Studio Valentin Loellmann
Internship Report & Audit 2015
Cedric Breisacher
BREISACHER cedric DM2 - Poduct design +33676111222 cedric.breisacher@gmail.com
/ Workshop Assistant - 2015 Valentin Loellmann Maastricht / Creative and Technical Assistant - 2015 Jerome Aich - ESAD Valenciennes / Design Intern - 2014 GR Industrial design Barcelona
Contact Tutor : Valentin Loellman +31616564244 info@valentinloellmann.de
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or my master course, I worked on different projects about Eco-Production, saving energy and Eco-logical system. I am sure that product design have a role to play inside nowadays Industry, As designer we have the tools to communicate with marketing and factory in order to create better product. I think it is our responsability to make responsible product, for saving our ressources and make the world a better place. For a last experience, I wanted to be inside a workshop somewhere I can built with my hands and learn by doing. Because 3Dmodeling is fine but not the only tool of creation, I needed to experiment something else closer to my creative process. Digital process is a tool over-developped in studio majority, as my philosophy of work has always been by real (mock-up or prototype) Valentin Loellmann welcomed me for five months. More than built furniture, I listen my intuition and follow my convictions in order to prepare my path inside the furniture design jungle.
Adventure start now.
Edito.
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aastricht is located strategically between Belgium and Germany, only thirty minutes by car from those countries, partners are always close. It is a quiet place in the south of Netherland, where different kind of people lives togther. In summer the city is crowded by old citizens, fan of AndrĂŠ Rieu (he has a house in the the neighborhood) drinking some juice in terrace. After hollidays, student came back, they are almost forty thousand.
During my internship I had the chance to meet some of them, inside a squat and a social kitchen where I helped them to renovate a bathroom and cook vegan food. Social partnership are initiatiated and supported by the city. A lot of artist can live and work because of the old factory past, a lot of building are empty but reinvested by creativ people trying to figured out their perception of life. Medieval and romantic, Valentin’ workshop takes place inside a old hat factory.
CONTENTS
1.1 Presentation Studio Organisation
p6
1.2 Conclusion
p 54
Atelier Making Of Project
2.0 Audit 2.1 Before Ideas Comes
p 60
Interview with Valentin Loellmann
2.2 Creative Process
p 64
2.3 Analyse Bilan
p 66
2.4 Conclusion
p 72
1.1_ Presentation.
Valentin Loellmann making a Fall/Winter low table and bench.
Birth of the studio Raised in Germany, Valentin Loellmann belong to an artist family. He grows up inside an atmosphere of creativity and shareness that bring him naturaly to build things by himself. He learned industrial design in Thaïland and followed a degree in Maastricht fine arts and design academy. Soon after his graduation, in 2009, he opens his atelier in the same city. In five years the Atelier grows naturally. At the begining, Valentin was redesigning old furniture by sanding, adding pieces or modifiing completly the shapes. It was simple. After one fair in Dutch Design Week and winner of the Moët Hennessy PAD award for ‘best piece of contemporary design’ the journey never stops. Valentin can design an Iphone, but he doesn’t want to do it. His way of creation is linked to the emotion and feeling that procure an object in your hands or inside a room. Born five 6
years ago in a old had manufactory, Studio Valentin Loellmann is first a family of people living for their passions. They are building furnitures for living habitation. Hand made with love and respecting a human scale production. Table, chaires, stools provides a significant vibe of life inside a room. Linked to the Nature it follow the flow. Working also on interior design, Valentin Atelier spread his atmosphere inside each room.
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Inside the Abyss Each furniture collection comes from a depth inside imagination that is not directly applicable in the real world. But throught Valentin’hands ideas takes life. Creativity is no limit. There is always a way to transcribe imagination into reality. Without boundaries, emotion and feelings are put into furnitures and he makes it understandable for us. Like a material adventurer, he will never restrict is mind because of the
material eco-consciousness. For example if a piece of plastic can give a particular soft aspect, he will use it. The creations are not ecologicaly minded, it is to much restriction for creation. Atmosphere and emotions gives sense to inert material. Each pieces are like a new birth and he likes to considerate them as living organism. It creates together a naration between material, function and feelings.
Ms&Mme ; Built up around the idea of the family. Creatures ; Experiments with stone, coal and ash.
Detail from Spring/Summer (top) and fall/winter 8
Season’ Collection
« Inspiration comes from my making process » Valentin Loellmann
Season’Collection is made with two up family : Fall/Winter and Spring/ Summer. They are the main furniture produced. The atelier is working in a small scale production, each pieces can be adapted to the client ‘s wishes. In high, wide or function, furnitures are free to evoluate. The particularity of each family is their making process. Fall/Winter is made with wood brenches and oak wooden plank. The legs are burned and waxed in black, after the top is sanded. The combination creates a high contrast mostly liked by europeen clients. In another way Sping/Summer bring an atmosphere closer to a sunny afternoon. Furniture made in chromed bronze frame and black waxed oak top. This family goes generaly in New-York or India.
Order from Gallerie Gosserez for Fall/Winter furniture
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Studio Organisation.
GET MATERIAL
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Material preparation to make the production easier
A worldwide Studio Spread around San-Fransisco, Europe and Asia Valentin’s furnitures are sold worldwide. The production start only when there is an order from galery or client. Two galery are collaborating with the studio : Galery Gosserez in Paris and Heje in San-Fransico. As Valentin wants to keep a small production in order to follow all the pieces, the number of order is controlled. That is why the price rised up in five years. The first year a stool was about 250 euros now it’s around 1500 euros. But nothing change in Valentin’mind, he is still the same looking always forward and evolving in his path. To help the production the studio work with different local suppliers (thirty minutes max by car). Manufactory Lemens prepare the wood plank in the right dimension, all shapes are created inside the workshop. The team is composed of one shaper (Lukas) and one welder (Max). Valentin as manager follow each production and always start the first shaping. This group manage and follow the production rythum. As a small team, there is no real hierarchy inside, everyone knows his task. There is no time to think, they do.
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STUDIO ATELIER
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Furniture assembly and finition.
SEND TO SALE
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Directly to the Client or send to a galery.
People Outside Hans > Wood Leo > Wood Ralph > Chrome Dom > Metal
Valentin > Chief Maker Max > Metal Shaper
Malte > Economist
Lucas > Wood Shaper
Jonas > Photograph & Website
Sofie > Interns
Jilou > Press
Cedric > Interns
Hans > Architect
Wooden box maker Shipping Agent Galery > Heje (SF,USA) >Galerie Gosserez (Paris, FR) Client
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Atelier.
Workshop Sun Ray, Instagram pic’s from valentin_loellmann
Three Dimension Moodboard Very personnal to Valentin, his Atelier is like a mind maping. All his imagination and feeling are transcribe inside. He built by himself all the necessary to work in a good atmosphere. The space is about 200 m² devided between a wood and metal workshop, a kitchen, a studio and a garden. Peace.
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Storytelling pictures
Metal workshop - TIG, MIG, ARC -Air exhaust - 3 side grinder
Wood workshop
First Feelings First step inside, a wide wood workshop with a massive green plants wave above the machines. Wood, brenches and steel are everywhere. Like inside a cocoon the time past through. Then some noise comes from a small room. Gold sparks gushes inside. Max is grinding a Spring/ Summer bench. Noise reverberate into the workshop. Only handy machine are on the shelf. Planer, dril, saw and sanding machine cohabit together and gives to the space a human scale. Between a craftman and artist atelier a new collection start to born, but I cannot stay Valentin is waiting me for my interview. Before enter in the office, the kitchen. This is one of the fisrt space that Valentin built when he get the studio. For him it was really important to eat together in order to strengthen the family. Peace and quiet, the studio is organic. An oak desk and a tree are in the center. An Imac is on a desk behind a corner, I think it is my desk, nobody is behind. In front of the window his desk. Full of paper and mock-up. In my way to the garden, A huge drawing catch my attention, it’s a stormy clouds. Crossing the patio, I meet Frederic and Lukas eating in the garden. It’s a real jungle, plants are everywhere forcing them to sit on the pathway. After five minutes talking, Valentin arrived. We talked together and try to know more about eachother. Take a new intern is like a new adventure, so each part have to fit first.
- Planer machine - Circular saw - Jigsaw - Drill - Side grinder - Exentrique grinder - Polisher - Colone drill - Blowpipe - Miter saw - Hand tools
Kitchen Everything needed to make good food
Studio - Computer - Mock-up - Drawing
Patio Green quiet buble
Garden Take a break and breath
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Making of.
1- Brenches 2- Rough cutting 3- Tenon-Mortise 4- Glue 5- Rough Sanding 6- Pasting 7- Burning 8- Wash Ashes 9- Wax 10- Top Sanding 11- OSMO 12- Pack To Send 16
ÂŤThe process is more important than the furniture shape.Âť Valentin Loellmann
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GARDEN P 22
ANTIPAROS P 28
AMSTERDAM P 32
PALMA P 36
BLACK SIT P 48
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Projects.
Do
Space
Furniture
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Do.
Garden.
Outside work pressure, I come there to find peace and link myself with Nature. Nature is powerfull, I want it all around me, feel somewhere else, to ressource myself. For a break of five minutes, time for a coffee. Inspiring, peacefull and social are fillings brings inside. Leafs are life, creating shapes and purifying air. Surronding me as a Tahupoo waves, I can’t go anywhere else. I like this place but it’s time to work.
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Before
After
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Material salvaged
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Bench side wall. Perfect for morning coffee.
Learn A Process Without dead line, the garden was the first project I had to do. With Sofie, intern with me at this moment, we went there to take a break out of studio production. For a break and enjoy summer,
we start to removed all invasive plant far giving mor space to the other plants. The process was simple : do not think, do and see what comes out. It helped us to understand the studio Process.
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Space.
Antiparos.
Mockup Meeting
F i n a l mock-up Presentation
2 Months Concepts Proposal
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Living on an island named Antiparos in Greece. Our Client ask us to create outside furniture, a kitchen, a fireplace and a chilling area. I followed the project in the final proposal. But as the crisis in Greece seem to get worst, Client iced this colossal project.
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Photoshop steps
Step 1 : Landscape background Step 2 : Cleaning Step 3 : Textures Step 4 : Colors Step 5 : Lightning
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Final rendering coming out after the step 5
Reality Instead Of Virtuality Instead of use 3D modeling, We built direcly the rendering integrated on site landscape. Rendemock-up in scale 1/50. That allows us to apply ring generated on photoshop are afterwards used quick modifications and see how the space look. for client presentation. Painted and photographed, we use it to create
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Amsterdam.
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Layout 1:50 (when printed on A3) All measurements need to be controlled on site Ceiling height 2532 mm (to be confirmed, depending on choice of floor and underlay)
Mockup
Sketch
STUDIO GREILING www.studiogreiling.com April 7, 2015
F i n a l mock-up
Meeting
Presentation
First line
6 Weeks Research Concepts Proposal
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By drawing we found new line flows. Curves outline areas and let people free to use it as they want.
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Kitchen Desk Living Room
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Amsterdam Kitchen rendering
City House Inside the rendering three medium are used : drawing, mock-up and Photoshop. The melting of those support gives to the images an authentic aspect, specific to the Amsterdam project. Starting with the concept proposal top view drawing.
My mission was to deffine the furniture function and ergonomy by elevating the volumes. Working closely with Valentin, we deffine a line flow starting from the kitchen passing through the living room and ended in a cosy working desk.
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Palma.
f i r s t lines
Mockup
Mockup
Meeting
Go onsite
line evolution
Meeting
F i n a l mock-up Presentation
2 Months Research Concepts Proposal
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La Palma sketch and mock-up research
Artisanal House Based in Spain on the island of La Palma, the brief was to set the house up. Compose of only one room of 30 m², we had to integrate a kitchen, a dinning area, and a chill area for after dinner. Situated on a hill, the view is surronded by the
sea. It was important to highlight it. As the house is made of different material, we decide to make an interior simple and light. Without to many curves and materials. We used the Fall/Winter process inside, black and white as yin yang.
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Work In Detail We start the project by building the house in scale 1/ 25, then we talk a lot about the lines and how we are going to arrange the space. I made some proposition by quick mock-ups in order to deffine the size of each element. Then I draw the
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line on a plan and we modify with Valentin some curves to make it more accurate. The mock_up evolved with the project, I restarted it four times , that allowed me to be more and more precise in the finition and details.
Dining area in a sunset
Be inside Then my mission is to make feel to the client the atmosphere we want to provide inside the room. With pictures and photomontages, I tried to represent different moment in the day, that help the client to immerse himself into his future house. If
the client accept the proposition, we will go built it directly on site in spring. The mock-up is a tool that client like because they can see and tuch, it feel real and possible. They are confident to us, that let us free into our making process.
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Furniture.
1- Tenon mortise 2- Before last sanding 3- Waxed stool
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Table pasting, the paste is made with saw dust and wooden glue
Atelier Production Be intern inside an Artist-Maker workshop mean also work on the piece production. A bit scared at the begining to work on expensive pieces, time and repetition made me more confident. It is a work very pleasant because you are ap-
plying different process on an inert material that gives him all its value. The shape doesn’t matter so much the process is the matrix and by doing shapes appear by itself.
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Back sit pasting
Fall/Winter Prototype In the workshop for few days Valentin comes up with a new prototypes. After Fall/Winter process applied. A new chair is born. But as the chair is subject to change in proportion and Valentin could not make an other prototype now, so he
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asked me to make some modification thanks to photoshop. At the end, I came up with two proposals. Photoshop helped us to do quick and clean change. Pictures are now used by the galery to attract new clients.
Chait Fall/Winter prototype
Fall/Winter chair and bar stool
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Talking inside the workshop
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1- Detail brass and wood 2- New Chair and chest
New collection Composed of a round table, a chair, a bench and a chest, I had the chance to follow its creation from the beginning. As designer it can be difficult to understand but Valentin work alone. I did not have a specific role, but talking with all the
team about what we think and how Max could finish the welding. I felt integrated in the creation process. Working on stools, I saw the evolution from the steel frame to the acid treatment on the brass for the finishing aspect.
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Black Sit.
I find you in the garden, your sits were completly smashed. Both alone, I brought you in the atelier. Cosy and warm, I start to replace your missing parts and sand you in order to give you a new life. The process was long because I was not sure of what I was doing. I let you sleep for a while, but at the end you are here. Totally new and fresh. You are ready for a next century.
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Salvage in the garden
First sanding and new back sit
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Use of brenches make the chair stable
FIx missing part
Sanding Finition Inspiration
Sanding
Waw&Oil
Dead Zone
Salvage
5 Months Look Wait Do
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Last night sanding and waxing
Personal creation Black Sit is a synthesis of what I learned in the Studio. Reusing all the process I could use inside the workshop, I tried and let time does it works. Trying new process, I came up with two chairs.
Black frame and old patine style on the sits it gives to the collection an authentic aspect like if they where rebirth from the past. Like a phoenix rebirthing from his ash.
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Black sit chairs collection made by Cedric Breisacher
1.2_Conclusion.
Scale One The manual process used in the studio was really helpful. In that playground of material and feeling I find something closer to my personality. After a time watching people do, I start to do the same and by hand directly in volume mock-up and object takes life. Without drawing ideas, I tried to put all my feelings inside projects in order to fit with the studio. But coming from a school where the methodology is strong and well developed, I noticed that doing something with a material is a different approach. Now, I thought the object in another way. It change the scale of my drawing. More experimental and physical, compares to a sketch in 2D or a 3D modeling where the product can not be hold and need to be constantly clear in the imagination of people developing it. By making I can observe
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the line in three dimension. It made me able to shape lines that I couldn’t find on paper. Also built in scale one allows to experiment and feel emotion. I think object in a really simple way. Details are made in order to find the best compromise between time and making. My methodology evolve into a process of working, still close to humans, because I’m doing things for us and I can not be fill if what I do is not comfortable, clever, functional. But now I see it like a game between a material to play and a story. So at the end all is linked in order to end to something I never see. When something comes from my heart feeling and story comes out.
Personal Hand-Writing It took me almost four month to be able to make one stool by my self. It’s a long process to learn, also to be able to fit with an atmosphere and a group of co-workers. I ‘ve been patient and accurate in my movement. I liked this internship. The days inside the production wheel I don’t have time to think about myself, in a way it’s unstressfull. I had time to do a good work without any pressure and far away from industrial design. In a way, It reinforce my choice to do not work for a world company or a design studio. My way of creation need space and tools. I like industry but not integrated into a design process. I like them when they have a knowledge transmited generation to generation, stories to tell me about. In that I think what I learned here can be a key and can help those company to be deifferent on a market overloaded
by design things. Valentin learned me to work with galery, meet clients and to find a path in my journey. In my intern point of view, I knew being indispensable for mock -up or creativity about space project. I think in the end Valentin and I were really working together, with confidence and freedom. If I should give an advice to someone that want to go here it’s just: do it. Because Valentin doesn’t look on the portfolio or background. He can takes someone from psychology or UX/UI it doesn’t matter. At the moment the intern is motivated and want to do. He is welcome. It’s the intern that find it’s place inside the studio, because valentin doesn’t gives order. As intern I found my mission alone and develop something personal that valentin helped me to grow.
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Intern Involved My missions during the internship was very diversified. From the furniture, to the space passing throught the building in real. I could see a lot. As intern I had some responsability in order to make me more involved inside the team. The moment I prefered was in the workshop, learn to use all the tools, see a furniture taking life out of a raw planks was something nice. I had the chance to shape two stool from the rough part to the end finition. It’s crazy how much you are involve when you do something. Work on the two chairs was a big mission for me. Agreed by Valentin, I took the initiative to restored them in order to give a second life to it and also to make them unique. What makes a piece unique or interesting is its past. The fact to see its evolution in time and understand where does it comes from gives it the necessa-
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ry value. Like for Valentin did when he starts. By using old technics and with his hands. He used pasting to hide the junction with two wood pieces. With time tools evolved and this process becam its signature. When you look back the evolution make sense and that is why the studio work well. With him I learn to be myself and to sell what I feel. But more incoorporate into a life style than a commercial things. I change during this intrenship, before I was scared to do something, lack of self-confidence but I always been very social and being very close with the people I meet. Sometimes it can be wiered but when you know me you understand why. After five month and a lot of blister on my hands, I’m comfortable with myself and I know what to do to achieve my dreams.
2.0 - Audit
60_Before ideas comes 64_Creative Process 66_Analyse bilan 72_Conclusion
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2.1_Before Ideas Comes
Interview with Valentin Loellmann
Cedric : One time I asked you how do you make the price for a stool, I know that 50% goes for the galery and 50% for the studio. What do you have to manage with ? Valentin : Yeah it’s a bit difficult because you need to.. I don’t make a price for that. In general the money that goes to the studio is for the entire studio so its also supporting the other collection, prototype, projects, test. C: How much do you reserve for new collection ? V: I reserve evrything that is left. There is not realy a technic for that. We have pieces and we try to sell them all. When we sell them, sometimes we don’t keep any money because we have a lot of bills to pay. C: How do you manage this reserve ? V: It depends on the amounts of pieces that we sell in a month or in a year and some times there is money left. This money just keeps in the studio account for new projects. But I think the money thing is about a company.. C: Was it different when you started ? V: If you are a one man personne it doesn’t matter so much because you just do, you just work with the stuff you have. So you have material, you have some money and you have your time and your space. Then you just need to pay for the space. You have to organize that : you have enought material, time and energy to built the pieces to sell them. You don’t really need specific money for your self. C: Ok I understand, and now is there something change ? V: When it is a studio it’s different, every month I get payed as director of the studio. After that there is taxes and bills as rent, electricity, materials bills, i need to pay the assistants, all the assistant outside the studio, I mean the people that provide me material and then.. there are already some cost that need to be covered every month. These costs some how need to get in and to get them in we need to do new project all the time and we need to have a good marketing strategy to let the people know that we have new pieces. In that, it develops the values and it makes kind of sense. C: At the end it’s like a circle, always.. V: It’s a circle and I mean without the marketing you don’t really get the people attention, it’s very important nowadays to be in magazines, to have blogs writings about your staf, makes exhibition, galeries.. C: But you work already with two galeries, Isn’t it their job to support your new collection ?
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V: Galeries I have but for a galery, they try to sell as much as they can so they rather work with safe project like the stool. When I want to do something that is new it’s not easy for a galery to accept it, because they don’t know if they are able to sell if I make some very specific project. So this things, I need to be able to pay out of my personal studio budget and we have enought budget at the moment to make collection like this, that they are quite expensive but at a certain point we need to think about promoting them, making them popular, famus. So we need to get on fairs and exhibition that we are able to get the client for those pieces. C: Do you think about the client when you are building a new piece ? V: Its not only building a piece, you need also to do more to get the piece sold in the end. Normaly you need a maketing strategy but I can not really tell you a strategy because their is no real strategy. The strategy is just that, it realy depends on me in the end. How much I put into it, how much effort, how much time and motivation. If there is enough, people will feel it and will respond of it. Until now that’s how it works and pieces get their place in fairs and exhibition and clients in the end. C: It’s part of the process right ? V: Yes, like that I can make new pieces again that I can develop. I can make even more complicated, experimental or project and that how it grows so. When I started with a stool that cost me maybe one hundred euro to make with my own time. I go from the stoll, to a bench, to a table, to a dining set, to a sofa and then to different material that they are more expensive and then from this material to very complicated technics where I have people work for it. It’s getting to one piece to an other. When you look back its like a system where all pieces make sense at the end. C: What is your path of creation Valentn ? V: I’m not a company that is working like that. There is no real path, it’s just happening or it’s not happening. It’s realy dependings on my life, on my mind and on my mood, on my physical strengh and on my motivation. If there is enough for all this together, the piece just comes up. And it can be from one day to the other that I’m in the studio, I’m like «Ok we are going to do that now» but there is no strategy for that. The only strategy is that I ask my self enough question to keep being motivated and to keep being interested in going further and further. That why for exemple I change the studio, I put some plants inside. I need also sucess for that, to have the response from the audiance to get some.. C: Do you care about it ? V: Yeah I care about it, because it gives me also motivation to go on. I couldn’t work just for myself doing staff and put in a storage. I need to get rid of the pieces. I don’t want to keep the pieces for myself ,I don’t work for myself. The things we do in the studio are for clients and for bigger audiance. They should get out, for us to continue to make new stuff because we want to make new stuff. We don’t want to make things to sell them, to sell as most as possible, to create a perfect stool. That It’s nor really about that, it just..I do things to finish them, to give them away to be abble to make new things and that’s going further and further. C: What would you do if there was any response about your work ? V: If there will be no respond, no persone would buy it or no one would write about it. I probably wouldn’t do it because it wouldn’t make much sense for me. I’m not doing it for myself . What I do for myself is kipping the motivation, kipping the inspiration and in the end it s a circle because... yeah, in the end I do it for myself, because this fill my motivaton. C: What keeps you interested in your work ? V: That actual piece and the actual finish thing, once they are finished I’m not intersted anymore for myself. I mean then it’s finished and then it should go because i’m just interested in the process of creating and the idea, to have an idea in my mind and to make it happens to make it possible thats actually my job.
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Importance Of Communication Instagram and Facebook are made for quick reaction, it help to know quickly the reaction of people about what do a studio. It’s not enough. To reach new clients, an article on a good magazine is like a stamp. Being on a fair, an exhibition, is a door to get in a small world of people that can afford pieces like Valentin do.
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Localy Integrated For practical reason and get things done, a studio can ask to an other company to start the work. But it’s difficult to find good supplier. It takes times to meet the right people. Because most of the people do. At the end the material used to create a piece doesn’t matter so much. Valentin’Studio has never been about material and any material can be used if they provide the feeling into a piece. All material are nice. When you start to work with your hands, normally you should be able to do something nice out of any material. Creation is a space without limitation, if we start to say «No, it’s not ecologic» or «No, I don’t want to work with that», then you start to be limited. Being limited since the begining is like drive a car without engine. You do not go forward and you loose time. Creation is like our mission to do evrything to make it work. Most of time, a studio is not integrated into a local community, generaly works are for abroad and not for local. Most of the pieces done by Valentin are going outside the Netherland. But get and find material is what makes live a workshop. It is a long process of relationship, between you and the people, that a studio have to built. Leo Lemens wood industry is a good exemple of partnership, based twenty minutes far from maastricht it’s very practical and help a lot for the production. Thats why planks comes very roughs and not shaped.
Personal Thought That’s why maybe when a studio grow in a local surronding. It can help the local factory and push up the local economy. By producing localy we can involve more people than going abroad
,in China for exemple. Also If your relationship with suppliers grown as same as the studio, it should be able to get good quality material and promote a local industry and knowledge.
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2.2_Creative Process
Time Is The Only Limitation The process of creation is directly linked to your life style, emotion and feelings. It influence your idea and the aim of a process is to be able to transcribe what you have in your mind to other people. It’s not triying to design something but try to build something. To put a feeling in and realize an idea in something visual for other people. For Valentin Loellmann, when he want to transcribe a feelings he is like «So ok I will use this materials» . He start to look all the technics that can make it happens, this is the first thing to do,
and then he look for the people that can do it. The best things its to continu and not giving up. Sometimes the combination of material doesn’t work but it doesn’t matter so much because in a way we will always find a way to make it happens. The only limitation is that you are losing your time on trying. Because when you have to manage the marketing, materials, people working with you, you realize that your day are very short. Because at the end the only limitation is time.
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2.3_Analyse - Bilan
«I try to create a life style. Shapes and mateial are inspired by natural shapes. Linked to the nature, it’s the easiest way to get people in, I don’t know anyone who don’t like nature.»
Motivated By Doing Many designers start nowadays to built their own Atelier defining them self as craftman-designer, Valentin is not one of them. Without looking what do the other, he stays free to create and goes further and further. Working in small scale, the piece production can change one day to another. Not only on the number but also on the process making. Doing a process by «hand» allow you to be more reactive in a way that the production can be adapted to the client wishes. In a year, the studio can produce around eighty pieces. The work is always different but the production is limited in a way by the making capacity of our hands. But the studio only worked full time for two years, at the begining. Without being sure to produce all his life the collection fall/ Winter; Valentin prefere to stay free
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and manage the production in order to work on other project. The particularity of this studio is that it will never be the same. It’s not a company that produce furniture. The studio is really not interested in that. I think it’s boring too, produce for at least twenty years the same pieces as an artisan..It’s not a carpenter. This studio is going always further and push the limits, projects change and they are all linked to the life, moods and feelings of Valentin. Its a space where everything can be possible, there is no limit. Only time is. But if there is the right people time can goes slow.
It Became A Company It just happened. The studio is getting from one piece to an other since five years. To different technics that are getting more complicated and that involve more people. So at the end it became a company because things are getting bigger and bigger. As time is limited Valentin can not handle the counting, marketing and building. A studio can not be manage alone. So more and more people are involved. But Valentin is the one controling it, giving the direction to follow. It doesn’t matter if it’s not him doing the pieces, because they are just people doing his idea, he is the one who make that happens. So if he was not there all the people working with, they couldn’t do it. «Without me it’s not really functionning.». The process to make is functionning but for the feeling and the energy inside the pieces. It is his responsability. He put all his energy in order to make this happens and grow in the direction he wants.
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A Look To The Future During summer the studio was working on Valentin’house, this project will give a new direction to the studio. Already more focused on building space. Those projects will bring him maybe to urban furniture or social space, like art-performance or something else. As we did with the Meldkamer (Loellmann galery) this October. Spaces are really something where he can play with sensation and feeling. If the aim is to bring a vibe of feelings the people will fill it.
This is a new begining and this new path could bring him to realize skateparks in Africa or a flow inside shops in order to reach more people. That is one of the regret as he is building for rich client. He can not reach a lot of people that actually care. Social work are more valuable and fill a personal satisfaction. More visible and free, people comes and comes out change.
Be Able To Do Valentin want to be able to do what he have in his head and to translate it in real to make it understandable for other people. Make things by hands mean time and small production. I think nowaday a lot of workshop are coming on this field between art ans design. The studio ÂŤstrategyÂť is based on people that are looking for something more human with personality. The story transcribe inside a product is what people look before buying. It have to be something powerful, something from the heart.
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Personal Though The organisation of the studio is quite logical. It grows naturally and with time Valentin involved the people he need to go further. Now the studio is getting to a new path. Different from the furniture but still linked. This new path will gives to the studio new air to become bigger. I liked to work inside during this period and follow the changement. Mock-up for space were built each month and the production of furniture reduced after the two first month. Also during this experience I could really learn more about a real creative process linked to your own fellings. Something you never experience in Product Design. I really believe now that small workshop are kind of a resistance in front of all those big USA stu-
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dio branding massively with big company to bring them in the next century. Not being inside a studio that do industrial design reinforce my motivation to do my work in another way. I like industry and knowledge. For me it is essential to start something new. Work locally with your friends and manufacturer, with material that provide a feeling of home. Nature is something I really loved. The new generation of Art-tissant is linked to the heart. Like all the artist and designer I met in maastricht .
When the first day I pushed the door of the studio, I felt like a big wave of nature hearting my head. At the begining I didn’t know what was my role to play inside the Studio. So I start to do and make a lot of mistakes, in a way I learn about myself and my work. I know, now I will do. With my hands and my heart on a path to «Why» but surely somewhere else.
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2.4_Conclusion
Local & Knowledge I believed in a social and responsible way of production that promotes knowledge and local material. Product Design is perceived as a vector of innovation and economy for a company, that is true. But that is why also the word « design » has been popularized and lost its meaning. I think every body are or can be a designer since the moment they think in order to improve their daily live. It can be by DIY, or reusing old furniture. Everyone is doing that and massively student that do not have enough money to buy expensive furnitures. In that field the sweddish does something nice, allowing people to furnishing their flat with very sheap object that they will change next year. Everyone has the same and all the flat look the same. In that way furniture made by the studio are not for usual consumer. Valentin Loellmann offer
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furniture of high quality with a strong identity. Made for people who can afford it, he also make gift for freind and people around him. Produce furniture with heart that can stay for years in a room without being unfashioned is an alternative to our economical system motivated in buy, use, throw and do it again. People comes to return to hand made knowledge and localy made product because they are tired to change each year. I know not evryone can buy a furniture from a creator but with the emergence of small craft-man designer, the well made furnishing start to reapiring again, facing an industry more and more automatized.
Function Of A Design Management
Industrial aesthetics is a design tool that makes the difference between designer and engineers. The function of design management is integrated inside the process of object creation because the designer is the one that will go see the man wich is at the end of the production line in order to improve the product. Because the worker behind his extruder is the one that will allow to win on production cost, make easier the product industrialisation by modifying with him the curve or the wide of a material on a piece. A designer make a round trip continuously between conception area (engineer, production chief, direction and marketing) He is capable of transcribe the story of creation directly to the seller ears. The storry telling or this capacity to pull up information since the production line to the user is a strengh. It unit all the steps of the company. In-
side our society of virtual image and product without soul, the user ask to hang to something simple and more human. That’s why tell the story about the birth of a product is a marketing plus but most of all it justify the presence of the product on the market.
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Slow-Production, An Alternative Slow-production is to make product in a small range following a responsible way of production. The amont of pieces is limited by the maker and determined by the amount of order. By making product in small edition, the production can be adapted to the client. Once a maker find a way to produce his pieces, he can developed it in many different range. The collection is part of the communication to reach client. After the product can be decline to fit with the client wich. Make product means material ressource and people who work with the atelier. An atelier is completly integrated in a social and local economy. Those small workshop growing evrywhere are the next step into a moral and responsible production. It’s not because I support eco minded product that all product need to be ecologicaly made. Ecology is a matter of proportion. When you buy a bio shampoo, you don’t know exactly where does it comes from and if trees has been cuted to make it or when chinese want to flored an entire building with massiv parquet, you need an entire forest for that. Ecology is not make bio sourced product. Being responsible and logical are the key to minimize our footprint on the planet. For few years we do not changed and we are still polluting the same and even worst. In the past some groups already tried to generalize nice and well made product for everyone. Art & Craft movement during 1880 to 1910, with the utopie to generalize craft-man knowledges and good furniture in order to faced the start of industrialisation noticed with bad quality furnitures produced in series. At
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the age of a new third industrial revolution, we are in a boarder. New artisan want to promote a work with a soul and knowledge that we have in our contries. The problem is hand made furniture are expensive, because of the time of work and the quality material. William Morris as a fervent defensor of the working class tried to generalize that idea but industry was not prepared. Nowaday with the number of local designers and the fablab emergence we can think about it again. In twenty century the bauhaus generalize the making of tubular steel furniture with Marcel Breuer, they achieve a new typologye of making combinating industry and workshop that generalize the use of steel furnishing inside modernism houses. In our century we are between to conception of industry. I believe that hand-made can be helped by industry and vice versa.
Social Action In Maastricht, I helped to renovate a old building. With a group of student, we tilled a bathroom and a kitchen floor. I’m not a tiller or something else but as I kow the process in order to finish things, people followed me in my ideas and together we made it happens. A designer can impact on the social behaviour of people. Our methodology can be applied inside an integrated design process but also in day to day life.This experience inside this collective proof that designer, maker have a rôle to play for social action. Into the next industrial revolution, design is a tool that can be used in many different way as create social and alternativ movement or help industry in order to make a better world for people.
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It was a fantastic adventure, I will come back very soon. Thanks you for evrything you did for me; The internship was awesome full of great moment and nice people. See you soon somewhere.
To Valentin, Lukas, Max, Maurizio and Sofie.
Internship Report & Audit Cedric Breisacher
2015