Development 2007 – present

Ten years ago the Netherlands’ oldest company, Royal Tichelaar Makkum, decided to take a resolutely different course. Two of the company’s core values – knowledge and craftsmanship – were now no longer viewed as a means, but as an end in themselves. The aim was to enable the company to continue by seeking new applications for its craftsmanship and knowledge of ceramics. Together with designers and architects, the company develops new products, material applications and combinations. The first collaboration came in 1999, when Hella Jongerius approached Tichelaar to produce her porcelain ‘B-set’ service. This was quickly followed by partnerships with other Dutch designers including Jurgen Bey, Alexander van Slobbe, Dick van Hoff and Studio Job.

The company’s submission for the Rotterdam Design Prize comprises its developments from 2007 to the present and shows how its products are still governed by the concept it formulated in 1999. Values such as culture, tradition, innovation, knowledge growth and craftsmanship play an important role in the developments over the past two years. The underlying concepts and knowledge are as essential to Tichelaar’s submission as the finished products.

Tichelaar always approaches designers with a specific commission. The company asked Dick van Hoff to explore ways of broadening the scope of ceramics. In response in 2007 he made the ‘Work’ collection of desk accessories. In 2009 he was approached to rethink the traditional tiled stove. The stove project was a collaboration with Weltevree and is part of the ‘Fundamentals of Makkum’. In 2008, to draw attention to the scarcity of craftsmanship in the Western world, Tichelaar commissioned four designers – Hella Jongerius, Jurgen Bey, Studio Job and Alexander van Slobbe – to make contemporary interpretations of a traditional flower pyramid in the collection ‘Pyramids of Makkum’. The Clay Service developed by Atelier NL in 2009 focuses on the use of local materials and traditional craft skills. The Clay Service is also part of the series ‘Fundamentals of Makkum’.