About Atelier Constant
Amsterdam-based studio, Atelier Constant, debuts EGELANTIER – October 2021, a collection of functional art objects expressing juxtaposed materiality and organic geometries. Their debut collection of six pieces, a low table, a table lamp, a coat holder, a low cabinet, a seater, and a shelf that demonstrate the studio’s affinity to quality, restraint, and an elegant expression of organic forms.
The promising young design duo –– formed by Dutch native Nina Constant and French Pierre Constant –– seek to express art through the medium domestic objects, by employing a design approach that respects the heritage and practice of french and dutch mid-war crafts. Titled after their Amsterdam address, EGELANTIER’s core principle is restraint in materiality, conveyed by using only four pure materials throughout; elmwood, brushed aluminum, untreated wool, and bent plywood.
Close interaction with local artisans is essential to Atelier Constant’s process. The studio employs crafts people’s experience and knowledge to provide an immediate impact on the design result. authentic techniques such as bookmatching are combined considerately with 3d bending to create contemporary sculptural pieces that honor craftsmanship and transcend traditional practice.
Atelier Constant’s choice to withhold ornament and prioritize a limitation in materiality is a clear tribute to the authorities of mid-century design – albeit conceiving a visual language that is their very own: playful proportions and a bold mix of the organic with the geometric. through EGELANTIER, Constant strives to create a new vision for an authentic, refined, contemporary design that fundementally lives in the present –– deploying this ethos to define the conception of each piece.
The first piece of the EGELANTIER, slated for release at the start of December 2021, is “table sur pied” a low table, subsequently to be followed by a table lamp, a coat holder, a low cabinet, a two-seater, and a shelf that will debut through the remainder of the year, and into 2022.
The “table sur pied” (195 x 89 x 36cm) is cut from a singular plank of elm. Its irregular composition reflects the unique pattern of the wood and is enhanced by a bookmatching technique. Four circular aluminum legs are positioned offset from each other to give the elm the stable ground it needs.
The elm used originates from the dutch-german border is cut to prevent the tree from extinction. The production of both the assembly of the table and finish of the aluminum takes place in different villages around the Netherlands. Working in close vicinity to craftsmen and provenience of goods is essential to the duo’s sculptural approach that responds to the character of teach material: this ensures an extraordinary level of quality for the finished piece.
