Tord Boontje

Tord Boontje is a product designer known for his expression of romanticism in contemporary design. Originally from the Netherlands, he studied at the Eindhoven Design Academy and the Royal College of Art in London before setting up Studio Tord Boontje in 1996. 

The studio has since worked with international companies on a range of products that includes lighting, graphic identity, textiles, ceramics, site-specific installations, and furniture. His work can be found in major museum collections such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and MoMA in New York. The Studio relocated to rural France for five years before Boontje returned to London in 2009 as Professor and Head of Design Products at the Royal College of Art, a position he held for four years.  

Bontje enjoys working on a variety of projects, from graphics to lighting, furniture and larger scale installations. He works on mass produced items to one-off objects, creating elements for everyday life that are exciting and uplifting to live with. His work is often inspired by nature and is also influenced by storytelling, art, history, materials, technology and the world around us. He usually starts new projects with research, thinking through sketching, experimentation with materials and modelmaking. He looks for originality, functionality, elegance, joy and something compelling. He believes that design can become very interesting when it connects with strong emotions.  

At Future Heritage

Glithero presented a unique mural made of their earthenware ceramic tiles called ‘Botanical Tiles.’ These have a heavily decorative pattern of overlooked London weeds, carved into the glaze by a team of crafts people, who still use traditional Dutch ceramics techniques. They also presented a collection of light-printed porcelain ‘Silverware Vases,’ with prints made from seaweeds that they had harvested on the shores of the UK. In addition, they exhibited their new, hand knotted Botanical Rugs decorated with London weeds, made in collaboration with Le Manufacture Cogolin.   

Current work

Studio Ayaskan are currently working on a series of multisensory artworks under the name ‘Earth to Space’; an ongoing exploration into our relationship with nature and our surroundings. Inspired by “The Overview Effect”, ‘Earth to Space’ aims to abstract our connection to nature through a series of objects that heighten our sense of connectedness with nature. This is achieved by merging the digital world with physical experiences, through technological and sensory interventions which create a heightened awareness of the fragility and unity of our planet and universe.