By allowing designers, architects and artists to translate their signature style into tangible objects, valerie_objects has become an exceptional project with one clear mission: return aesthetic meaning to the tools and objects that we use every day. These are not hollow words. The project debuted by cracking the hardest nut that few design brands dare to take on: cutlery. Maarten baas (nl), koichi futatsumata (jpn), muller van severen (be) and three others have reinterpreted these daily tools and showed that knifes, forks and spoons do not necessarily have to be shaped like classic silverware.
After the cutlery, different collaborations with these and other creators followed, such as the award-winning designer Chris Kabel (nl), the internationally acclaimed robbrecht en daem architecten (be), the surrealist artist d.d. Trans (be) and the minimalist textile designers from thealfredcollection (be).
Design duo muller van severen was one of the first to sign with valerie_objects and remains a very important partner today. The couple fien muller and hannes van severen are considered one of the most image-defining european design teams of today. Their elegant objects appear to be conceived spontaneously and without effort.
Although valerie_objects has outgrown its life as a side-project and has become a young but mature global design platform, the philosophy remains the same: presenting everyday tools and objects that have a unique appearance. It is this vision that recently led to collaborations with the fantastic studio wieki somers (nl), the narrative designer maarten de ceulaer (be), the experimental sigve knutson and thomas ballouhey (no) and the phenomenal nendo (jpn), world-famous for giving minimal design a ‘!’- twist.
The designers are curated by co-founder and art director veerle wenes. She intuitively selects creators who stand out for their clear signatures; designers whose style is immediately recognizable, whether they make a table or a teapot.
With them, valerie_objects strives for a durable and productive collaboration. On the one hand, the label supports and distributes the designer’s individual ideas. On the other hand, valerie_objects creates thematic collections, for which both collaborating and external designers are asked to create new objects.
Valerie_objects understands the designer’s drive to develop a durable signature style, as well as the consumer’s desire to connect with a patiently selected object. The label stands for unique yet accessible creations, designed for daily use. Many owners develop a special relationship with their chosen object; they get more attached to it as it becomes part of their personal story.