A New Pop-Up Store For Jewellery

Fashion design / Exhibitions

Together since graduation, three jewellery designers are opting out of the art fair circuit and experimenting with pop-up stores. This time in Amsterdam as part of Dutch Design Double.

By Gabrielle Kennedy / 21-09-2009

Since graduating from the Rietveld Academey, Ineke Heerkens, Jeannette Jansen and Jantje Fleischhut have been exhibiting their hand-made jewellery pieces as a collective ensemble.

As part of the Inside Design Amsterdam design route for Dutch Design Double, the trio have arranged a pop-up shop, Op Voorraad, in the Jordaan in Amsterdam.

When it opened last Saturday, the tiny space attracted an enthusiastic crowd or curious shoppers.

Sixty six designers were asked to design and produce a limited edition of five pieces. The original works are made from a variety of materials ranging from gold, glass and plastic to rope, ceramics, wax and leather. “There were no stipulations,” says Jansen. “The pieces could be made from anything and there were no price limits.”

Jansen’s pieces include a bold dragonfly knotted from ropes and a long chain necklace threaded through an architectural line drawing of a domestic house. “I was inspired by a very typical German game,” she says. “When I was a child, we had to draw a house in one line without stopping. The house is one of those drawings and the chain threads through the glass piping in one piece. The pipes then bend and the house can become 3D.”

Heerkens’ piece, inspired by the approaching autumn, is a series of layered necklaces made from textiles to resemble mushroom and flower buds. Fleischhut took the trend of recycling and fashioned delicate snowdrop brooches from old-fashioned skis. Turned sideways you can see the layered material, including a strip of alluminium that was used in early ski models. She also made some colourful necklaces from chopped up bits of discarded pens.

Jansen, Heerkens and Fleischhut used to exhibit in design fairs, but have more recently opted for the pop-up shop concept to maintain more independence. “I think it works because people come with a different attitude," Heerkens says. "People are so formal in galleries, but here the jewellery and the designers are more approachable. People can touch things and ask questions. Also, because we have included so many designers I think people can get a good feel for what is going on in the contemporary art field.”

Op Voorraad – Jewellery Pop Up Store will be open next Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 7pm.

Vinkenstraat 154
1013 JW Amsterdam

Images: portrait of Jansen, Heerkens and Fleischhut - small from top - Jansen’s dragonfly and house, Heerkens’ autumn buds, Fleischhut's ski buds.