Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

Inside track

With Design September kicking off in the Belgian capital this month, Guy Dittrich seeks out the cutting-edge places to shop for interior design in Brussels and Antwerp

Belgium punches above its weight when it comes to interior design. Collections from local and international designers are easily accessible in boutiques across the country, and furniture from the whole of the 20th century – art deco to pop art – is well represented. And there’s no better time than now to explore this wealth of creativity, as Brussels launches the annual Design September festival (www.designseptember.be).

Design September showcases a host of furniture and product designers, with retailers in the capital vying for the chance to be selected for the Expo section of the event. “In order to join, shops must put on a special exhibition that goes well beyond their usual display,” explains event organiser Marie Pok. As a starting point for exploring Brussels’ interior design, Pok recommends niche retailer Septante Sept in the south central suburb of Ixelles, which promotes young Belgian talent, showing limited-release items often produced by the designers themselves.

High hopes

Just alongside the central fashion street of Rue Antoine Dansaert, the eponymous studio of Daniel Perahia has also been selected to participate at this year’s event, with his Design des Pays des Montagne exhibition. “I want to show something more than what everyone can see in the design magazines,” says Perahia. Accordingly, he’s invited Jörg Boner, designer for Wogg and art director for Nanoo, to describe in person some of his work for these Swiss furniture brands. His designs include the Wogg50 chair – a modern development of the moulded plywood series by Charles & Ray Eames that includes parts created using a CNC (computer numerical control) milling machine. Perahia will also show pieces by Nils Holger Moormann, whose workshop is located in the foothills of the Bavaria Alps and whose work Perahia stocks exclusively in Belgium.

Design collective Diito also provides interior design services, and they too will hold a special event during Design September. Finland Attitude references the birthplace of Atte Behm, one of Diito’s three founders, with a celebration of that country’s design. “The event considers the timelessness of Finnish design… between tradition and modernity,” explains partner Philippe Clavier. The contemporary craft- based work of Company from Helsinki will initially be presented in a mobile pop-up shop travelling around Brussels before arriving at the Diito studio alongside the more permanent collections from Tom Dixon, Established & Sons and local talents Dust Deluxe and Charlotte Lancelot.

Aged to perfection

For a different approach to interior design shopping, Brussels’ vintage furniture scene is loosely located in two main areas. For a more upmarket version – read clean and well presented – head for the area around well-to-do Place Brugmann. Raymond Debessel leads the way here, with a beautiful presentation of mid-20th century Scandinavian furniture and Italian lighting at gallery-like Faisons un Rêve. A few doors along is Influences, opened in January, showing an eclectic range of collectables – from the fur-lined bronze Fausto stool by Novello Finotti for Gavina and original Marcel Breuer tubular steel Wassily chairs to the Little Albert chair designed by Ron Arad in 2000.

Alternative stretches of vintage furniture are to be found along Rue Haute and Rue Blaes in the edgy and slightly grubby Marolles area. There are some real finds to be had here, from the humorous, mind-altering selection of curiosities in Stefantiek to the more assured collections of Fins de Siècles, hosting quality items of furniture from the art deco era onwards. But the places with the widest selection are those that bring together a number of different dealers under one roof. Via Antica, opened in the spring, is an enormous space over two floors showing the collections of around 30 dealers, each with their own style; negotiate with Vanessa or Brigitte, who work on behalf of the dealers. A similar but slightly more exclusive experience can be found with the 10 dealers at Les Mémoires de Jacqmotte.

Reclaimed retail

Heading to Flanders, Antwerp boasts its own cluster of design and vintage shops along Kloosterstraat. Start out at slightly shabby Fiftie Fiftie, home to some of the beautiful mobile–like lamps from Serge Mouille. Or enjoy the grandeur of 18th-century Swedish furniture at The Old & the Beautiful. Across the street is the unique Loft Parts, where Freddy Morel specialises in furniture made from reclaimed aircraft. A similar recycling approach is followed in Hadhi, opposite, with the strapline of ‘fair is beautiful’ emphasising the store’s fair-trade approach. Finally, designer Luc Van de Wouwer brings together the best out-of-production Scandinavian furniture from 1940 to 1970 at his discreet showroom across town, Gallery 70; expect pieces from Finn Juhl, Peter Hvidt and Orla Mölgaard.

New concepts

Antwerp is famed for its fashion, so it’s fitting that beautiful interior design treats can be found at two of its latest and most glamorous leftfield concept stores. YOUR Premium Store, opened in March, includes a diverse range of interior products for all budgets, from bubble lamps by George Nelson to French Tolix chairs amidst the latest fashions, cosmetics and accessories, accompanied by live DJ. Similar but slightly more grown-up is Graanmarkt 13, where Ilse Cornelissens has brought together some unusual design pieces alongside fashion and accessories. “You never know if the mix of design and fashion is going to work,” she says, “but we’re very pleased with the outcome. We aim to find design pieces that you won’t find in other design stores.” Look out for white ceramics by Bauhaus and KPM, coloured glass vases by Kate Hume for Belgian design company When Objects Work, and the limited edition ‘This & That’ series of humorously decorated glass domes from Secondome. All Graanmarkt 13’s furniture, including the stunning curved sideboard by Vincenzo de Cotiis, is for sale.

Finally, if the vast range of interior design products on offer in these cities proves too much to take in during one trip, try visiting the edited collection of La Fabrika (www.lafabrika.be), a virtual showroom with pieces from Matthew Hilton, Konstantin Grcic, Giò Ponti and local talents Benoît Deneufbourg and Marina Bautier. Concise and precisely presented, it couldn’t be simpler to find some inner beauty here.

On with the shows

Three more must-visit events on the Belgian design calendar this autumn

Interieur
15-24 October, www.interieur.be

For an informed overview of the world of design, don’t miss Interieur in Kortrijk (an hour west of Brussels by train), where you’ll find high-end products from Belgium and around the world. This 22nd edition of the event will see Japanese designer Junya Ishigami creating his installation PICNIC, while Belgian Bram Boo will display a series of his fanciful products that merge the conceptual with the practical.

Fighting the Box
until 3 October, www.lacentraleelectrique.be

Set in former electrical generating station in Brussels, Fighting the Box explores the challenges faced by designers in getting from conception to production. “Design is similar to all creative processes,” explains curator Giovanna Massoni, “but at the point of production it becomes different… When design becomes industrial design.” The tensions between designer and producer are knowledgeably explored through projects from 20 Belgium designers.

International Design Biennial Liège
1-24 October, www.designliege.be

An hour’s train east of Brussels, the fifth edition of this biennial chooses as its theme Design Nature, taking an in-depth look at the impact of the natural world on design. The approach is more cultural than product-driven, appealing to those with an eye for the multidisciplinary nature of design, while the retail aspect comes in the form of 27 shops around the city participating in a shopping tour.

FR Parcours intérieur

Le festival Design September redémarre ce mois-ci dans la capitale belge. Guy Dittrich part à la recherche des lieux les plus tendances du design à Bruxelles et à Anvers

Avec Design September (designseptember.be), septembre est le meilleur moment pour explorer la scène du design intérieur à Bruxelles. Du côté des créations contemporaines, l’organisatrice Marie Pok recommande Septante Sept à Ixelles, qui soutient les jeunes talents. Le studio Daniel Perahia, près de la rue Antoine Dansaert, avec son exposition « Design des Pays des Montagnes » montre pour sa part des créations du Suisse Nils Holger Moormann.

Des pièces vintage ? Prenez la direction de la Place Brugmann. Faisons un Rêve expose du mobilier scandinave et des luminaires italiens du milieu du XX siècle, et Influences des pièces de collection éclectiques. Dans le quartier des Marolles, rues Haute et rue Blaes, il y a de vraies trouvailles à faire. De Stefantiek à Fins de Siècles, tous débordent de curiosités art déco et plus.

À Anvers, les boutiques de design et d’antiquités se concentrent sur la Kloosterstraat. On recense chez Fiftie Fiftie des lampes mobiles signées Serge Mouille. Si vous penchez pour le mobilier suédois du XVIII siècle, allez au The Old & the Beautiful. Gallery 70 rassemble du mobilier scandinave de 1940 à 1970.

Faites aussi un saut dans les boutiques de créateurs anversoises. YOUR Premium Store propose des objets pour tous les budgets, tandis que Graanmarkt 13 regroupe des objets uniques, tels les céramiques blanches du Bauhaus ou les vases en verre de Kate Hume.

Vous voulez faire votre shopping de chez vous ? Visitez La Fabrika (lafabrika.be), un showroom virtuel de talents locaux et internationaux.

NL Innerlijk parcours

In het kader van de aftrap in de Belgische hoofdstad van Design September gaat Guy Dittrich op zoek naar trendy interieurdesign in Brussel en Antwerpen

Geen beter moment om het interieurdesign in België te gaan ontdekken dan wanneer Design September (designseptember.be) Brussel aandoet. Voor hedendaagse stukken raadt organisatrice Marie Pok Septante Sept aan in Elsene. De Daniel Perahia studio, nabij de Antoine Dansaert straat, werd eveneens geselecteerd met zijn Design des Pays des Montagnes expositie, waar u Zwitserse meubels van Nils Holger Moormann terugvindt.

Voor vintage kunt u terecht op het bemiddelde Brugmannplein. Bij Faisons un Rêve vindt u midden 20 eeuwse Scandinavische meubels en Italiaanse lampen, en bij Influences eclectische verzamelitems. In de Hoogstraat en Blaesstraat in de Marollen kunt u eveneens uw gading vinden, bij Stefaniek en Fins des Siècles vindt u onder andere talrijke art deco stukken terug.

De design en vintage winkeltjes van Antwerpen vindt u in de Kloosterstraat. Bij Fiftie Fiftie kunt u terecht voor mobiele lampen van Serge Mouille. Bij The Old & the Beautiful ontdekt u de grandeur van 18de eeuws meubilair en bij Gallery 70 tot slot vindt u Scandinavische meubels van 1940 tot 1970.

Voor koopjes op het gebied van interieurdesign vindt u bij YOUR Premium Store stukken voor alle budgetten. Bij Graanmarkt 13 vindt u bijzondere stukken: witte keramiek van Bauhaus en glazen vazen van Kate Hume.

Shopt u tot slot liever thuis? Surf dan naar La Fabrika (lafabrika.be), een virtuele showroom van internationaal en plaatselijk talent.

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