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"A red thread going through my work is that I try to reference my own work without repeating it. Building on previous projects and developing them in a new direction."
Nurturing a penchant for natural materials and fired earth in particular led him to taking up his own ceramic practice outside of the office, leaving behind the computer but for a while to work with the hands. To do something nonfunctional, creating unique objects that allowed him to continue evolving his practice of pattern making and longrunning studies of surface, materiality and texture.
"It is impossible to not notice this growing need and instinct in people to return to more earthy, natural materials, colors, surfaces and atmospheres."
He speaks of the importance of synergy and symbiosis, between work and life outside of it. That is how the Couple Coffee Table came to be — his ceramic practice came to influence his work with Muuto. Initiating the process behind Couple years back, it is a design that has gone through numerous iterations and experiments to find its ultimate form. He says that designing the simplest things, objects reduced to the only essential, is something that sometimes takes him down very long, winding paths.
"I started looking into using ceramics, this raw material, to create a piece of furniture in dialogue with Muuto. There was an interesting tension I had in mind, between the heaviness of the ceramic tiles and the lightness of a frame supporting it."
A graphic style marks Willenz output, perhaps an extension of his childhood dream of being a cartoon artist. He calls it clear line design. In the Couple Coffee Table his lines take on a subtler, softer character, particularly expressed in the two tiles he has created for it.
"Adding the wavy texture to one of them, we really wanted to make it look interesting, to enhance and use the qualities of the material — to show them off. It gives that taste of…something different, a surface that interacts with light and shadow, and welcomes touch or even to put your pencil in its ridges"
The material is pressed in a two tonne machine in Italy, then fired, the result being an supremely durable stone-like surface. Resting effortlessly on an oak wood frame, it is a piece of sublime contrast between great warmth and cool. Together the tiles can compile a perfect square and are possible to compile in 36 different ways across color and texture. A monumental piece to house piles of books or one to neatly fit a narrow space.
"I think that it invites people to reflect on how the piece is made. After all, as a designer we have to take some responsibility in terms of what we put out into the world." — Sylvain Willenz
"We might as well make things interesting and enough so to make them the lasting type, beautifully made — pleasant to the eye and to the touch. Simple, but precious." — Sylvain Willenz
"Every time someone comes through the studio, they have this urge to touch it, run their fingers along its ridges. That is how you know that you succeed in making something truly tactile."
The Couple Coffee Table is available in 36 prearranged variants spanning across various finishes and three sizes, from the petite to the grand coffee table with plenty of room for books and objects of affection.
Sylvain Willenz is a Brussel-based designer creating furniture, lighting and products for a broad range of international clients since 2004. His award-winning practice centers on simple and straightforward design with great attention to the sublime detail.
Get to know Sylvain Willenz
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