behoudt toch zijn eigenheid.
Hierdoor ontstaan verbindingen tussen mensen onderling en hun omgeving.
Kleur die doet
Kleur is emotie in pigment. Ze krijgt betekenis in relatie tot mensen, de ruimte en wat zich daar afspeelt. Met kleur stuur ik hoe een ruimte wordt ervaren en hoe mensen zich daarin voelen. Gericht ingezet ontstaat een sfeer die bijna ongemerkt binnenkomt en voelbaar blijft.
Design dat blijft
Met een uitgebalanceerd concept onttrek ik me aan trends. Mijn ontwerpen blijven uitnodigen tot nieuwe associaties en persoonlijke beelden. Wat naadloos past ga je koesteren en wil je behouden.
Dat is Woest Aantrekkelijk Design.
Why Woest Aantrekkelijk [translates as wildly attractive]
Sustainability rarely creates desire. Wildly Attractive Design does. My work treats scarcity with care and builds from what is already there. Beauty seduces and in doing so benefits people and their environment.
Sensing and aligning
I start with what exists. By looking closely at space, people and context, what is needed becomes clear. Together with skilled makers, I translate that into a precise plan and one essential element. Sometimes festive and light, sometimes reassuring and weldadig. It brings calm or energy and always leaves a lasting positive experience.
Magnetic attraction
A design makes a difference when it does something to you. It evokes images that surprise and feel familiar at the same time. A sense of trust and ease, as if it has always been there, while strengthening identity. My work adds a quality that allows people to feel naturally in place.
Enhancing function and experience
Spaces influence feeling and behaviour. Atmosphere, light, acoustics and colour form an emotional mixing panel. What disturbs recedes, what works is intensified. Beauty is the invisible driver of well-being and harmonious behaviour.
Sensually functional
Feeling and function. My designs are easy to use and precise in how they work, with attention down to the smallest detail. Sensually functional and surprisingly self-evident.
Care in every layer
Everything I apply meets the highest standards for safety and health. From fire safety and non-toxic materials to certified aesthetics. Each element contributes to a healthy environment with balanced acoustics, refined light and clean air.
Beauty with character
High-quality, honest materials form the core of my work. I choose residual flows, surplus materials and resources that can return to production or merge into nature. With imagination and craftsmanship, I transform what exists into something radically new. Cleanly produced and socially grounded. Less waste, more character. Use becomes enjoyment.
Bringing the outside in
I bring the outside in wherever possible. Light, water, air and space are given room. Nature becomes tangible in image and colour. The effect is subtle and restorative.
Universal and unique
With archetypes and primal forms I touch something we share. They speak to collective memory and become personal in use and experience. Recognisable, yet distinctly their own. Connections arise between people and their environment.
Colour that acts
Colour is emotion in pigment. It gains meaning in relation to people, space and what unfolds there. With colour I guide how a space is experienced and how people feel within it. Applied with precision, it settles almost unnoticed and remains present.
Design that endures
A balanced concept moves beyond trends. My designs continue to invite new associations and personal interpretations. What fits seamlessly is cherished and kept.
That is Wildly Attractive Design.
TRANSLATION ONLINE INTERVIEW ON THE INSPIRE THE WORLD SERIES
For many years now, I have been using up almost everything edible. The rest, like the last scrap of paper, goes into the recycle bin. The lights go out when I leave a room, I wear clothes until the holes are beyond repair and I prefer not to buy anything new.
So as a polyvalent designer, I consider the impact of my work not only on people but also on the environment. I always factor this into my designs. My mega-room-filling lamps, for example, are not only designed to make people feel more at home in a big, high space, but are also Cradle to Cradle (C2C). The textiles and aluminum are then used as raw materials to make textiles and aluminum again, should the lamp ever wear out. When I started decades ago, nobody wanted me to get started on sustainability. When I started decades ago, I didn’t have to come up with sustainability as a starting point. It was a reason to dismiss me. So I just incorporated it without talking about it. Now, thankfully, that is changing. In fact, sometimes it is a prerequisite for a commission.
My first designs were floor-to-ceiling canvases with integrated lighting and cotton velour curtains. As soon as I could, I switched to an organic version. And then I approached the same manufacturer, A House of Happiness, to see if I could use their leftover material. Because the last three meters of their A-quality fabrics are not used. That’s because there’s always a color difference with the next roll. See, that’s exactly what I want to use to avoid waste. The fabrics with the lights are still the same, but they are now made from the last 3 meters of leftover fabrics.
So in my interior concepts, sustainability is always in the picture. Seven years ago I went one step further. I decided that when I designed new products, I would only incorporate used stuff. We can easily take care of the climate by buying less new stuff.
After all, producing new things accounts for eighty percent of our impact on the climate and there is already more than enough! That’s why I love that I was able to develop THE UPCYCLE COLLECTION using surplus (otherwise waste) from second-hand shops. My aim is to enrich and enhance the good things in life, and it worked out wonderfully. That too is polyvalent.
Back in 2003, I knew that there was a huge surplus of good, solid furniture and household items in second-hand shops that no one wanted, simply because of their shape and appearance. How do you make it attractive again? With THE UPCYLE COLLECTION, I invite people to take another look at something that has been written off. The collection is made in circular social workshops as part of an inclusive society. This simply means that there is room for everyone to participate and contribute to society. The workshops offer the opportunity to use skills in all kinds of ways and for personal development.
It is also nice that as a result of this, any unwanted items can be reused in their full glory for years to come. The collection also makes customers and users happy. If not because of the feeling the colors give or the unique design, then because of the added value. We have lost sight of the fact that everything and everyone can be of value. This is often not taken into account. It would be beneficial to do so because it would make so many things so much nicer and better for so many people. And there would be less of a problem with materials.
After THE UPCYCLE COLLECTION came the demand for furniture with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on it to make them more visible. When you look at what the goals stand for, the only conclusion you can draw is that they really are about creating a good life for everyone on a livable planet. That’s what we all want, isn’t it? And everyone can do something about it. That’s why I like these SDGs so much!
Every time I felt a new movement, I was ten years too early. I started my movement 7 years ago, so I think we will be at the top in three years! Then, hopefully, it will become normal to move from the supply chain to the supply circle. I never conformed to the existing economic model. As a result, I was free to develop a new way of production with many recycle shops and social organizations. Together we prevent usable items from being burned and make them end up in interior design projects and homes. We add as few new materials as possible, except for the most environmentally friendly water-based, C2C, bio-based paint.
I have found that I am not an average person because I take all these facets into account and bring them together. Polyvalent also means keeping an eye on what exactly is happening in these different layers. Thinking and acting sustainably. Where does your material come from and what are the emissions from transportation? What did it do to the people who made it? What does it mean to those who use it? Does it contribute anything to the world? How can you make the most of the things and materials you already have and use them for as long as possible? What do you leave behind when they run out?
It was surprising that I seemed to make people think. As a result, I discovered that all I had to do was be somewhere or say something to inspire people. So I started #DoingItDurable on social media. I show simple things I do that someone else could do to make a lasting difference. In this way, one thing leads to another and very nice things have already been created that can do a lot of good. Wonderful, right?
for the interview in Dutch go here
HIGHLIGHTS
My work was selected by Ingeborg de Roode, curator Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and has been exhibited in many countries and cities like Amsterdam, Moscow, Madrid, Milano and Dallas, Focke Museum in Bremen, and Textiel Museum in Tilburg. My most exceptional assignment was a custom-made three-piece monumental light object for an award-winning wine bar in New York.
Also, my collections and several concepts have been shown worldwide at prestigious design festivals, such as Design Act Moskow, the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, and the London Design Fair.
BEYOND DESIGN
Member of BNO, the Dutch Designers’ Association, and part of the workgroup Sustainability x Design.
Through BNO, I also mentor fellow designers and contribute to the Circular Interior Network, where circular practice and design vision come together.
Alongside my studio practice, I give lectures and guest classes, serve as an examiner, and take part in juries. All moments to share insights, exchange perspectives, and contribute to the ongoing dialogue between design, knowledge, and society.
Because together we move faster and create better.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
The United Nations has formulated 17 Sustainable Development Goals to join in realizing a better world for all people to live in. You can contribute to one or more goals as a country, a business or an organization, or as a person. Since I suport sustainability, these 6 goals are naturally incorporated into my work. I have partnerships with several social enterprises, many recycle shops and durable companies like Het GOED, Mannen van Staal, a House of Happiness, Artimo and OPNIEUW!
Also, I create a series of furniture with these goals incorporated in color, text, number and icon. Please ask me for more information if you are interested.
