October 2015

Echo - Exhibtion

As part of the Echo Exhibition, taking place in Plymouth from the 12th of October until the 7th of November, we are exhibiting two pieces of our textiles collection; the Wednesday Curtain and Shadow, designed in collaboration with Kvadrat.

The exhibition focuses on the infinite possibilities available to artists through repeating a singular form, action or process. It features 18 makers from the Crafts Council Collection and beyond, exploring the potential to embrace both machine and handmade processes.

The show has been curated by a group of eight second year Contemporary Crafts students, supported by the Crafts Council and the exhibitions team at Plymouth College of Art.

September 2015

London Design Festival 2015

For this years London Design Festival we'll be celebrating our recent collaborations at our studio with a show titled 'Luxury of Scale' - Presenting luxury objects at scales that can adorn the body and a space: from a collection of colourful jewellery commissioned by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam to our flourishing Botanical Chandelier, first shown in Milan this year, and new furniture pieces designed for Porta Romana.

We're part of the exciting Shoreditch Design Triangle where we'll be open till 8pm on Tuesday 22 along with many other creatives in the area.

The London Design Festival is on from Saturday 19 to Sunday 27 September.

Our LDF opening hours:

11 – 6pm Monday – Saturday
12 – 5pm Sunday
Late night opening: Tuesday 22 till 8pm

September 2015

New pieces for Porta Romana

A smaller version of our Ivy Shadow chandelier for Porta Romana has launched as part of their new collection Elemental, as well as an Ivy Shadow Mirror and Sunny Forest console table.

We’ll have the chandelier and mirror on show at our space at as part of London Design Festival later this month.

September 2015

Jewellery collection for the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam

Our new collection of jewellery is a modern-day representation of three of Vincent van Gogh’s seminal works: Almond Blossom, Sunflowers and The Potato Eaters.
Commissioned by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam the collection launched in early September 2015 to coincide with the opening of the museum’s new entrance hall that includes a new shop.

Taking inspiration from the brilliant colours, characteristic brushwork and objects that appear in the paintings, the collection uses both modern and traditional production techniques to bring to life Van Gogh’s work.

Part of the Design range, we also designed and produced the packaging for all the jewellery working with manufacturers in Great Britain.

Pictured is our Almond Blossom paper necklace:

Inspired by the Almond Blossom painting, where I imagine the delicate blossoms to sway in the spring breeze, this paper cutting unfolds into a garland necklace of almond blossoms. It is made of a very strong paper and can be worn several times or used as a decoration.

2015 marks 125 years since Vincent van Gogh’s death (1853-1890).

More details on the collection to come.

September 2015

Swarovski 120th anniversary video

Tord shares insights into how he uses crystal to push the creative boundaries of his work in the latest of Swarovski’s series of exclusive video interviews marking its 120th anniversary.

From the Blossom chandelier, originally conceived for Swarovski Crystal Palace, to Cherry Rocks, jewellery of richly coloured crystals combined with cherry pips from his aunt’s garden, the collaborative relationship is one that’s lasted over a decade.

Our most recent project is the Chambers of Wonder at Swarovski Kristallwelten (Swarovski Crystal Worlds), which reopened in April 2015 to coincide with the anniversary. Featuring Silent Light, designed with Alexander McQueen in 2003 for the Victoria and Albert Museum London, the 6 metre high tree is made up of 150,000 sparkling Swarovski crystals.

Swarovski’s series of videos features top creatives and brands from a diverse range of design fields—fashion, jewellery, accessories, lighting, automotive and electronics

August 2015

Extreme Glass conference

Tord will be a speaker at this year’s North Lands Creative Glass conference that takes place from the 4th – 6th of September. Themed ‘Extreme Glass: a focus on material and process’ the conference will examine the diverse materiality of glass and glassmaking techniques.

North Lands is Scotland’s centre of excellence in glass making. Located in the wild and dramatic landscape of Caithness on the North East Coast of Scotland, it’s one of the world’s most prestigious centres for the study and development of glass as an artform, providing excellent facilities, opportunities and inspiration to artists working with glass from all over the world.

Find out more about the conference here

July 2015

Many a Slip: a group show at Marsden Woo Gallery

An ambitious group exhibition curated by gallery artist Alison Britton, our friends Marsden Woo Gallery invited leading designers, artists and writers to juggle with the domestic symbol of ‘the cup’.

A mini prototype of an espresso cup from our Table Stories collection, made to the wrong dimensions, is part of the show.

Look forward to an explosion of imaginative responses from each of their gallery artists alongside a diverse selection of over 90 participants.

Open now, the show will be on through the summer until 5 September.

Visit Many a Slip: invited artists juggle with the domestic symbol of 'the cup’ at Marsden Woo Gallery, 23 Charlotte Road.

July 2015

Presenting the Transglass Chandelier

Launched during the ORIGINALS exhibition at Sotheby’s in December 2014, the Transglass Chandelier is the newest addition to the iconic Transglass range originally created in 1997 by Tord Boontje and Emma Woffenden.

It was inspired by the natural form of pine cones collected whilst walking amongst the woods surrounding Tord’s studio in France.

The glass is manufactured in Guatemala City as part of an educational project that gives young people the opportunity to learn the skills of glasswork, many of whom have become experts in cutting and polishing the recycled glass bottles.

For enquiries regarding the Transglass Chandelier please contact the studio.

May 2015

Chairy Tales at COLLECT: The International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects

We’ve been invited to exhibit at COLLECT: The International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects by organisers the Crafts Council. Titled Chairy Tales, the display of 11 chairs celebrates Tord’s exploration in chair design starting with the celebrated Rough-and-Ready chair.

Chairy Tales is a presentation during COLLECT 2015 of eleven chairs, which I designed between 1999 and 2015. Each of theses chairs was made for different purposes in different materials, using different techniques. Together as a collection, they form a narrative of the development of my practice and illustrate the diversity of my work.

- Tord Boontje

COLLECT 2015 presented by the Crafts Council UK is on from 8th to 11th May at the Saatchi Gallery.

Opening Times:
Friday 8th May 12 - 6pm
Saturday 9th May 11am – 6pm
Sunday 10th May 11am – 6pm
Monday 11th May 11am – 4pm

April 2015

A New Era of Wonder at Swarovski Kristallwelten

Swarovski Kristallwelten (Swarovski Crystal Worlds), one of Austria’s most popular attractions, is celebrating the 120th anniversary of Swarovski and its own 20th anniversary. On April 30, 2015, the wonderful crystalline destination is reopening its gates after an extensive expansion. Artists and designers from all over the world have created an expansive park landscape, with unique installations and new buildings. Furthermore, five of the Chambers of Wonder inside the Giant were also redesigned.

The Chambers of Wonder – designed along the lines of the historical Ambras Castle in Innsbruck – have fascinated the public for 20 years. In 2015, a new era of wonder will begin. As part of this new era of wonder, Studio Tord Boontje has re-designed their romantic winter landscape entitled Silent Light.

At the center of Silent Light is the eponymous, spectacularly sparkling crystal tree by designers Tord Boontje and Alexander McQueen, one of the most photographed objects in Swarovski Crystal Worlds. Its 150,000 sparkling Swarovski crystals, which inspired Tord to create a complete Chamber of Wonder, evoke images of a bone-chillingly cold and yet heartwarmingly romantic winter landscape. Especially in the spring and summer, this miracle world creates a magical contrast to the reality outside the door.

See more on our Chamber of Wonder here