| Tableware 'Blauw Vouw' by designer Romy Kühne:
Origami meets Delft blue
The ceramic traditions of Asia and The Netherlands are inseparably connected with each other. To honour this link, Romy Kühne designed the tableware set 'Blauw Vouw' (Blue Fold). A surprise meeting of the Asian folding art Origami and the Dutch Delft blue. The set contains three plates and three bowls.
The work of Romy Kühne is characterized by geometric shapes and attention to handicraft. “In a time where mass-production and 'fast' techniques such as 3D-printing are leading in design, I want to conserve the traditional crafts. That is why I combine crafts and modern techniques. The tableware set 'Blauw Vouw' is a perfect example.”
Clean design, traditional decoration
As a means of preparation I made a questionnaire relating to the associations people can have with Delft blue. I also dove into the history of Delft blue, which led me to Asia. Therefore I also decided to use Origami as a base for the tableware design. The traditional Delft blue decoration evolved in close partnership with master painter Wilma Plaisier. “It was my wish to create tableware that is mostly white, with Delft blue details. A clean design fitting to the modern time. The decoration is based on traditional Delft blue patterns, and is concentrated on one side. It creates a connection with the folded part. The twigs are a Delft blue variety of the Japanese cherry blossom decoration.”
Tableware with character
Romy created tableware based on flat, folded paper patterns, which she moulded in plaster and transformed into porcelain. The technical realisation turned out to be a big challenge. “The parts with relief have more mass than the parts without relief. For the production process this means you have to deal with differences in humidity and shrinking. Together with the Delft Heinen engineers we managed to create a design that works.” The result speaks for itself: tableware with character, fitting to today.
Romy Kühne graduated in 2009 at the art academy ArtEZ in Arnhem in Product Design. In 2010 she started Romy Kühne Design. She designs mainly tableware and lamps. She does this with special interest for crafts and old industries, architectural structures and buildings. Her designs are bold and raw and evolve through a love for the material and the making process.