The exhibition held in the Schellens Fabriek, an old textile factory that has been re-appropriated into a space for design and cultural events, showcased a diverse body of work that demonstrates how materials can lead the creative process.

designers appropriating inappropriate materials

appropriate material

Schellens Fabriek, Bleekweg poort C, Eindhoven, NL
Dutch Design Week, October 23–31, 2010—12:00-19:00 daily
Saturday 23 October, 2010—19:00   Opening
Saturday 30 October, 2010—19:00  Food event and closing


Appropriate Material is a collective exhibition of work that demonstrates how materials can lead the creative process. In each project, designers develop the materials beyond their original purpose, evolving them with the use of the product.

From October 23–31, furniture, garments and photographs will be exhibited in the main hall of the Schellens Fabriek. All are welcome at an opening event on the evening of the 23rd, and a special food tasting event—Pre-served—and closing party on the 30th.


Featured designers 
    Martin Born
    Camille Cortet  
    Garance Echazarreta
    Nichon Glerum
    Rachel Griffin
    Elke van den Berg
    Max Lipsey
    Carolina Reis
    Erasmus Scherjon
    Els Woldhek

Food event    
    Pre-served:
    Michèle Champagne
    Amélie Onzon
    Martina Rosati

the beast garance echazarreta In the beginning there is the matter, the hay fields, forming large stacks punctuating the landscape, abstract as a playground.As an inspiration, the hay is then transposed into foam, voluminous, tamed, comfortable.And like a natural fiber, foam is woven.A wooden bench welcomes a web of foam that releases its material from the frame.Foam which is usually used for upholstery remains consequently hidden and compressed.But in The Beast it becomes an autonomous element which makes sense in the mass.Between structured and messy, the user can adjust the comfort, sit on foam or hide into it…

the beast garance echazarreta

In the beginning there is the matter, the hay fields, forming large stacks punctuating the landscape, abstract as a playground.
As an inspiration, the hay is then transposed into foam, voluminous, tamed, comfortable.
And like a natural fiber, foam is woven.
A wooden bench welcomes a web of foam that releases its material from the frame.
Foam which is usually used for upholstery remains consequently hidden and compressed.
But in The Beast it becomes an autonomous element which makes sense in the mass.
Between structured and messy, the user can adjust the comfort, sit on foam or hide into it…

bird and seduction camille cortet Animals have miraculous ways of transforming themselves in response to their environment, by changing their size, colour or texture. Transformations rediscovers animal culture by translating our own cultural language into expressive clothing and adornments. This collection of turned-up collars imitates Birds of Paradise.

bird and seduction camille cortet

Animals have miraculous ways of transforming themselves in response to their environment, by changing their size, colour or texture. Transformations rediscovers animal culture by translating our own cultural language into expressive clothing and adornments. This collection of turned-up collars imitates Birds of Paradise.

polite light martin born

Fluorescent wall/ceiling light with sprayed-on shade.

The polite light is a non-spectacular piece featuring a few characteristics worth mentioning.

First of all, it is a light, drawn in obedience of the conditions for light in the interior. In other words, it is not a (focal, hypnotic, …) object as many lamps may be. Rather, it is of a subject-to condition, as it above all responds to the requirements posed by purpose and environment (distribution of light, shading). The somewhat ascetic response it gives testifies to a focused (or narrow, or modern) “how ends can be met” approach. It is at the same time an attempt to state how we may understand and as what to approach objects - are they things (phenomena, images) or techniques for the manipulation of the world? The light’s one-nail fixing “mechanism” lends to the latter attitude, as it implies the fluidity of its spatial placement.

The aesthetical consequences deriving from these decisions, secondly, induce certain breaches of expectations we may have towards the industrial product. Immaculate finishing, e.g., is a usual feature of mass reproduction, but does not appear in this design. However, perfection has not been abandoned, nor has it been replaced, e.g. by nostalgic motions that favor the trace of the worker’s hand. Rather, all visual property consequently derives from the quality of workmanship along a process drawn in perfect coherence with serial reproduction.

Finally, as to technology, the Polite Light is to my knowledge the first fluorescent tube featuring more than two ends.

medusa erasmus scherjon Medusa is a bench for two, which can also be used outside. Concrete canvas is a 3d woven textile filled with cement, which i drape around a steel frame. By lowering the bench into the water, the concrete canvas hardens around the frame. Once out of the water and dried, the bench is hard like stone but still looks and feels like textile.

medusa erasmus scherjon

Medusa is a bench for two, which can also be used outside. Concrete canvas is a 3d woven textile filled with cement, which i drape around a steel frame. By lowering the bench into the water, the concrete canvas hardens around the frame. Once out of the water and dried, the bench is hard like stone but still looks and feels like textile.

wear out carolina reis

Is it possible to approach fashion design without imposing a certain model to follow?
What if the wearer could become whoever he is without having to choose a certain representation in his outfit?
This project is about wearables that take shape once the wearer have used them.
The mechanism applied on the material breaks when there is pressure and adjusts to the wearer. By using movement as a catalyzer of change in the object, the textile takes its final form once each person has used it. The design effortlessly adapts to the body’s movement. The aim is to promote tolerance towards difference by encouraging individual diversity. The exhibited pieces show how working with the material allows for the personal appropriation of the garment.

naked rachel griffin The Naked series is a response to the many layers of material often added to the exterior of conventional furniture. The lamp and shelves aim to celebrate the beauty of the hidden materials—foam, wood, wires and straps—by revealing them and using them in new ways. Sponsored by Leolux and Carpenter Dumo.

naked rachel griffin

The Naked series is a response to the many layers of material often added to the exterior of conventional furniture. The lamp and shelves aim to celebrate the beauty of the hidden materials—foam, wood, wires and straps—by revealing them and using them in new ways. Sponsored by Leolux and Carpenter Dumo.

acciaio max lipsey Inspired by the elegance and strength of the tubes used racing bicycles, the Acciaio series appropriates steel for a range of lightweight chairs. The specially engineered tubes—the result of over a century of refinement—lend themselves to an archetypical chair, where qualities of lightness, strength and elegance are similarly important.

acciaio max lipsey

Inspired by the elegance and strength of the tubes used racing bicycles, the Acciaio series appropriates steel for a range of lightweight chairs. The specially engineered tubes—the result of over a century of refinement—lend themselves to an archetypical chair, where qualities of lightness, strength and elegance are similarly important.

naturally false Whatels, Els Woldhek

Naturally False is an exploration of copper plating and veneer, two materials normally found as surface finishes, used for their decorative value. Here they come together, creating structure and support with thin sticks bound together by the growth of the copper.

photography nichon glerum “The best camera is the one you have with you, the moment you want to take a picture.”(Chase Jarvis)The photography industry thrives on the discussion about what’s the most appropriate equipment. Some stayed faithful to analogue techniques while others can only shoot digital. The choice between megabrands Canon and Nikon is another subject of discussion, as well as the charm of black&white versus the versatility of colour. Amateurs on iPhones shoot side to side with professionals at various media events and ‘cheap’ Lomography toycameras gain popularity at the same time SLR cameras replace most compacts… Conceptual photographer Nichon Glerum illustrates this debate by portraying 10 exibitants of the Inapproprate Material exhibition with 10 different cameras*, creating a grid of a hundred photos. Treating the equipment itself as her subject, she gives an objective overview of each camera’s results, leaving the decisionmaking up to the viewer.

photography nichon glerum

“The best camera is the one you have with you, the moment you want to take a picture.”(Chase Jarvis)
The photography industry thrives on the discussion about what’s the most appropriate equipment. Some stayed faithful to analogue techniques while others can only shoot digital. The choice between megabrands Canon and Nikon is another subject of discussion, as well as the charm of black&white versus the versatility of colour. Amateurs on iPhones shoot side to side with professionals at various media events and ‘cheap’ Lomography toycameras gain popularity at the same time SLR cameras replace most compacts…
Conceptual photographer Nichon Glerum illustrates this debate by portraying 10 exibitants of the Inapproprate Material exhibition with 10 different cameras*, creating a grid of a hundred photos. Treating the equipment itself as her subject, she gives an objective overview of each camera’s results, leaving the decisionmaking up to the viewer.