Furniture Factory by Lucas Maassen & Sons

Product design

Child labour or just a fun project to involve the kids? The latest product range by Lucas Maassen & Sons questions our Western view on Eastern child labour.

By Cassandra Pizzey /asdf 04-01-2012

At a glance, the hand-painted furniture series made by Lucas Maassen & Sons seems like a lovely family effort, with its bright colours, unfinished look and dripping paint details. A closer inspection reveals that designer Lucas Maassen is actually employing his three sons (aged 9 and 7) to do the paint work.

The pine-wood desks, chairs, cupboards and mirrors that comprise Furniture Factory are painted with vivid blues, pinks and oranges and given a transparent coating for protection. But why does Maassen feel the need to employ his sons (who receive €1 per finished unit)?

"My sons were the starting point for this project," explains the designer. "I wanted to start a family business. But also this project looks at child labour. Many products around us are made by Asian children, but if we can't actually see it, we tend to ignore it."

By employing his three sons to work 3 hours a week (the legal amount according to Dutch child labour laws), Maassen aims to make the limitations of western "maybe a bit spoiled" children visible and, at the same time, use this as a look.
As the boys are only allowed to work for such a short period every week, time is of the essence and speed has become a crucial factor in the process - which explains the somewhat quirky, dripping look.

For Maassen, there are added benefits to employing his own kids: "In these times of economic crisis it's interesting to look at new production methods, and of course it's fun to work with my sons."
Earning €1 per completed piece of furniture (a salary negotiated between the two parties) and working according to a signed contract, the Maassen boys have gained interest from their peers.
"Now their friends want to come and work with us. They think its a good way to earn money."

Wether employing your offspring will become a trend in the near future is yet to be seen, in the meantime lets hope Furniture Factory doesn't become too popular, or Lucas Maassen & Sons will be needing additional family members.