19 November 2009

Maarten says'¦

Dutch designer Maarten Baas stops through Sydney to announce the winner of the Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award. We catch up with him…

Is it possible to get your own way every time? It would seem so for Maarten Baas who laughingly describes himself as a “very spoilt kid”.

This is said in jest of course, and Baas has every right to get his own way following the skyrocketing success of his iconic ranges, Smoke, Clay, and Sculpt – to name just three.

Describing his working process Baas says: “I just do what I do…

“I never try to make something for the market. I get the urge to make something, and hopefully there are people who like it.”

In this way, Baas says, his target group or audience are more like soul mates than consumers.

‘Smoke’, which is one of his most famous ranges, was born on a whim – albeit a logical whim.

“I thought, of course you need to burn furniture, and I’m the guy to do it!”

A selection of furniture classics – some originals! – were chosen from a library of history books and a frenzy of phone calls.

These were then lined-up and torched to a crisp, making history in an entirely new way.

Baas describes the sacrificial ‘Smoke’ range as a very important move.

“Marcel [Wanders of moooi who now stocks the range] thought the smoke chair was great – he saw more in it than I myself expected of it,” Baas says.

“He said, we’ll make a design icon out of it” – and that he did.

Baas is in Sydney courtesy of the Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Awards. Find out who won this year, click here.

Maarten Baas
maartenbaas.com

Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award
bombaysapphire.com/designdiscoveryaward

Images below:

Maarten Baas Portraits
PHOTOGRAPHER: Sarah Jane www.sarahjane.nl

CLAY FURNITURE
PHOTOGRAPHER: Maarten van Houten, www.maartenvanhouten.nl
Studio Maarten Baas / Clay Furniture / 2006

FLATPACK FURNITURE
PHOTOGRAPHER: Maarten van Houten, www.maartenvanhouten.nl
Studio Maarten Baas / Flatpack Furniture / 2005

HEY, CHAIR, BE A BOOKSHELF!
PHOTOGRAPHER: Maarten van Houten, www.maartenvanhouten.nl
Studio Maarten Baas / Hey, chair, be a bookshelf / 2005

PLASTIC CHAIR IN WOOD
PHOTOGRAPHER: Courtesy of Contrasts Gallery, Shanghai
Studio Maarten Baas / ‘Chinese Objects Object’ & ‘Plastic Chair in Wood’ / Contrasts Gallery / Shanghai, China / 2008

REAL TIME
PHOTOGRAPHER: Ricardo sà da Costa
Studio Maarten Baas / Real Time / 2009

SCULPT
PHOTOGRAPHER: Maarten van Houten, www.maartenvanhouten.com
Studio Maarten Baas / Sculpt / 2007

TRANSFORMATION
PHOTOGRAPHER: Courtesy of Contrasts Gallery, Shanghai
Studio Maarten Baas / Transformation / Contrasts Gallery) / Shanghai, China / 2008

TREASURE FURNITURE'¨PHOTOGRAPHER: Maarten van Houten, www.maartenvanhouten.com
Studio Maarten Baas / Treasure Furniture / 2005

SMOKE
PHOTOGRAPHER: Maarten van Houten, www.maartenvanhouten.com
Studio Maarten Baas / Smoke / 2002