A New Design Brand

Product design

A new Dutch design label wants to make a political statement about a changing society.

By Editor Design.nl /asdf 05-10-2012

A new Dutch design brand called Prints van Oranje started last week. Prints of Orange refers to the last name of the royal family.

Prints van Oranje wants to assemble designers who want to apply old Dutch design concepts in a new way, recognizing the many foreign influences felt in this country.

"There is an interest in old Dutch traditions on the one hand," says initiator Ab Oosterhof, "on the other hand there are influences from all over the world in our society."

So the vision is to combine, for example, an old Dutch print design not seen in any modern design store with islamic geometric patterns. This is a sensitive issue in a country that has seen the rise of a strong anti-immigrant political movement during the last decade. Oosterhof clearly acknowledges the foreign influx and the successive changes brought to society.

First items of the collection were shown at the recent design fair Meesterlijk in Amsterdam: a tablecloth and carpet by textile designers Remi Veldhoven and Geanne Welles, and crockery by ceramicist Imre Bergmann.

The brand and it's webshop are open for new contributors.

Images: Tablecloth "Kockengen" with matching cup and saucer. Rug "Embroidery".