By Cassandra Pizzey / 03-05-2012

Design.nl spoke with Victor le Noble (general director alongside creative director Frederik Roijé) of the brand about designers, industrial design and the importance of local production.

Why did you feel the need to start a new product brand?

“There is a lot of young design talent in The Netherlands with great ideas but there are not enough brands to exploit them. These designers tend to work with beautiful craft techniques but most brands don’t, so the designers are left with exclusive galleries where their designs can be sold as limited editions. For us, designing is about creating products which are innovative, sustainable and available.”

How do you plan to implement that vision?

“It’s important to really look at an idea and tweak it in order to create a great product. We aim for high quality by producing locally in The Netherlands, this also ensures a higher level of sustainability thanks to lower transport costs  which keep the prices lower too. The Netherlands is famed for its innovation sector, bringing craft and new technologies together.”

Which designers do you have on board and what do they have in common?

“For the first collection we worked with Kranen/Gille, Dave Keune, Frederike Top, Slim Ben Ameur, Tweelink, Sjoerd Jonkers and Nieuwe Heren. All the products are industrially produced and have that clean aesthetic which comes with it.”

At the Milan presentation we saw a wide range of products varying from Kranen/Gille chairs and Tweelink candlesticks to carpets by Sjoerd Jonkers. Either as stand-alone pieces or combined, their seemed to be a cohesion between each of the pieces, how was that achieved?

“We have a combination of existing projects by designers such as the rugs by Sjoerd Jonkers or the light by Nieuwe Heren, products which have been further developed for the brand such as the vases by Slim Ben Ameur and products which were created especially for New Duivendrecht. There was a good relationship between the brand and the designers; sometimes products needed to be changed slightly so they could be produced for a realistic market, for a low cost price.”

What do you hope to achieve with New Duivendrecht?

“We see the brand as a fictional village where beautiful products are created and produced. The most important thing in The Netherlands is ensuring our knowledge of craft isn’t lost. We have seen more and more production move to Asian countries but lately smaller local producers have been receiving commissions again. Feeding craft is a way to keep innovating, because however good your ideas are, they need to be produceable. Designers need to understand this and be able to efficiently produce their products.”

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