Belgium Me, Myself & I Lifestyle Lonesome Cowboys Fashion Mole

Do not throw on the public domain. Belgium Design When Right When Met Left Me, Myself Me, &I Neighbourhood Life Neighbourhood Lifestyle Culture Lonesome Cowboys +Global Style volume 02 — issue 04 —issue 02 volume Micro Mad + The Design Special Fashion MoleMen WWW.ESSENTIEL.BE

MATHIAS SCHOENAERTS PHOTOGRAPHED BY MICHEL DE WINDT

4 EDITOR’S LETTER THE FIRTS

The Word Magazine is In all honesty, the decision to forego putting out a summer edition was essentially due to Nicholas Lewis the editorial team needing to switch off from the daily desktop grind. Once our May-June Benoît Berben issue sent off to the printers, we could all look forward to a couple of weeks removed from the real world. After decamping to various parts of the world – everywhere from Bayreuth Editor-at-large to Bangalore - we came back to the kingdom psychologically reinvigorated and with strong Hettie Judah resolve to do things differently. Gone were the days, we told ourselves, of working day-in- day-out, barely seeing daylight and not really going any further than Stuttgart. We’d now at Design least take a walk around the block fi rst thing in the morning or go for those lunchtime dives Delphine Dupont we promised ourselves. And, well, as good resolutions go, it all started encouragingly well. + pleaseletmedesign Then we remembered that not only did we have this September-October issue to dream up Fashion and produce, we also had a major design exhibition to put together. And it doesn’t stop there. Eléonore Vanden Eynde It also suddenly dawned upon us that simultaneously moving our offi ces to the ground fl oor of our townhouse (which for some in the team is an offi ce, whilst for others is a home) would Photography/Illustration be a good idea. There was the small issue of launching The Word Blog by September too. Ulrike Biets Oh, and there was that perennial problem of the USB issue, which somehow seemed liked Pierre-Philippe Duchâtelet the longest ever on-going publishing project. We were determined to getting that one out by Sarah Eechaut September too – at last. Eledone Studio Habousha Needless to say, sweat droplets started dripping and the holidays we had just come back Sarah Michielsen from suddenly seemed a distant memory. And we could forget about neighbourhood Chryssa Nikoleri morning strolls and dips in the local pool. In no time at all, we were back to our old selves… Opération Panda Yassin Serghini Although we did pull it off. The Nano Issue is packed with some major minor gems, from Peter Pan collectors and canine companions to toilet tribulations and tales of fi nancial Writers industrial espionage in the fashion sector. We managed to pull off a superstar cast of par- Hettie Judah (HJ) ticipants (Sylvain Willenz, BaseDesign, Wallpaper Magazine and Damien Hirst to name a Nicholas Lewis (NL) couple) and secure a key location (the former Tissus Flagey store, on Place Flageyplein itself) Alia Papageorgiou (AP) for our design exhibition, being held throughout the month of September. The USB issue Rena Smith (RS) is fi nally slated for a September subscriber send off too and won’t disappoint. It includes Karen Van Godtsenhoven (KVG) everything from interviews with local electro minimalist Darko and label boss/producer/DJ Randa Wazen (RW) Peanut Butter Wolf to live sessions with Eagles of Death Metal and sit downs with the crea- tors of a next generation online radio player. The Word Blog looks set to hit the web by the Thank you's: time this issue hits the stands – expect small wonders, offi ce gossip, stuff that’s on the team’s Jeff Berben radar and daily dribbles (keep an eye out on www.thewordmagazine.be). And it seems we’ll Lea Munsch be occupying the whole ground fl oor of Maison du Word in a couple of weeks or so. Melisande McBurnie Muriel Bleus Good resolutions might have been ditched and long forgotten about, but we sure got through the to-do list. To be honest, glad we’re back in play after a summer long publishing hiatus and can’t wait to get back into the thick of it. For Subscriptions (6 issues) Transfer € 18 (Belgium) See you on all on Thursday 10th September for the opening of our exhibition… € 30 (Europe) € 45 (Worldwide) As Word as ever, To ACCOUNT N° 363-0257432-34 IBAN BE 68 3630 2574 3234 Nicholas Lewis BIC BBRUBEBB

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6 THE NANO ISSUE THE CONTENTS

01. The Firsts 04. Fashion

The Cover The Nano Issue p01 The Fashion Word The story of Dash Draper and… p50 Ad Essentiel p02 Editor's Letter Volume 2 – N° o4 p04 Ad Bombay Sapphire p05 05. The Design Special The Contents You're looking at it p06 Ad Levis p07 The Cover The Design Special p62 The Contributors It's a Word's world p08 The Design Papers The hunting set p63 Ad Perrier p09 The Processes Love what you do when you're… p64 The Diary Post-its p10 The Progression This is where we are p68 The Diary Belgium p11 The Special Showst… Wrap around the stock p72 Ad Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen p13 Ad Bema-Graphics p75 The Diary United Kingdom p14 The Diary France p16 Ad Brussels Philharmonic p17 06. Design The Diary Holland p18 Ad Aspria p19The Future A staggeringly small world below p76 Ad Rado p79 02. Belgium 07. Culture The Nano Papers Title page p20 The Nano Papers A brave new nano world p21 The Shelf Desktop reading p80 The Nano Papers Little “d”, big difference p22 The Pencil Far from impressed p82 The Nano Papers Small applications… p23 The Eye One for the nation p84 The Nano Papers Follow the leader p24 Ad The Word Magazine p93 The Nano Papers Itsy bitsy… + When music… p25 The Institution Jacqueline by day, Mamy by night p26 08. The Lasts

03. Lifestyle The Stockists Stockists p94 Ad O-live p95 The Debate Nano – the ﬂ ip side, the down… p28 The Round Up Advertisers p96 The Dream Maison du Word p30 What's Next The Nippon Issue p98 The Way To the power of one p34 Ad Ristorante Bocconi p99 Ad Veuve Cliquot p39 Ad Absolut p100 The Word On My little doggy p40 The Other Word On Me, my toys and everyone I know p42 The Showstoppers Miniaturised marvels p44 Ad Cachemire Coton et Soie p47 The Tease India on a Leica p48 FASHION FOR WALLS by Levis Ambiance

www.levis.info 8 THE LITTLE ISSUE THE CONTRIBUTORS

It’s a Word’s world Sophie Uhoda Architect ¤ We made a brief call for submission for our Utopian Community Living project to which Sophie responded with so much enthusiasm and panache that we promptly made her The Word’s unoffi cial architect of the small. From drawing up plans, putting up with our constant exuberant demands, going back to the drawing board countless times and making miniature lamps out of tooth- paste tube tops, she gave it her Pierre-Philippe all, diving head fi rst into the Chryssa Nikoleri Duchâtelet project as if dreaming up her Photographer Graphic Designer/Illustrator own home. ¤ ¤ — This is how the story went. We fi rst heard of Pierre- Pages n° 30, 31, 32, 33 We interviewed a Greek greenie Philippe’s work through for our feature on anti-nanoisms Anouk, who helps out with the who we had hoped to photo- magazine’s distribution now graph in Brussels. Schedules not and again, and after a couple of permitting, we were forced to clicks on his website, decided revise our plans and fi nd a Greek he’d be best suited to take up photographer, one based in the challenge of illustrating our Thessaloniki more specifi cally. piece on Belgians’ obsessions In steps Chryssa and her straight- with bourgeois family names as forward, no-frills-attached well as the paper on the business portraiture. A multi-disciplinary of small applications. His posi- photographer with more than a tively abrasive style, coupled trick in her bag, she came through with a canny understanding of magnifi cently with her scouting the subject matter, lent itself per- shots – and the resulting portrait. fectly with what we were after. Eledone — — Illustrator/Comic Artist Page n° 29 Pages n° 22, 23 ¤ Keen for a change of scenery, we asked Eledone to have a go at broadly illustrating this issue’s Nano theme for The Shelf page. Resolutely sinister, juicier and more explicit than most, we found her style to fi t perfectly with the issue at hand, namely Belgians’ knack for total obliviousness when faced with a situation requiring even the slightest of attention. Although she admitted to fi nding the assignment hard to begin with, you wouldn’t think so by looking at the end result. — Pages n° 82, 83 E.R. : J. Nijskens - NWMD - 221, Rue de Birmingham - 1070 Bruxelles Ogilvy 10 THE SPECK ISSUE THE DIARY THE FIRSTS 11 The next few weeks’ agenda fi llers Belgium ( 01 ¤ 09 )

01. Coming of age 03. Fold, crumple & tear 01. ¤ Anniversaries are, ¤ The second install- among other things, a time to ment in The Word’s series of remember, and old Delvaux exhibitions – set to coincide with is as steeped in history as it is Design September – presents in luxury. The retrospective, the commissioned works of curated by our very own Editor- emerging and established at-Large Hettie Judah, shows off designers and artists. Following how the luxury baggage travelled an international call for submis- from the horse-drawn days of sions, the editorial team selects 1829 to rail, sea and into the air. the strongest entries, exhibiting Since, focus has been fashion- them in a disused retail space forward thinking, with designs during the month of September in salmon skin, toile de cuir and on Brussels’ Place Flageyplein. vinyl. This year, Delvaux seals Taking their cue from a page in

the deal as a by-word for Belgian the magazine called The Guide, © Wout Hendrickx luxe, as they join forces with other artists and designers showcase national icons; this exhibition at their interpretation of the page 02. Antwerp’s fashion hothouse, col- with a comical twist. Taking part laborative handbag design with are Sylvain Willenz, BaseDesign, Hannelore Knuts and appointing Damien Hirst and Wallpaper Veronique Branquinho at creative Magazine to name but a few. (RS) helm for the House. (RS) Follow the Guide Delvaux: À From 11th September 180 years of Belgian Luxury until 30th September 2009 À From 17th September 2009 ☞ Tissus Flagey - Place Flagey until 22nd February 2010 24 Flageyplein, Brussels ☞ Mode Museum, Antwerp www.thewordmagazine.be www.momu.be

04. Lights, camera, 02. Hot confusion wired ¤ Prepare to be ¤ Since his last exhibi- taken by the hand through an

tion at Xavier Hufkens in 1987, ever-changing picture of light, ©Antony Gormley Antony Gormley, has estab- sound and colour in what Ann lished himself on the interna- Veronica Janssens describes as 03. tional picture frame, winning the her experiments; but it’s not quite Turner Prize in 1994, often using clear whether this is more the his own body as material, making case for the viewer or the artist. his name synonymous with his Alongside 10 new sculptures humanoid sculptures in steel, are six audio and video experi- concrete, and now in solid and ences of an alienating, dreamlike see-through cellular structures sensuality that warps the viewer’s inspired by the work into the perception of time and space,

construction of bubbles and foam where we slip gently from reality © The Word Magazine by Scottish scientist Lord Kelvin. to be dazzled by flashing lights The central installation will be and infinite sounds. Kant once 04. a massive, awe-inspiring form of said time and space are the only a person made 10 times bigger things we can be sure of, and after through which you can wander, coming out of this art-trip, you’ll where the human frame becomes maybe claim the same. (RS) truly architectural. (RS) Serendipity Aperture by Antony Gormley by Ann Veronica Janssens À From 17th September À From 5th September until 22nd October 2009 until 15th December 2009 ☞ Xavier Hufkens Gallery, Brussels ☞ Wiels, Brussels

www.xavierhufkens.com www.wiels.org © Ann Veronica Janssens 12 THE PARTICLE ISSUE THE DIARY

05. 05. Designers 07. Sat upright of the century ¤ Did you know that ¤ Parisian gallery all Finnish people have sat Patrick Seguin organises a at least once in their lifetime retrospective overview of the in a chair designed by Yrjö four most powerful visionaries Kukkapuro? Well now you too of the modernist movement, can see what it’s like to be a Finn who deﬁ ned an era and con- and try out a selection of works tinue to inspire design today. Le by the iconic Finnish furniture Corbusier, grand daddy of the designer. The overview of his movement, created architecture work from the 50s to today is and furniture with cousin Pierre inspiring, as in each decade Jeanneret, culminating in a low- Kukkapuro proves time and again cost urban planning project of his ﬂ are for staying ahead of the Chandigarh, India - a landmark game, from the 60s space age of modernist architecture. Jean couture designs mixing plastic Prouvé played with techniques and leather to today’s eco-freako in metal furniture design while projects developing furniture

© Rodolphe Janssen Art Gallery Charlotte Perriand’s pure, pow- from highly-sustainable bamboo erful style took form in clean for UNESCO, and all with that 06. wooden lines. An unmissable slick Scandinavian class. (RS) bringing-together of an inspired generation of artists. (RS) Yrjö Kukkapuro À Until 11th October 2009 Pierre Jeanneret, Le Corbusier, ☞ Design Museum, Gent Charlotte Perriand and Jean www.designmuseumgent.be Prouvé À From 12th September until 3rd October 2009 08. Realms of ☞ Rodolphe Janssen Art Gallery, the imagination Brussels ¤ We enter Nick www.galerierodolphejanssen.com Ervinck’s bizarre and enthralling

© Guillaume Bresson world of multi-media experi- ences fusing computer rendered 07. 06. Renaissance designs, sculpture and visually riots poetic video installations. And ¤ Epic, Italian what a strange world he has Renaissance-style paintings are, concocted, mixing weird and at first thought, an unexpected wonderful shapes with things art form to portray gang rioting more recognisable to reality – the in the French suburbs. The walls of a house, the interiors supernatural beauty the figures of a cathedral - but his search cut in the grenade smoke and for aesthetic perfection always dramatic lighting, in what looks delivering breath-taking, beauti- like something from a biblical ful designs. Often compared scene, contrasts immediately to fellow Belgian Magritte, with the brutal realism Matthieu Ervinck’s 21st century surrealism Kassowitz portrayed in La challenges us with the limits of Haine. But it puts an unex- our logic and realism, inviting us

© Yrjö Kukkapuro pected spin on things, for the to join his parallel world. (RS) suburbs of Paris are as far in 08. mind and body away from the GNI-RI sep2009 Eitozor city centre as barbaric tribes by Nick Ervinck were to a medieval fortress they À From 5th September surrounded, and suggest perhaps until 22nd October 2009 that we haven’t come as far as we ☞ Smak, Ghent think since feudal times. (RS) www.smak.be

Guillaume Bresson À From 1st September until 31st October 2009 ☞ Sorry We’re Closed, Brussels

L. van Beethoven. Coriolanus Overture B. Bartók. Concerto for violin n° 2 L. van Beethoven. Egmont Overture A. Borodin. Symphony n° 2

NING KAM. violin (2nd Prize Queen Elisabethcompetition 2001) Etienne Siebens. conductor

reservation & tickets www.symfonieorkest.be

Met steun van de Vlaamse minis- ter van Cultuur, Jeugd, Sport en Brussel 14 THE MINUSCULE ISSUE THE DIARY

United Kingdom ( 10 ¤ 15 )

09. Grainy 09. 10. Fair folly lonesomeness ¤ In these tightened- ¤ The dark, stark, belt times saving is the new black-and-white photography of spending. With recession weigh- ravens by Masakisa Fukase is at ing on our purses and minds, it once both chilling and power- seems surprising a global bank ful; the birds signify death and is sponsoring an art fair; but all solitude across many cultures, the better for us, for this one is and it is little wonder the shots rich with talent. Money-saving, were taken just after the artist’s time-saving, life-changing,

grueling divorce in 1976. Seen as Fukase Masakisa © Frieze Art Fair in Regent’s Park one of the few true photographic houses exhibits from over 150 expressionists, Fukase, along with 10. global galleries from Tel Aviv many of the post-WWII genera- to Zurich, so you can one-stop- tion of Japanese artists, attempted shop for a whole year’s worth to contrast the idealisation of of visual stimulation in one fell self-control that had gone before swoop. There’ll be a sculpture them. The birds’ immutable pres- garden, educational projects, ence on landscapes brings ques- talks, short ﬁ lms and commis- tions of how far we can indeed sions. (RS) escape loneliness and endings of our own. (RS) Frieze Art Fair À From 15th October The solitude of ravens until 18th October 2009 by Masakisa Fukase ☞ Regent’s Park, London À From 11th September www.friezeartfair.com until 17th October 2009 ☞ Fifty One Fine Art Photography, Antwerp 11. Right on point www.gallery51.com ¤ Sebastiaan Bremer presents us with a novel, utterly

© Steven Shearer hybrid technique of painted photographs in miniature, using In betweeners 11. inks, paints or the tip of a knife to create jewel-like blobs and Bombay Sapphire Blue Nights swirls of texture. The nano-pho- on 11th, 18th and 25th September tos are peepholes to his world; and 2nd October 2009 @ L’Axess where previous work used shots – Digest the Design September of family, lovers and friends, talk you’ve just participated in, this collection takes a new direc- or the exhibition you’ve just tion, pointing to his inspirations. taken in, with some after work Enthused by the Golden Age drinks at recently opened of Dutch painting, we see the restaurant-come-bar-come- influence of Ruysdael’s land- club L’Axess at Tour & Taxis. scapes and Dirk de Bray’s still For a slightly more central life, fellow countrymen to this location, The Dominican artist now living in New York, Hotel’s Lounge Bar will also representing cultural rather than play host to the blue-coloured personal links to the past. (RS) spirit (17th, 24th September and 1st October). Let’s just hope Small wonders

Tom Dixon’s Tomtini will be © Sebastiaan Bremer by Sebastiaan Bremer on the menu. (NL) À From 10th September www.designseptember.be until 24th October 2009 ☞ Hales Gallery, London Brussels Art Days II www.halesgallery.com on 12th and 13th September 2009 at various Brussels locations — With schools back in play, galleries too mark the end of the summer with a weekend of late and Sunday openings. (NL) www.brusselsartdays.com THE NEXT FEW WEEKS' AGENDA FILLERS THE FIRSTS 15

12. Star 14. Pop sculptor goes the art 12. ¤ Bold and brilliant, ¤ “Good business is world-renown sculptor Anish the best art” said Pop Art god- Kapoor shows highlights of his father Andy Warhol, and ever career, plus new and unseen since, artists have been harness- works in this major solo exhibi- ing today’s celebrity cult, engag- tion. Kapoor’s work is at once ing with mass media to propagate both bodily and spiritual; the their own image. We start with architectural Marsyas, a gigantic Warhol’s paparazzo personal- PVC membrane stretched over ity and Pop icons, moving on

three huge steel rings is evoca- to the self-mythology of Tracey © Wien Museum tive of something humanlike, Emin, Keith Haring, Damien while his Sky Mirror concave Hirst and the likes, including 13. surfaces shows unexpected Made In Heaven in which Jeff distortions of viewer and gallery. Koons publicised his matrimony Anticipate a canon project- with porn star La Cicciolina. ing volleys of bright red wax Engaging too boldly with the onto the walls of the space, commercial is seen as sacri- both alarmingly physical and legious in modern art ethics, terribly clever, as the instal- but gives birth to a brash, trash lation produces a sculpture of genre that celebrates the moment its own during its time at the in which we live. (RS) exhibition. (RS) © Gustav Metzger Pop Life: Art in a Material World Anish Kapoor À From 1st October 2009 14. À From 26th September until 17th January 2010 until 11th December 2009 ☞ Tate Modern, London ☞ Royal Academy of Arts, www.tate.org.uk/modern London www.royalacademy.org.uk 15. Story told ¤ Discover a fairy- 13. Heavy tale world of art and design meaning in this collection of fantasy- ¤ Political activist, inspired furniture; 50 delight- ecologist, artist; six decades of ful and mischevious objects major works by Gustav Metzger from contemporary designers with some brand new pieces across Europe; Weiki Somers’ are brought together to inspire Bathboat, Joris Larman’s a new generation. Preoccupied Rococo swirl-radiator and Joep with waste in industrialised van Lieshout’s bed encased in a society, something ever more giant skull. Divided into three relevant today, among the work sections, “The Forest Glade”,

is a ceiling-high archive of with a honeycomb vase made by © Gavin Turk newspapers, and re-creations of bees is nature-based fantasy; in his auto-destructive pieces from “The Enchanted Castle” we ﬁ nd 15. the 1960s, like canvases sprayed parodies of historical displays of with corrosive acid. Viewers are power and status; while “Heaven faced with their mortality both and Hell” contains some chilling on an individual and collective pieces inspired by death and level, in the age of an obsessive, beyond. The exhibition is a tale hedonistic pursuit for youth, in of magic all of its own. (RS) denial about effects of consumption on others and on the Telling Tales planet. (RS) À Until 18th October 2009 ☞ Victoria and Albert Museum, Gustav Metzger London À From 29th September www.vam.ac.uk until 8th November 2009 ☞ Serpentine Gallery, London www.serpentinegallery.org © Crimella 16 THE WEE ISSUE THE DIARY

France ( 16 ¤19 )

16. 16. Documenting 18. Happy new year, a people une fois ¤ Traditionally an ¤ If the Russians artist’s portraitist, photog- and the Chinese have theirs, rapher Denise Colomb also no reason Belgians couldn’t photographed the West Indies have theirs too. A New Year – more specifi cally, Martinique, celebration that is. Having held Guadeloupe and Haiti - pro- its fi rst edition in May 2008, fusely, bringing home over 5,000 Paris’ Belgian New Year comes negatives from her latest trip back to the city at full throttle, th © Denise Colomb meant to commemorate the 100 promoting its idea of ‘a tradition anniversary of the abolishment of the avant-garde’ and putting 17. of slavery. She focused her lenses forward the Belgian state-of- on everyday life sceneries, from mind along the cultural poles schools, port life and markets of music, cinema, performance to fi shermen, street games and and animations. With a live DJ dance traditions. Mostly made set by Ghinzu, a Vive la Fête up of black and white prints, showcase as well as a day of the exhibited work – consist- Belgian fi lm projections among ing of 130 framed photographs many other festivities, expect a – reveals Colomb’s knack for day of absurdity and very patri- detecting the softer, human side otic partying. Having a Belgian in her subjects whilst at the same acquaintance in Paris never was time telling a story. (NL) so ‘in’ apparently. (NL)

Denise Colomb and the West Belgian New Year th © Charpin Indies (1948-1958) À 26 September 2009 À From 29th September ☞ Elysée Montmarte, Paris 18. until 27th December 2009 www.nouvelanbelge.com ☞ Jeu de Paumes, Paris www.jeudepaume.org 19. Visual destruction 17. An idea ¤ Surrealism’s fascina- is born tion with the subconscious, the ¤ It is sometimes dif- non-meaningful, is sometimes ﬁ cult to imagine, but all design hard to grasp and contextualise in emanates from a drawing – be the larger sphere of contemporary it a CAD rendered illustration fine art photography. Given the to a couple of doodles drawn abundance of ways in which sur- on the back of a napkin. A way realists used their photography for designers to translate mere – from magazine publications to ideas into visual representa- advertising – the viewer had, at tion, drawings form an essential least in the beginning, somewhat part of a designer’s creative of a difficult time placing their process – a feat made clear at work within the confines of Les Arts Décoratif’s exhibi- the art world. Not so with the tion. Presenting preparatory Centre Pompidou’s exhibition, studies, atmospheric drawings which brings together close to

© facetofacedesign© and communication visuals from 400 works of art in an attempt world-renowned designers Marc to question the surrealists’ use of 19. Newson, Jasper Morrisson and photography and illustrate the Konstantin Grcic to name but a relentless experimentation the few, the showcase honours the movement was reputed for. (NL) importance of drawing in design conception. (NL) The Subversion of Images – Surrealism, Photography, Film Dessiner le Design À From 24th September 2009 À From 21st October 2009 until 11th January 2010 until 10th January 2010 ☞ Centre Pompidou, Paris ☞ Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris www.centrepompidou.fr www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr © Man Ray Brussels Philharmonic – het Vlaams Radio Orkest Michel Tabachnik, chief conductor/music director, orchestra in residency at Flagey Dare to discover… the wonders of classical music

> Mahler 4 Flagey, 3/10/2009 WIN FREE TICKETS! > A New World Flagey, 29/10/2009 Send an e-mail with your favourite classical piece to > Beethoven 9 BOZAR, 12/11/2009 [email protected], and you could be the winner of a free concert ticket!

www.brusselsphilharmonic.be Brussels Philharmonic – het Vlaams Radio Orkest is een instelling van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap. Vlaams Omroeporkest en Kamerkoor vzw | Eugène Flageyplein 18 B-1050 Brussel | T +32 2 627 11 60 | [email protected] 18 THE SHRIMP ISSUE THE DIARY

Holland

20. The thin 20. Concert Picks red line ¤ Attempting to make ¤ The Heavy sense of the subject of confl ict on 30th September zones and their impact on com- @ L’Ancienne Belgique munities, fi ve guest curators are – If Isaac Hayes was backed by invited by Noorderlicht to select Eagles of Death Metal, you’d bodies of work and provide their get something not unlike British views on documentary pho- dirty funk band The Heavy. tography as they see it. With a ¤ Fink particular emphasis on confl icts on 3rd October @ Botanique which take place in back alleys – Minimalist guitar riffs, dry and are thus far removed from vocals and fragile lyrics charac- the public gaze – and conscious- terise this Ninja Tune-signed folk ness – we’re particularly keen to man’s work. A good companion see British photographer Adam to grey, rainy mornings. Patterson’s work on Brixton ¤ Mahler 4 gangs as well as Belgian Vincent on 3rd October @ Flagey Delbrouck’s more abstract – The Brussels Philharmonic prints. Expect to be served some plays Mahler’s fourth and short- heavy-hitting poetic justice. (NL) est symphony, combining it with Giovanni Gabrieli’s Canzone in a Noorderlicht International night of contrasting periods.

Photofestival 2009 - Human © Vincent Delbrouck ¤ DJ Vadim & Breakestra Conditions on 29th October @ Het Depot À From 6th September – British producer DJ Vadim and until 4th October 2009 Californian deep-funk maestros ☞ Groningen, Holland Breakestra descend on Leuven’s www.noorderlicht.com Het Depot for a night of lip- licking livery.

What we’re giving away

Two pairs of tickets to the following concerts th ¤ The Heavy at l’Ancienne Belgique on 30 September 2009

¤ DJ Vadim, Breakestra and DJ Lefto at Het Depot on 29th October 2009

Four pairs of tickets to the following Symfonie Orkestr Vlaanderen concerts th ¤ Etienne Siebens and Ning Kam at Bozar on 15 October 2009 th ¤ Seikyo Kim and Pieter Wispelwey at Bozar on 19 November 2009

What you need to do Send an email to [email protected], specifying which concert you wish to go to in the subject line. The ﬁ rst readers to do so will each win a pair of tickets to the concert of their choice. Conditions Only one pair of tickets permitted per reader. Until tickets last. Applies to Belgium only. Normal conditions apply. Stressed? Let the experts help

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— You might need a magnifying glass to get a glimpse of our Nano Papers such is their insigniﬁ cance – at least in terms of the physical space they occupy. We hop on a midget of a motorbike, delve into the big business that is small applications and perfect the art of shortened communication in what can only be a 21st century farewell bid to the English-language.

Writers Nicholas Lewis, Karen Van Godtsenhoven and Randa Wazen A BRAVE NEW NANO WORLD BELGIUM 21 © Courtesy of IMEC Six inch foil realised in the Polymer Vision technology comprising several instances of the 64-bit organic transponder chip

independent nanotechnology research centre industries so attractive. A brave new – IMEC in Leuven - and other related nano Despite its advantages though, nanotech- centers VIB (biotech), IBBT (broadband nology has not yet succeeded in fully winning technology), VITO (tech research). The syn- over the public: too little is still known about its nano world ergies of public spending (73 million euro in potential adverse effects on the human body or 2008) in nano research, IMEC’s state-of-the the environment. For this reason, IMEC does Nanotechnology is sizzling hot: according to the art infrastructure and a fertile environment outreach activities with creative people and art National Council of Science and Technology (tax reduction) for R&D, makes Belgium a true students, to show the world the beauty of the (US), “Nanotechnology will change the nature beehive attracting top class researchers to its invisible and the unknown. The book ‘in.tan- of almost every human-made object in the next labs. There are no numbers available for people gible.scape.s’ by IMEC and Addictlab artists, century,”, and it's no understatement. Not only working in nanotech, because it is not seen as features many prime examples of converging is nanotech used to tackle big issues such as a separate industry, but nano is integrated in nanotechnology, science and art. So you have global warming and medical care, it also makes all sorts of technology companies. Big names ambient devices that allow long-distance lovers more mundane objects – from small electron- of nano companies include Bekaert, Nanocyl, to communicate with each other, intelligent ics to clothes and furniture - sturdier, faster SIRRIS and Cytec. In Flanders, nano devel- toys, GPS- powered transport tools, virtual and smarter. Because it plays at the molecule opments are very intertwined with IMEC and wallpaper, interactive yoga wear and even level, nanoscience is the art of manipulating hence focused on micro-electronics ; two new Hussein Chalayan’s Mechanical Dress. The matter at the nano-scale, changing the atom's spin-off companies, Photovoltech and Pepric, fashion industry seems especially interested structures. Nanotech has its roots in physics focus on discoveries in photonics, which har- in nano technology’s virtues. Nanotechnology and quantum mechanics, and is as such a very nesses the power of light. These discoveries can make ﬁ bers dirt- and crease-resistant, complex science, but one with very practical will enable the creation of more efﬁ cient solar which might mean the end of washing and application domains in daily life. cells, healthcare sensors and even batteries ironing. But more than that, nano fashion can True to its nature of a technology-fanatic for hybrid cars. Brussels and Wallonia-based also save your life: with the new sensing and nation, Belgium is a hotbed for nano research, companies focus more on materials, such as detecting technologies, your jacket might detect with at least four globally-renowned nano paints, plastics and coatings for aerospace a harmful gas, a virus contamination, deter- universities: Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp and vehicles and hi-tech cars. Ecofriendliness and mine whether you had a heart attack or simply, Leuven. It's also home to Europe’s biggest energy-saving qualities are what make these whether you have fallen in love. (KVG) 22 THE DWARF ISSUE THE NANO PAPERS © Pierre-Philippe© Duchâtelet

families seeking extra cachet. The particle was Little “d”, scarcely asked for, except in certain cases like the “Frenchisation” of certain foreign names that has spawned quite peculiar combinations big difference ? like the Polish de Lobcowicz or the Korean Shin de Pyeongsan. Speaking of weird, inter- Tiny details can make a huge difference. ran a whopping 10 percent of the 3.500 prin- marriages in bilingual Belgium have also Case in point: surnames that are preceded by cipal national companies. Such a ratio raises resulted in some hybrid Franco-Flemish par- a particle. One, two or three letters, prefer- questions given that nobility only constitutes ticles such as van Outryve d’Ydewalle or van ably written in lower case. They don’t add 0,3 percent of the nations population. de Werve d’Immerseel. up to much yet still seem to impress a great In order to spot these happy few, exam- It is these “noms à rallonge” that still sound deal. Nobility is still alive and kicking. As put ining their surnames is usually a good start. intimidating, especially to an unaware audi- by professor Paul Janssens - one of the rare Families originally from ancient nobility typ- ence. Connoisseurs and members of the nobil- experts in this fi eld - Belgium could almost ically have a particle such as de, de la, du or le ity are more likely to appreciate the historical be featured in the Guinness book of World in French, van, van der, van den, de, ’t or ter cachet linked to certain surnames or their sen- Records as it is one of the very few countries in Flemish. Since in both languages the nobil- iority for example : families like de Mérode or that still grants noble titles on an annual basis. iary particle is the same as a regular preposi- de Croÿ, who belong to the princely houses, or The number of nobles in Belgium is currently tional particle that was used in the creation of de Kerchove and de la Faille, who are amongst estimated at approximately 30.000, six times many surnames, it resulted in ambiguity and the oldest noble families in the country. And as many than two centuries ago. The main a widespread misconception that any name while a vast majority of people whose sur- reason behind this spectacular growth is that bearing a posh sounding “petit de” or “kleine names are preceded by a particle are not noble, the nobility is constantly renewing itself, as van” automatically belongs to that social class. numbers of such evidence remain inexistent in opposed to other European countries and “The particle never had that much relevance Belgium, as there has never been an inventory. monarchies where it is slowly fading away. in Belgium,” explains M. Janssens. “It is true In France however, about 49 out of 50 sur- According to Mr. Janssens, who is also the that when you look at most nobles’ names, names containing a particle do not belong to president of the Nobility Council of Belgium, the majority of them bear one. However, the nobility. Tellingly, just as many nobles do an interesting point is to look at the kind of what truly distinguishes nobles is the addi- not bear a name with a particle, especially the individuals who are opposed to it. “Maverick tion of names, which occurs within wide and new ones. “Nobility status is something that republicans and people who are against established families. For example you have is defi ned by lineage. The name has little to Belgium as a nation. They see monarchy de Kerchove de Denterghem, de Kerchove do with it,” concludes Mr. Janssens. No need and nobility as an obstacle to the suppres- d’Ousselghem, de Kerchove d’Exaerde.” to get too excited when meeting a “petit de”, as sion of the country.” Even though the title no Towards the end of the 19th century, it there’s a fat chance said person is a mere com- longer comes with legal privileges, most of became fashionable to request additional moner. That is of course if obsolete traditions them still clearly belong to the elite. A study names, mostly by noble families wanting the and outdated concepts still get your attention conducted in the eighties showed that nobles names of their castles included and bourgeois in the fi rst place. (RW) SMALL APPLICATIONS MEAN BIG BUSINESS BELGIUM 23 © Pierre-Philippe© Duchâtelet

Tap Tap Revenge was downloaded 10 million little. However over time, there will be a smaller Small times during that period and is still the most number of established brands/companies, that installed application. “The iPhone marked get a large piece of the pie, just like with the the beginning of mobile 2.0. Engagement was internet.” Bart is an open source enthusiast but applications dramatically bigger than any mobile device says other platforms and smartphones will not that came before. That means the iPhone App only have to be compatible, but offer as good a mean big Store is disruptive. Old models die, new ones user experience as Apple, or they won’t stand a will emerge. You no longer produce a product chance. He predicts the app store model will be and ship it, but you create one as a free service taken up by many systems, and is open for col- business and build business on top. Tap Tap Revenge is laboration with anyone: “As long as I like what a free service, but we license new music every I’m doing and I am part of an exciting user- Tastes in smartphones may differ, but no one can week, offer game enhancers and keep it fresh centered development, I couldn’t be happier,” deny that Apple’s app store has shaken things with continuous updates. The goal is to build says our man who made a big business out of up in the software world. The Word talked to a social network around the game that keeps small apps. (KVG) Belgian serial entrepreneur Bart Decrem, CEO people coming back. People like our game of Tapulous, home to the most downloaded because it’s simple, fun and there’s something game in the app store, and most popular iPhone new every week. We have also invested a lot of application, Tap Tap Revenge. time in the user community,” says Bart. Some Software used to come in physical packages, critics doubted whether the app store would on CDs that had to be installed and upgraded. prove profi table for anyone but the producers Nowadays, it behaves like a service on the of the top ten apps, but Decrem retorts: “For Widget web, or at least, it lives on the web and you 10 to 30, 000 dollars, you can produce a very A small graphical object that gives access download it. The openness of many software good app. You don’t need to charge very much to a specifi c application or user interface. platforms and social networks, along with to make a profi t, especially not when you offer The widget is just the symbol for it, the the advent of mobile surfi ng, brought along the app as a service and monetise in a more entry point. ‘molecular’ software, to be plugged into any creative way, which is much easier since the Application system, taking up very little space. By losing its advent of in-app commerce with the iPhone 3 Any piece of software that makes you do material form though, software risked becom- OS.” Bart is also excited about other revolu- things, or does things for you: it is soft- ing yet another kind of free web content (like tions the app store will bring about: “It's like ware that directly interacts with the user. music and newspapers). But then came the the Internet back in 1994. It was hard to make Plug-in iTunes app store, proving that money could money then, but very important to fi gure out An extension of an existing program be made from even the tiniest, free apps. The how it worked. Here’s a new medium coming that brings new functionality to its host. central entry point for over 63, 000 apps and of age, and we’re still learning from each other. Plug-ins are often developed by users, so counting, the app store had one billion down- Some companies have made a lot of money, that they can add functionality without loads in the fi rst nine months of its existence. some developers a bit, and some people very intervening with the basic software. 24 THE MIDGET ISSUE THE NANO PAPERS © Virassamy

Despite its constantly growing user base, the have to please me. It doesn’t have to be real, Follow the percentage of the Belgian active Twitter pop- but originality convinces me.” Account ulation is quite small, and hard to pinpoint. manager Pekesenertjes says, “the only rule is However, Belgian ‘tweople’ are an active that your tweets have to add value, and the leader lot, organising ad hoc ‘twunches’, fl ashmobs Twitter karma will come back to you.” When and pillowfi ghts on a regular basis, which asked how they perceive Twitter, Belgians The infl uence of Twitter cannot be under- accounts for a lot of the media hype. follow their nature: they compare it to a cock- stated: with an exploding userbase showing Belgian Twitterers are often multilingual, tail party or a pub: “You need to look around a no sign of slowing down, its effects on com- with some users tweeting in three languages. bit at fi rst, you don’t know where your friends munication and search behaviour are so big The French-speaking community has Brussels are, but it’s generally well worth it. I have that giants like Facebook and Google watch it as its epicenter, whereas Flemish Twitterers found customers, new friends and people very closely, jostling for its acquisition. This more often come from Ghent or Antwerp, that inspire me,” says Pekesenertjes. Atog year especially, Twitter has entered the main- where a lot of start ups and creative industries confi rms: “I've met the coolest people in real stream: celebrities have found their place in the are based. Profi ling indicates that the French life through Twitter meet ups. So there’s a dis- Twittosphere, news services tweet their output community accounts lean more towards covery and a social incentive in using Twitter, and brands recognise the value of interacting ‘independent’ bloggers and personalities, and that’s where the threat for Google lies: with potential customers. The one hundred whereas the Flemish accounts are, although because people trust their social circle better and forty character limit has affected many still personal, more often tied to a company than a web spider, they tend to search more journalists, marketing people, politicians, (Netlash, Techcrunch). Belgian celebrity pro- things via Twitter.” (KVG) brands and opinion makers. Its nickname of fi les mirror Belgians’ major interests, since ‘microblogging site’ has made Twitter the pos- two of the most followed Twitter accounts terchild of the ‘molecular’ online evolution. are cyclists: Robbie McEwen, Aussie by birth So, even if you don’t tweet, you are still subject but living in Flanders, and Astana-manager to Twitter’s far-reaching infl uence. Johan Bruyneel, Belgian by birth but living in After early adoption in 2006 and 2007 by Spain, each have more than twenty thousand techies and bloggers, the Belgian Twittosphere followers. Trending topic #tourdefrance was gained much traction in 2008, with more the doing of many Belgians this summer. marketeers, journalists and media. 2009 saw To truly benefi t from using Twitter, you the adoption of Twitter by politicians, if only must remember that online reputation is a big for the last months of their election campaign. deal, as Atog says: “Your avatar and biography Follow us @NicholasTheWord ITSY BITSY RIDER + WHEN MUSIC BECAME… BELGIUM 25

Itsy bitsy rider

Our initial interest in this little beast of road- ragers started off rather sinisterly. Indeed, my girlfriend and I had just walked out of her place when we saw a twenty-something lying on the ground, motionless. He had just crashed into a pole, having lost control of his Honda Dax. Setting aside the obvious trauma of the accident (fear not though, the youngster made it), the mini-motorbike’s distinctive design (a rounded headlight, upright steering bars and chrome fenders) and ingenious compactness

instantly hit the right chord. “Must ﬁ nd out © Sarah Eechaut more,” was the only thought buzzing in my head, and every lead we followed up on led Caminos, Boosters and the likes. The motor- Papa Dax fondly points out: “They ride well, to the same person time and again: Papa Dax, bike quickly became the transport mode are cute and the contact with the road is more president of the Antwerp Dax Association of choice for thrill-seeking teenagers who, intense since you’re closer to it.” (Belgium counts about 16 such associations) growing tired of their bicycles’ speed limita- Unique to the Dax is the sound it emits. for the past 25 years. A self-confessed Dax tions, opted instead for the Dax’s more aggres- Indeed, its roar is particularly recognisable fanatic, he is somewhat of an institution in sive drive. Former Dax lover Nico Jacobs: and, to some, the sole reason they loath the low- Antwerp, always to be seen roaming the city’s “When you are 16 and never experienced rider. “I remember driving in a group of approxi- streets on his devilish Dax. nothing else than a bicycle, driving a Dax mately seven riders and setting off car alarms as The Honda Dax was ﬁ rst introduced to feels like driving a small motorcycle.” Indeed, we drove past,” admits Jacobs who, pushing his Belgians in 1970, on the back of the period’s the Dax always held a particularly strong obsession to acceptable limits, actually named penchant for lifestyle two-wheelers - Vespas, emotional appeal amongst its enthusiasts as his son Dax. Now if that isn’t fatherly love… (NL)

When music became child’s play

If you’re familiar with the W bus line going from Brussels to Rhode-Saint-Genèse, chances are you’ve spotted Marc Resibois on his way to work fi ddling with his PSP, Koss Portapro headphones fi rmly fi xed to his mop of bleached hair. It might look as if he’s playing a random game, but this self-confessed “nerd with a social life” is actually creating music

as one of the few chiptune artists in Belgium. © Ulrike Biets 8-bit music was born when cyber punks hacked computer games and created intros presenting “But the idea is to use these old consoles as new chiptunes can be made virtually anywhere, themselves. Specifi c software was designed in music instruments. It’s a tiny scene so most of like standing in line at the post offi ce. But it order to make music for these intros, slowly us know each other and do it as a hobby. The goes without saying that you’d better be tech generating a whole scene in the late nineties. philosophy is quite DIY and open source, savvy before attempting it. “It’s defi nitely Another movement involved the recycling of music and programs are distributed for free.” geekier than a guitar!” Marc concedes. (RW) used and old machines that were worthless in Bored with the Gameboy sounds, Marc went order to get something interesting out of them. on to create the LittleGPTracker, a program “Many people think that when we do chip- that would allow him to use samples and dif- [M-.-n] will be playing at ‘Buzz On Your Lips’, tunes, we’re just taking video games music and ferent consoles such as a PSP, offering a wider together with Robots in Disguise (UK), Covox re-organising it”, explains our man, who goes range of tunes. Unlike traditional instruments, (SW), Droon and Tex Taiwan at Kultuur Kafé on by the stage name M-.-n, aka Marc Nostromo. the equipment is cheap and ultra-portable so 17th October 2009 26 THE MICROSCOPIC ISSUE THE INSTITUTION Jacqueline by day, Mamy by night

— She’s 68, looks like a regular grandma, but has the quick wit of a kid, curses like a trucker and can be a real badass when rubbed the wrong way. Having spent more than 25 years in the restrooms of the capital’s hottest club, she’s seen all of Brussels looking worse for wear and knows everybody’s dirty secrets.

Writer Randa Wazen © Ulrike Biets Holding the fort : Mamy

Paying a visit to the restroom is almost and one night, help was needed downstairs in inevitable when clubbing. Yet it’s quite likely the lavatories. “I thought it was very amusing that those five, 10 or 15 minutes won’t leave " People my age are so I continued,” she recalls. Amusing wouldn’t much of an impression 24 hours later. Such retarded. When I see be the fi rst thing to come to mind when talking an assessment can’t be made for anyone about such an unpopular job, but Mamy who’s been to the Mirano in the last decades. those grey haired managed to turn it into a fascinating experi- In all fairness, the toilets are nothing oldies complaining ence. Let’s face it; the woman has seen some special. However, the old lady looking after crazy shit go down. When it comes to club- them, charging every customer 50 cents about this and whinging bing, forget the dance fl oor, the VIPs or even per passage, is one hell of a character… about that, the bar; the restroom is where it all happens. Jacqueline Wagner, aka Mamy, is probably Breakups, hook ups, chemical intakes, fi ghts, one of the most famous figures of Belgian it drives my crazy. " gossip, you name it. nightlife. Lorenzo Serra, the art director and co-founder of the Dirty Dancing parties The good, the bad and the very ugly held weekly there for the past six years, Everybody confi des in Mamy, opening up about sums it up quite well: “In 25 years, one out Jacqueline, a typical “brusseleer” with his or her life, heartaches and deepest secrets. of four people living in Brussels must have a heavy accent, used to run a tavern that She even jokes about how she could write the handed her a coin at least once in their life- went bankrupt. Along with her husband, she wickedest of memoirs on earth if she set her time. People either bitterly resent giving her answered an ad to work at the Mirano in the mind to it. What she enjoys most is the direct money, or they do it with great delight.” eighties. She started out doing cleaning work contact with people from all kinds of horizons, JACQUELINE BY DAY, MAMY BY NIGHT BELGIUM 27

but she also has to put up with some gruesome sense of humour also helps. She casually jokes Whether she sees 40 people or a 1000, her scenes. While the “dancing” occurs upstairs, with everyone, especially when asked stupid salary remains the same as she is paid by the she gets stuck with the “dirty” downstairs. questions. She’s heard thousands of excuses hour. Around 5.30am she’ll bring her till up, Surprisingly, she explains that women are by from clubbers reluctant to pay the toilet fee. count it and is gone by six. Sundays are her far fi lthier than men and has countless examples Fed up with people presenting her with large lazy days, especially since she never sleeps to back it up. Like the story of a girl who once bills, she once prepared a bag fi lled with after a shift. One ritual she religiously repeats smudged blood all over the bathroom stall, or 49,50 euros worth of fi ve cents coins. Believe it though is taking a bath in which she dilutes the one who urinated while standing in line, or or not, when a guy handed her a fi fty that night, two caps of bleach as a symbolic gesture. The even the one who vomited in the sink and got she left him with no choice but to go home with woman swears by bleach and simply can’t get her head shoved in it by Mamy when she caught said bag. “Sometimes I wonder if we come from enough of it! “Once my boss even jokingly her doing it. Some folks are in such a hurry that the same planet,” she ponders. “At night, people asked me if I drank bleach… I use it for eve- they never make it downstairs therefore it’s not are not the same as they are during the day.” rything. It works like a charm.” unusual to fi nd puddles of urine behind the The same could easily be said of her. When we Before each party Lorenzo introduces her big black curtain at the back of the club’s main met her in broad daylight at a local tavern she to the guest DJs and performers so she knows room and sometimes even faeces in champagne goes to every day for a cup of coffee, she struck who can go in for free. The artists are usually buckets. The wackiness doesn’t end here. us as being the most normal looking sixty-year- intrigued by her outgoingness and brutal Mamy almost witnessed a heavily preg- old in the world. “On Saturdays I might seem honesty. “Unlike most lavatory attendants, nant woman giving birth in the ladies’ room, a bit loony but during the rest of the week I am she is not a piece of furniture that morphs into saw another one compulsively inserting and just a grandma.” She irons, cleans up her place, the background. She goes over to people, says removing her tampon while sitting on the watches the Young and the Restless, spends hello, cracks jokes,” he explains. Amongst the fl oor, or even ambitious ladies attempting to time with her eleven grand children, walks her many artists she’s met, her favourite is without relieve themselves in urinals. Some scenes pet Chihuahua ( which she christened Dirty ) a doubt Felix Da Housecat, with whom she left her speechless, like opening a stall and and basically leads the life of a retired lady. Yet shares a very intense bond. She is so fond of fi nding two guys in the middle of a romp and as much as she might look her age, Jacqueline the house producer and DJ that she even once candidly answering “we’re fucking” when sure doesn’t sound like your average grandma. brought him home cooked meatballs, warning asked what they were doing. Others had her As a matter of fact, she admits she doesn’t have him that she wouldn’t allow him to begin his in stitches, as in when a sharply dressed snob a single friend her age and despises regular old set unless he ate the whole dish. “When you got vomited all over her suit by a young man women. “People my age are retarded. When I see think of how internationally famous and who obviously had one too many. Some things those grey haired oldies complaining about this respected he is, no one would ever dare doing on the other hand, are no joking matter to and whinging about that, it drives my crazy. My that. Yet she doesn’t care, and he loves her for her. Viciously opposed to drugs, her biggest grandchildren prefer going on holidays with me it.” Some artists can’t get over her age and even phobia is to fi nd someone who’s overdosed. rather than with their parents. I think in a way, I go up to Lorenzo telling him that he’s crazy to So she makes sure it doesn’t happen on her stayed stuck somewhere in my twenties.” employ someone that old. “One of them once watch by asphyxiating those who stay too asked me if I was not afraid she might have a long in a booth with air-freshener. Another stroke during a shift. I never really thought of trick is to apply a layer of pure bleach on the it… But she’s a tough cookie.” toilet fl ushes and seats. “Sometimes I’ll hear " One ritual And she sure is. Jacqueline never missed someone scream and I know it worked.” The she religiously repeats a shift in more than 25 years. “My husband hardest part is to remain cool when insulted. passed away on a Friday, but I was working “Some guys can get really nasty. Some even though is taking the following night. My mother passed away on try to physically assault me. That’s harsh.” a bath in which a Friday too and I went to work the following Thankfully, she can rely on the regulars, who night. I went there with a fl u, with a cast on my often hang out with her downstairs, but espe- she dilutes two caps arm, on my leg, a broken rib but I never missed cially on Mike, whom she calls her “body- of bleach as a single Saturday,” she fi rmly states, which guard”. He worked at some point for the club says a lot about her die hard personality. “I’m a and he’s been coming every week for the past a symbolic gesture. " thorough person. When I set my mind to some- six years, keeping her company and making thing, I do it. If I like you I like you. If I don’t, sure no one messes with Mamy. I don’t.” Mamy plans on working for as long as she can. “Contrary to popular belief, I love Not your average grandma A die hard personality, odd routines my job. The day I have to drag myself to work, “Past a certain hour, the toilets of the Mirano Jacqueline arrives every Saturday around I’ll quit. It’s as simple as that.” With the Dirty are not like a zoo, they are a zoo.” In order to 10.30pm, sets everything up, has a drink Dancing parties now over, the whole crew left keep up with the chaotic atmosphere, Mamy and then goes down to her station, which the Mirano to relocate to the K-Nal. Though usually needs a drink or two – whilst a good she’ll never leave for the next seven hours. they did make sure to bring Mamy along… 28 THE ATOMIC ISSUE THE DEBATE

suggest is clearer defi nitions and labelling. Nano – the fl ip side, Legislation should start dealing with nanos and their existence in any sector - whether these are chemicals or food. the down side ? “Preventing known and potential expo- sures to nanomaterials that have not yet been proven safe according to established criteria should be the ultimate aim of effec- The fi rst time I met George Paschalides we However, all of these upbeat, ‘miraculous’ tive management of nanomaterials,” says went for coffee, talked about politics in general assessments of the benefi ts of nanotechnolo- Paschalides. – and Greece’s Green Party specifi cally – , gies and materials are reminiscent of the A detailed labelling of the lifecycle of and then got around to his personal activism. promises made when nuclear energy and bio- nanos has also been requested by the UK Not only was he quite often in Brussels and technology were fi rst introduced. At the time, Royal Society and the Royal Academy of several other cities as an NGO member allo- they were credited with the potential to solve Engineering. cated by the European Environmental Board, global energy needs or abolish world hunger; Full lifecycle, environmental, health, and or the European Consumers Association, Nanotechnology is too, in some circles. safety impacts must be assessed prior to com- partaking in roundtables and conferences on Similarly, many chemicals and substances mercialisation they stress. nanotechnology, but in his own municipality were welcomed for their benefi ts before their Many more worried heads seem to be he was fi ghting as hard as he could - and for negative impacts on human health and the rearing; it’s not just the NGOs anymore. as long as anyone would listen. (One hour was environment were identifi ed and understood, On her fi rst trip to Brussels, President my fi rst experience.) including DDT, asbestos and PCBs. Barack Obama’s newly appointed Nanotechnology may promise to be the In response, Paschalides and other civil Commissioner to the US Food and Drug next best thing since sliced bread, handing society groups worldwide are calling for a Administration (FDA), Margaret A. Hamburg, us wrinkle free clothes, streak-free window precautionary approach to the use of nanote- recently described what concerns the US may cleaners, medicines and procedures that work chnologies and materials since there is a wide have on this “emerging technology”. better but what do we really know about it? gap in what is known - and what is not - about The scope of nanotechnology spans “across What if, thanks to its nano qualities, it also them in terms of environmental and human almost every product that the Food and Drug has the possibility to enter into our DNA health impacts. Administration in the US regulates; drugs, helix and change it ? medical devices, cosmetics and - even I was Paschalides, is on the board of governors surprised to learn - clothing and fabric crea- of the Greek Green Party (Ecologist Greens) tion,” as well as affecting many other prod- which fell short of being listed in the previous " All of these upbeat, ucts not in the FDA’s reach, she said. European Elections but proudly points to the ‘miraculous’ assessments “But because it is emerging and relatively fact that for the fi rst time in political history, new we are still examining what are the best his party achieved one seat in the European of the benefi ts of ways to study it and use it in products and Parliament. nanotechnologies are the best ways to regulate it and to monitor for He currently works for the Ministry of safety,” Hamburg said. the Environment in Greece, is on the board reminiscent of It is still an area where the US needs to of directors of an NGO dealing with product the promises made “determine what are the best oversight mech- and packaging issues, as well as being a lec- anisms and I would say it is an evolving area turer on nanotechnology to postgraduate when nuclear energy and one where the benefi ts and opportunities medicine students. and biotechnology clearly are enormous but one where we want to Nanotechnology, he says, is a kind of catch- reassure the public that the appropriate protec- phrase for a growing range of activities and uses were fi rst introduced. " tion mechanisms are in place,” she stressed. at the nano-level, although these can be focused If it was up to the NGOs it would not just more specifi cally on particles (such as carbon be labeling and precaution. Products that or silver), materials (engineered with nano were new would not enter the market, a pre structures, such as carbon nano tubes that make “Safety tests performed so far on bulk market registration would be established and up carbon nanofi bres), and products (from cos- materials are not extendable down to the legal frameworks would be made, not just any metics to textiles). “Those involved claim that ‘nano’ level enough to confi dently predict frameworks, nano specifi c frameworks. they will bring about improvements, providing safety levels,” says the anti-nano crusader, Above all, research into the possible new products and services, enabling increased citing an EU Scientifi c Committee opinion. impacts of nanomaterials on the functioning and new human personal abilities, and gener- Legal restrictions in the nanomaterial of natural and human systems would be a pri- ally reshaping societal relationships through sector are still sketchy. An unfi nished and ority in nano technology’s advancement. innovation in many different sectors.” confl icting study, recognising a repeated The future is undoubtedly bright; the “Some future applications include better failure of existing chemical regulatory frame- potential for nanorobotics and technologies targeted medicines, more effi cient energy works to manage the risks on nanomaterials, to challenge and elevate us to the next pro- storage and lighting, better insulation mate- underlines that existing regulations do not gressive stage is exciting, but fi rst, a clearer rials or enhanced physical characteristics require manufacturers to treat nanomaterials picture of the fi eld’s many unknowns would of natural resources, including products of as new chemicals, a position reaffi rmed by the be wise, if only to avoid any unexpected sur- dubious importance such as stain-free fabrics, European Commission in 2008. prises in the future. lighter and stronger tennis rackets and self- What NGOs such as Greenpeace, The cleaning windows,” says Paschalides. Australian Greens, and other society groups At least, that’s what the fl ip side plays like. (AP) NANO – THE FLIP SIDE, THE DOWN SIDE? LIFESTYLE 29 © Chryssa Nikoleri Standing fi rm : George Paschalides 30 THE POCKET ISSUE THE DREAM

Maison du Word

— Slowly reaching that stage in our lives where we are now referred to as ‘ﬁ rst-time home buyers’, we thought it high time to dream up our ideal pad – on a miniature scale that is. Enlisting the expertise of architect Sophie Uhoda, we hand built a utopian communal living space loosely inspired by our current ofﬁ ce-come-house- come-debauchery-den. Taking as starting point a children’s wooden model garage we bought in an antiques shop, we updated the former structure with modernist tones whilst at the same time keen to preserve the building’s original features.

Architect and model-maker The original façade, Sophie Uhoda a sharp contrast to the garden- facing one and its large windows. Interior Designer (See picture 03) Delphine Dupont & Sophie Uhoda

Photography Operation Panda MAISON DU WORD LIFESTYLE 31

01. 32 THE INFINITESIMAL ISSUE THE DREAM

As always, the project began with high expec- tations : each resident was to have a specifi c role ( interior designer, farmer, administrator, etc…) and we even planned to create an advi- sory board which was meant to include the likes of Luc Schuiten and CO2logic ( to name but a few ). We were forced to slightly rethink The original arcades. our plans of inclusiveness though when the holiday migration hit us hard, although the brief remained the same. First and foremost, the project was meant as an exploratory study into urban community living, a sort of activist hippie community for 21st century living. This meant that we based the project on the typical semi- detached “Maison de Maitre” prevalent in Brussels. We were also very keen to build a place which combined our private and pro- fessional lives, one which refl ected the blurry lines which existed between our living and working spaces. This was extended to our communal public-private partnership : each couple was to be given a private quarter (complete with children’s room, parents’ room and bathroom) whilst all the kitchen, dining area, living room and garden were open to all. The key words were : open plan, modular, organic ( in terms of how the house blended into its environment ) and referential ( con- sidering the heritage ). Similarly to the magazine, we wanted our house to be functional, operating along the lines of the “less is more” dictum. Needless to say we gave strong consideration to the project’s overall sustain- ability and environmental impact, although having fun and trying out something new was just as intrinsic. Getting down to specifi cs, we had a couple of imperatives. We all were keen on a common library, a large dining area able to seat us all, a greenhouse and botanical garden, a children’s playground, as much green space as possible and an indoor basketball court (the building’s original structure lent itself perfectly for this last request). Lots of space and an unrestricted fl ow of light were essential. After close to two and a half months, we fi nally opened the doors to our dreamed-up miniaturised den end of July… all we need now is to fi gure out how to downsize ourselves. (NL) 02.

The indoor basketball court, a central Previous pages feature in the renovation process.

01. Maison du Word in full view

These pages

02. Aerial view of the basketball court-come-lounge, complete with wall-mounted library 03. The garden-facing facade 04. View of the interior from the main entrance MAISON DU WORD LIFESTYLE 33

Terraces help to maximise the indoor living space.

Stairs which double up as a library. Central to the project was the optimisation of each zone as a living space.

03.

04. Check The Word Blog for before and after photographs of Maison du Word. www.thewordmagazine.be 34 THE ITSY-BITSY ISSUE THE WAY

To the power of one — We have somewhat of an obsessive fascination for characters who pursue their passion and core beliefs at all costs. Indeed, some of the country’s ﬁ nest retail, cultural and food outﬁ ts stem from these one man bands’ steadfast vision and indefatigable energy. We therefore thought it high-time to give centre stage to these sole players and their emporiums.

Photography Sarah Eechaut Writer Nicholas Lewis Alice Gallery Opened by Alice van den Abeele and Raphaël Cruyt in December 2004, Alice Gallery is a cultural hotspot which encompasses a shop, a gallery and a project room. Located at the end of Rue Antoine Dansaertstraat, Alice’s boutique has, as she puts it, “fi ve big shelves fi lled with what we like.” A natural extension of her own passions and tastes, the boutique ¤ peddles everything from art books, t-shirts, One other shop you admire and why ? Vejà sneakers, sunglasses and screen prints. Icon, a fashion boutique on The neighbourhood cultural powerhouse is Rue A. Dansaertstraat. Michèle, the owner, especially reputed for the art shows it puts will not let you buy what you want if she on – Maya Hayuk being the most recent thinks it does not fi t. one. Attracting everyone from skateboard- ers looking for a book on board design and What future plans do you have for the shop ? the Spanish out-of-towner on the lookout for We just changed the set up of the shop to an original print by a local artist to the archi- have a project room in addition to the gallery. tect who needs to buy a present for a friend’s We will hold exhibitions every two months birthday, Alice has, in the space of fi ve years, in this new space. We’ll start the season become a name to be reckoned with on the with local artist NEB from Brussels. We’ll cultural trail. also have a show by LA based artist Cleon Peterson in the main gallery.

Your motto ? Look straight ahead and keep on going.

Rue Antoine Dansaertstraat 182 1000 Brussels www.alicebxl.com TO THE POWER OF ONE LIFESTYLE 35

Septante Sept L’épicerie Fine de la Senne Owner Pierre Marino-Smette opened Valérie and Christian opened their savoury Septante Sept, his limited edition design deli and gourmet kitchenette in August 2004. store, in October 2006. Huddled in the heart Nestled in the pedestrian street linking of Brussels’ Chatelain area, the shop stocks Boulevard Anspachlaan to Rue du Marché an incredible array of items –approximately au Charbon/Kolenmarkt, their eatery 150 designers can be found in the intimate yet attracts the area’s locals, employees on their packed store. The perfect spot to fi nd a last lunch break, the neighbourhood’s gay com- minute gift or discover emerging local talent, munity as well as tourists. Famed for its wide Pierre loves, as he puts it, “to make people dis- selection of fresh vegetables and anti pasti, cover new things; things I like. I started with L’épicerie also plays host to the odd exhibi- music as a DJ and party promoter; now it's my ¤ tion or two (Valérie’s doing) whilst always love for objects, fashion and art that I want to One other shop you admire and why ? playing a pleasant selection of tunes, cour- share.” Mostly catering to thirty-something Jewelry designer Marie Le Lorrain’s boutique tesy of Christian. Aptly named after the 19th European ‘Bourgeois Bohemes’, Septante Sept on Rue Berkendael 175 Berkendaalstraat, century river fl owing underneath it, L’épicerie is defi nitely the place to hit if you’re keen to 1050 Brussels. is without a doubt the team’s favoured down- get a sense of the pulsating local fl avor. town lunchtime den. What future plans do you have for the shop ? In September, the shop will be part of ¤ ‘Design September’ with an exhibition dedi- One other shop you admire and why ? cated to young Belgian designers working Prive Joke (men and womens fashion bou- with light. tique), Look 50, Fox Hole (vintage clothes) and Septante Sept. Your motto ? Always try to surprise myself and therefore Your motto ? surprise my customers. Diversity, friendship and a good glass of wine.

Rue du Page 77 Edelknaapstraat Rue du bon Secours 4 Bijstandstraat 1050 Brussels 1000 Brussels www.septantesept.be www.epicerieﬁ nedelasenne.be 36 THE TEENY-WEENY ISSUE THE WAY

Delecta The Delecta ﬁ rst opened its doors in 2001, although current owner Coralie Rutten – dubbed “La Biche” – took the place over in 2007. A bar-come-eatery which doubles as the “place to be” every Thursday night, what was formerly a grocery store has managed to build quite a following since : a two minute walk from the up-and-coming Flagey area, the bar attracts neighbourhood regulars as well as the city’s writers, musicians, graphic designers, actors and the likes. “I need people to feel at ease at the Delecta. It’s an intimate place, where lots of things happen – meetings, crea- ¤ tions, exchanges,” says the joyful host. With What future plans do you have for the shop ? a wide selection of dishes winning the hearts Improve the place in general, and continue and minds of her clientele – the mix platter of with our acoustic concerts and DJ nights on meats, cheeses and grilled vegetables served Thursday evening. with toasts being the most in demand – we’ve made the Delecta our home away from home One other shop you admire and why ? for some time now. I like places with a soul. I admire the Archiduc and Sibémol for their persistence after all these years.

Your motto ? I operate through intuition. I sometimes look up to my ceiling and ask for some assistance.

Rue Lannoy 2 Lannoystraat 1050 Brussels TO THE POWER OF ONE LIFESTYLE 37

Choosy Juice Bar Plaizier One-time Word contributor Laura Vannerom Plaizier, open since the summer of 1977, is the started juicing it in October 2006. Housed in brainchild of Wijnand and Mieke Plaizier- an intimate, pink-lined shop off Rue du Midi/ Vermeiren. A tiny fi ve by 10m shop, the multi- Zuidstraat, the idea to open up came, well, faceted store started off as a gallery, going on quite naturally to Laura: “I had worked in to publish its own series of postcards as well bars and restaurants and also some offi ce jobs as working closely with artists on publishing but neither made me happy, so it was kind of books and catalogues. The closest the city of natural to think about starting my own busi- Brussels has to a visual archive, Plaizier has ness. I decided on a juice bar in May 2006 ¤ over the years built up an impressive collec- and six months later it was up and running.” One other shop you admire and why ? tion of postcards, posters and small-print Essentially a meeting point for local fruit Restaurant Le Vismet, for its consistency books with a special emphasis on the capital fi ends, Choosy has more than 45 juice mixes and quality. city. Catering to everyone from Brussels buffs, on its menu and also offers a simple food to Japanese, Chinese and European tourists, menu - a soup and salad of the day, a couple What future plans do you have for the shop ? Plaizier is a personal affair and an extension of sandwiches and some desserts. Its specialty I would like to develop the events part. of Mieke’s interest : “We continue to follow though: the brightly coloured Choup juice, a For starters Choosy will be catering at our own subjective choices and after years we heady mix of apple, beetroot, ginger, orange PassiveHouse 2009 (Tour&Taxis). I’d also now have people who like the same things (as and pineapple. like to do something with the space above us).” A pleasure indeed… the shop on the fi rst fl oor, perhaps have workshops or more seating for groups, or ¤ even rent it out for meetings and parties. What future plans do you have for the shop ? O.W. Link exhibition in Congres station (until Your motto ? 4th September 2009) and we hope to con- Be Choosy, be healthy, be delicious and tinue publishing cards, prints and calendars. Carpe Diem. Rue des Eperonniers 50 Rue des Pierres 40 Steenstraat Spoormakersstraat 1000 Brussels 1000 Brussels www.bechoosy.be www.plaizier.be 38 THE SCANTY ISSUE THE WAY

Peinture Fraîche Veals & Geeks Peinture Fraiche, an art bookstore in Opened in April 2008, Veals & Geeks has Brussels’ Chatelain district, opened its quickly cemented a reputation for retail cura- doors in February 1989. Founded by Benoît torial excellence – shaped, nearly entirely, Waterkeyn and Dominique Michaux, this through owner Stan’s longstanding personal high-art treasure-trove stocks everything passions. An avid crate-digger and vintage from limited-edition fi ne art photography video game afi cionado, he has stocked the books and obscure Japanese graphic design boutique-come-gallery with everything from publications to Korean architecture maga- records and DVDs to magazines, books and zines and one-off publishing marvels. A vintage video games. Attracting a nerdy bunch meeting point for the city’s creative folk, the of shoppers – “We have die hard music fans, store attracts, as its owners tell us, “all types lost travelers, record geeks and magazine freaks of passionate people, of all ages.” We strongly from all over the world visiting the store,” Stan ¤ recommend the bookstore for anyone looking says –, this is one store you’re sure to come out One other shop you admire and why ? to be inspired. of a little less ignorant, such is the prevalent Catherine, the cheese shop on Rue du Midi expertise fl owing through the air. A refreshing 23 Zuidstraat, I appreciate the seasonal prod- ¤ addition to downtown shopping… ucts and the old fashioned atmosphere. One other shop you admire and why ? Plaizier, for its uniqueness and the pleasure What future plans do you have for the shop ? its window display always brings us. We're currently adding more furniture to expand the record section and we have a What future plans do you have for the shop ? showcase coming up for Hank Harry's new To remain a small bookshop and to continue album in September. doing our job as best as we can. Your motto ? Your motto ? Hey Ho, Let’s Go. One amongst many: living without beauty, is like living without light. Rue des Grands Carmes 8a Lievevrouwbroersstraat Rue du Tabellion 10 Notarisstraat 1000 Brussels 1050 Brussels www.vealsandgeeks.com www.veuve-clicquot.com

Notre savoir-faire se déguste avec sagesse - Ons vakmanschap drink je met verstand 40 THE MEAGER ISSUE THE WORD ON

My little doggy

— Before the rise of celebrity Chihuahuas and superstar Pugs made walking your dog just another fashion fad to follow, Belgian grannies were reputed for keeping a very special place in their hearts for their often particularly tiny tail-waggers. Here, we meet Maria, Isabelle and Yolande to ﬁ nd out why their four-legged ﬂ ea bags get the sofa treatment.

Photography Sarah Eechaut

Maria Duitshouwer is 88 and lives in Brussels. She got her dog – a York called Pruts – after her husband lost 15kgs following the death of their previous dog. It too was called Pruts. MY LITTLE DOGGY LIFESTYLE 41

Yolande Steurbaut is 69 years old and lives in Ghent. She has always been surrounded by dogs and apparently cannot live without one. Her dog – a Shih Tzu named Benjy – keeps her company.

Isabelle Neirynck is 85 and lives in Ledegem. She got her dog – a West Highland white terrier called Blafﬁ e – after being burgled. He is now the house’s watchdog – seriously. 42 THE LONESOME ISSUE THE OTHER WORD ON

Me, my toys and everyone I know… — Passions and hobbies, however expensive they become, always keep the child in all of us alive and kicking. In the following series on collectors, we meet those who have a soft spot for the small – from miniature Delft china and Marklin trains to downsized excavators.

Photography Sarah Eechaut

Willy Van Delsen from Herzele collects it all – from the rarest to the kitschiest. His house is as packed as Ali Baba’s cavern with everything from vases, lace and Delft colour-coordinated into separate rooms. ME, MY TOYS AND EVERYONE I KNOW… LIFESTYLE 43

D. Gids collects Marklin trains. Meticulous in his approach, his collection is minutely archived in a ﬂ oor-to-ceiling cabinet.

Tom ‘Kraan’ Maervoet’s father used to work as an excavator operator. Little did he know that by giving his son a miniature crane for his 7th birthday he would kick start a fascination with the excavating beasts. All his are on a scale of 1:50. 44 THE INSIGNIFICANT ISSUE THE SHOWSTOPPERS

Miniaturised marvels

— We’re aiming for a clean slate this time around. Be it our Vodka followed by an espresso, some clothing accompanied by a bib or some soap, we’re not about to be caught out by some unexpected accident, however small it may be.

Photography Operation Panda Writer Nicholas Lewis

01. Barking mad

Even the meanest of brutes will be forced to crack a smile when he lays eyes on Labrador’s canny set of illustrated T’s. Created by Antwerp-based designer and art director Ilse Pierard, we were instantly drawn to her illustrations’ simplicity laced with witty references. With the 2009 collection including, amongst others, a pink paint brush- wielding eagle, the undertones of understated humour hit just the right chord with the ofﬁ ce’s comic cognoscenti. Printed on 100 percent Organic Cotton American Apparel t-shirts, we chose the backdoor ice cream polar bear as our motif. Nothing but joy…

From € 25 to € 40 www.labradortshirts.be MINIATURISED MARVELS LIFESTYLE 45

02. Take away

They might seem slightly on the frivolous side upon ﬁ rst inspection, but a closer look - and a tryout - will reveal sheer good sense and a serious dose of ingenuity. An elongated, strap-on bib which morphs into a tablecloth, Bavetton is described as an ‘accessory for contemporary kids’. Given the plethora of different motifs and colour patterns it comes in, you tend to imagine this tablebib on the same type of toddler to sport Baby Dior overalls, drinking from a Philippe Starck baby bottle. Created by trained-architect-turned-product-designer Lara Boudron, Bavetton is unexpectedly functional and agreeably liberating judging by the hit it was with the ofﬁ ce’s recently delivered arrival, Sienna. We got her two.

BAVETTON, € 39,50 Available amongst others at Espace Bizarre Rue des Chartreux 19 Karthuizersstraat 1000 Brussels www.labaronnepython.com

03. Have a little spirit

We already had somewhat of a penchant for their different-ﬂ avoured vodkas – Ruby Red being our poison of choice at the moment – but this here is outright positive provocation if you ask us. Neatly packed into a set of ﬁ ve, we found Absolut’s spir- ited mini-mart to be the perfect (regulating) partner in our quest to minimise our summer alcohol intake to 50ml a pop. We forgot to limit the amount of pops per night though. Oh well, next year.

ABSOLUT Five Available from all good supermarkets

04. For play

Fed up with over-the-top luxury lines or bottom-of-the-line ill-suited collections for your little one ? Cotton & Milk’s understated kids’ wear collection is probably just what you’re after. The side-project of freelance knitwear designer Justine Glanﬁ eld, the newly-launched label includes cotton sleeveless v-neck jumpers, strap-on long skirts and exquisite high-topped socks. Imbued with 21st century New England references, the label distinguishes itself through its sturdy knitwear and maritime inﬂ uences – most sweaters come with ever- so-cute shoulder buttons.

www.cottonandmilk.com 46 THE LIMITED ISSUE THE SHOWSTOPPERS

05. Pressto!

Cleverly packed into a neat leather-lined carry pouch and graced with a functional Italian design edge beﬁ tting the best of espresso bars, Handpresso’s Outdoor set will have any design buff scrambling for the presser. Including a downsized espresso machine, a thermos-ﬂ ask, four unbreak- able espresso cups and even two napkins, the brew bag has it all worked out. You’d be forgiven for expecting a ‘break glass in case of emergency’ window such is the sense of purpose to this on-the-go barista.

HANDPRESSO Outdoor Set From € 169 Available from Natural Caffé Avenue Louise 196a Louizalaan 1050 Brussels www.handpresso.com

06. Scented scrub

The ‘LustAball’, created by Ghent-based contemporary artist Karien Vandekerkhove, are soaps made of 100 percent extra virgin olive oil and infused with a wide selection of different essential oils – from French lavender and Belgian Callebaut chocolate to Egyptian geranium and Spanish rosemary. Handmade in Belgium and a follow-up to her ‘Adoraballs’ collection, the 118gr rounded rinse reminded us how much more we pre- ferred soap bars to shower gels when given the choice. For our own guest restroom, we picked the Thai Lemongrass scented scrub…

LustAball From € 5,70 www.karienvandekerkhove.com/soap THE WORD & CACHEMIRE COTON ET SOIE

cachemire coton et soie a contagious and creative sensation a crash course in seduction a character of classic sophistication cachemire coton et soie a clear cut superiority a conspicuous consumption satisﬁ ed the cherry on the cake of style… cachemire coton et soie

C / C / & / S cachemirecotonetsoie.com Rue Franz Merjay 53 Franz Merjaystraat

1050 Brussels

02 647 09 88

Opening Hours

From Monday to Saturday / 11h00 to 18h30 48 THE MINIMAL ISSUE THE TEASE

Iddlies (rice pancackes) delivered for Because they do! ( Mangalore ) breakfast every morning ( Mangalore )

Ready for takeoff ( London Heathrow )

And they mean it! ( Mangalore ) Drive-through ‘mixed chai’ ( Bangalore ) India on a Leica

Early June, my girlfriend and I set off for 20 days in India. We both needed a change of scenery, and the south of India seemed like the right place to do so. We began by a week of ‘do-nothing’ in Mangalore – and the family townships of Kallianpur and Bramavar – visiting relatives, dodging the monsoons, feasting on fi sh curries and reading everything from 032C’s summer issue to James Frey’s Bright Shiny Morning. We then moved up to Bangalore for some memorable karaoke Bollywood-style and drink parking lot ‘mixed chai’ with two good friends – having such of a good time we changed our fl ight back to Mangalore twice. After a couple of days back in Mangalore, we fi nished the trip off with four days in Mumbai. You might say we did things backwards given the intensity that is the capital city, although we prefer to be of the opinion of ending the trip on a high…

Photography Nicholas Lewis & Mélisande McBurnie Using Leica’s new D-Lux 4 digital camera

Bandit Queen in-the making (Bangalore) INDIA ON A LEICA LIFESTYLE 49

A billion magazines for a billion people ( Crawford market, Mumbai ) Straight out of a movie scene ( Mumbai )

A colourful selection of pan – chewing tobacco mixed with fresh betel nuts, Municipal water fountains. Drink at your own risk ( Mumbai ) catechu, cardamom and lime ( Mumbai )

Say ‘Paneer’ ( Mumbai )

Leica D-Lux 4, from € 699 India’s answer to Tony Soprano ( Mumbai ) www.leica-camera.be 50 THE MINOR ISSUE THE FASHION WORD

— Lunchroom meetings are being held, briefcases exchanged and documents thrown to the shredder. Judging by our bankers’ suspicious behaviors and hush-hush demeanors, something big is about to go down, requiring their undivided attention. Photography Vincent Fournier Styling & Production Eleonore Vanden Eynde Left: Shirt Iceberg, Tie Paul Smith from Balthazar, Cardigan Closed Right: Shirt Iceberg, Tie Paul Smith from Balthazar, Jacket Essentiel Vintage Phone from Ping Pong Left : Vest Chauncey, Trousers Giorgio Armani, Shirt COS, Shoes Hermès, Vintage Bow Tie Right : Vest Hermès, Trousers Agnès B, Shirt COS, Shoes J.M. Weston, Vintage Bow Tie, Briefcase Delvaux Suit, Tie and Shoes Ermenegildo Zegna, Waistcoat Ralph Lauren, Shirt Essentiel Suit Lacoste, Shirt Comme des Garçons Left : Suit Paul Smith from Balthazar, Shirt Calvin Klein, Tie Yves Saint Laurent, Shoes J.M. Weston Middle : Suit Agnès B, Shirt Gucci, Shoes Hermès, Vintage Bow Tie Right : Suit COS, Shirt Lagerfeld, Shoes J.M. Weston, Vintage Bow Tie Suit Hermès, Waistcoat Agnès B, Shirt Hugo Boss, Tie Givenchy from Francis Ferent, Shoes Paul Smith, Cuff Links Givenchy, Vintage Light from Ping Pong Left : Suit Essentiel, Shirt H&M Trends Collection, Shoes J.M. Weston, Belt Louis Vuitton, Vintage Bow Tie Middle : Suit Essentiel, Shirt Degand, Tie Tommy Hilﬁ ger, Belt Delvaux, Cuff Links Louis Vuitton, Shoes Giorgio Armani Right : Suit Essentiel, Shirt Lagerfeld, Shoes J.M. Weston, Belt Louis Vuitton, Vintage Bow Tie Suit Ermenegildo Zegna, Shirt Paul Smith from Balthazar, Tie Degand, Briefcase Delvaux, Belt Hermes, Shoes Paul Smith from Balthazar, Hat Maison Michel Left : Suit and Shoes Giorgio Armani, Vest Degand, Shirt Filippa K, Watch Longines Photographer Vincent Fournier www.carolelambert.com

Assistant photographer Delphine Gilson

Production and styling Eleonore Vanden Eynde

Hair and Makeup Bérangère Dosière & Soﬁ e Van Bouwel at Touch for Chanel

Model Jesse Clarysse at dominiquemodels

Retouched by Bee Factory www.beefactory.be

With special thanks to Sara Lammens at Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België www.kbr.be Ping Pong Vintage Design Shop Rue St Georges 75 Sint Georgesstraat 1050 Brussels

Right : Raincoat Burberry, Shirt Hacket, Shoes Hermès, Trousers Giorgio Armani, Tie Alain Figaret YOU SPEND SO MUCH TIME TRYING TO GET IT RIGHT DON'T ASK THE REASON WHY DESIGNIT'S A PART OF LIFE OUR LOVE CAN BE DIFFICULT AT TIMES BUT IT WAS BY DESIGN OUR LOVE WAS DIFFICULT AT TIMES BUT IT WAS BY DESIGN

(DIFFICULT BY DESIGN, KYLIE MINOGUE) SPECIAL THE DESIGN PAPERS THE DESIGN SPECIAL 63 © Yassin Serghini

As regular readers of The Word will be can hover just a whisker away from perform- The hunting set aware, if there’s something out there waiting to ance – works made in situ in full public gaze, be collected - be it art or airline memorabilia - or demanding interaction. there’s never a Belgian far behind. And so it was Design Miami / Basel is a good indicator of The Art Basel fair seemed to contain all the that we bumped into Victor Hunt as we admired what Victor Hunt is up against ; of 28 galleries spending money left in the world. There were Maarten de Ceulaer’s green suitcase cupboard showing at the fair, three were from Brussels. expensive tans, big white teeth and plenty at the stand of Milan’s Nilufar gallery. This is no bad thing. They all have their own of girls for whom further education meant Victor Hunt is both a ‘he’ and an ’it’. Still specialist areas – modernists, post war furni- learning how to walk in heels the height of a in his early twenties, Hunt the man ( real name ture, glass and ceramics – but their presence milking stool. There was art of course, and Alexis Ryngaert ) is an avid collector while confi rms the city’s reputation with collectors. artists, and dealers and collectors, and bars still young enough to be of a generation with Hunt knows what serious buyers want, because full of journalists ; everyone knew their place. those whose work he buys, ( he was hanging he’s had to fi ght them for works, and he feels Apart, it seems, from the little upstart Design out near Maarten de Ceulaer because the pair that his strongest suit at the moment is his com- Miami / Basel pavilion tucked away at the back, were driving back to Brussels together, along bination of taste and a refusal to bullshit. “I can which besides a loose smattering of vintage with that other young gun of the Brussels scene talk very frankly to designers – they are not works and prototypes, was largely dedicated Raphael Charles ). As an ‘it’ Victor Hunt is intimidated because of my age – they just say to the sale and promotion of Design Art. a brand name that will come attached to what they think,” he explains, intimating that Despite having been a fair fi xture for Brussels’ fi rst dedicated contemporary design if work is not to his taste, he wastes no time in four years now, much of both the design gallery and project space; a disused garage on mentioning it up front. The Hunt design stable and art worlds still seem unclear as to what Rue Leon Lepage set to open in November. is impressive – including current Word-stars exactly Design Art is; certainly the higher The Victor Hunt enterprise is comfort- Sylvain Willenz and Raw Edges – now he needs end of the art press seems to regard it with a able on Design Art territory. “For me, design to track down those wily collectors. (HJ) slightly curled lip, if at all. Whether art made art is the conceptual reinvention of objects by designers, design made by artists, people which questions functions, techniques and During Design September Victor Hunt will (Brad Pitt among them) were buying. Without looks,” he explains, contentedly disclosing present Surveillance Patrol by Humans Since waiting for the pedants to catch up, this young his fondness for the kind of conceptual work 1982 at various locations. genre had already defi ned itself by its own associated with the Eindhoven school and its market of collectors. ex alumni. In this world, the notion of design www.victor-hunt.com 64 THE MINUTE ISSUE THE PROCESSES

Love what you do when you’re doing it

— We asked three of our favourite design studios to talk us through the process behind their recent projects, and to tell us about what excites them when they do the things they do.

Writer Hettie Judah

01.

The learning process: BarberOsgerby – Lanterne Marine (Venini) Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby fi rst worked with Venini in 2002 when the duo commissioned the Murano glassworks to create bespoke door handles for Stella McCartney’s store in New York. They have since collabo- rated with the fi rm on the creation of the © All images courtesy of BarberOsgerby Cupola table, a monumental work in blown glass produced for the Meta collection. Four years ago Roberto Gasparotto, Venini’s artistic director, invited BarberOsgerby to develop a project of their own with the company. Earlier this year they presented the fi rst prototypes of the resulting Lanternes Marine, a series of awe-inspiring vases. “We were fascinated by the process,” explains Jay. “Learning to work with glass is like doing another degree. With wood or plastic and other materials, you can quite quickly understand the constraints.” Glass, by contrast, is worked as a liquid, and as Edward points out, it doesn’t become solid until the job is fi nished. “It’s very diffi cult to manage – you can’t control its shape, its size, even its colour.” What thrilled the pair was not only the challenge of working this strange, tempera- mental material, but the arcane atmosphere that informed every part of their experience with Venini, from the ferry boats that took them to the island, to the mystery surrounding the chemical formulae of the glass. “Glass companies have their own colours,” explains Edward. “They’re a closely guarded secret. Apparently only one guy at Venini guards the formulas, and his father kept the 02. LOVE WHAT YOU DO, WHEN YOU'RE DOING IT THE DESIGN SPECIAL 65

03. secret before him.” Coloured glass is created with almost alchemical mystery. Sand from France is mixed with white and grey chemical powders; but only once the glass is melted do the colours emerge. Even then the colours vary according to humidity and atmospheric pressure. “If it’s hot they tend to be more vibrant – if it’s a lousy day they are more muted,” Edward explains. The designs of the Lanterne Marine themselves are based on the lamps and buoys the British designers passed in the lagoon on the boat trip over to Murano ; coloured glass pods with a torch-shapes vase section that rises out of a metal cage. The different colours of the glass are layered across one another, and on some pieces an extra level of refl ection is created with a double radius. But as decorative works, they are very restrained by Murano standards. The original marine lanterns inspired a contrast between the hand-made craftsmanship of the Murano glassblowers and the laser cut anodised metal components that form the cage. Jay explains that they aimed for the illusion of something standardised and geometrically controlled from the glass 04. blowing process ; “it’s almost more diffi cult for these guys to get that,” adds Edward, explain- ing that the production and development of is being blown which in turn escapes through to moulds because that takes a fair amount the vases has already taken years. holes drilled through the wood. of money and time. When you haven’t done it The moulds for all Venini pieces are The biggest leap of faith for the duo has actu- before it’s very hard to be intuitive about it.” carved from pearwood, and stored in tanks ally been in committing to their designs. “Glass It is that very self-doubt and unpredictability of water in the workshop. Jay explains that is all about subtlety,” explains Edward. “You that excites BarberOsgerby most about working once the blow stick and glass are put into the can sketch and do mock-ups, but it just looks in glass. “That fear is something that helps the mould the water in the wood generates a huge rubbish. The only way to know how something design process,” explains Jay. “If you don’t have quantity of steam : the glass effectively fl oats will turn out is to commit to a mould. You have that fear and the timetable set by the glass work- on a bed of vapour within the mould while it to do the whole thing once you’ve committed shop, you can keep redesigning endlessly.” 66 THE MODEST ISSUE THE PROCESSES © All images courtesy of Front

05.

The technical process: Front – Moment collection (Moroso) 06. Sofi a Lagerkvist, Charlotte von der Lancken, Anna Lindgren and Katja Sävström have often produced works focused more on the story of the process than the end-products themselves. Most notably their Design by Animals series, that features a wallpaper pattern ‘designed’ by gnawing rats, a vase shaped from a dog’s leg hole in deep snow and a tabletop decorated by the paths of wood-eating insects. This year they presented a series of collections linked by their abiding interest in surface and illusion, including the Blow Up Vase for Moooi, for which they created a digital Delft vase, ‘shot’ it in a computer game, then manufac- tured the distorted result. The Moment collection for Moroso is a series of sofas, rugs and tables that likewise capture a split second event. “They’re all based on one particular moment in time,” explains Charlotte. “We wanted to enhance the quali- 07. ties that come when you take a photograph of something ; the tables have a light fl are on the surface, the carpet is printed to make the per- carpet from the other side ; the distortion of “They have this really skilled model workshop spective look a bit false, and you see the light the perspective becomes very weird.” where they cut out the prototypes by hand,” from the window on the surface.” The sofas are While Front’s processes in the past have explains Charlotte. “Patrizia ( Moroso ) has a both caught in a haphazard state of disarray ; been led by advances in technology, for the great talent for working with process and we one with awkwardly stacked cushions, the other Movement series the powerful, wigged-out knew that by developing it together with the draped under a hastily thrown piece of cloth. results are largely due to old-fashioned crafts- company we’d come up with something good. The photographs are digitally printed manship and attention to detail. For the sofas They have so many years of knowledge.” onto the upholstery or surface of the objects ; they fi rst created the print by photographing “when you look at the things you see some- miniature sofas mocked up in their studio thing that is at once two dimensional and from wood and cushions. The manufactur- three dimensional ; two dimensional photo- ing process took the reverse direction from Previous pages graphs of three dimensional objects that have the norm ; rather than cutting cloth to fi t the 01. The Lanterne Marine on the drawing board been turned back into different three dimen- design, they fi rst had to make the cover to fi t 02. The mould for the vases 03. Turning the glass sional objects.” the photograph, and then create a sofa to fi t 04. The fi nished vases In working out the original photos for the the cover. Front decided to use a short-pile series, the quartet tried to keep the photo- velvet fabric by Kvadrat which allowed the This page 05. The Moment collection thought up graphic perspective logical ; thus from one digital print to sink deep into the fabric. 06. Draping the sofa position in front of the objects, the pieces look Producers Moroso are particularly cel- 07. Sketched together ‘right’ ; correct in perspective, and in light and ebrated for their skills in upholstery, so Opposite page shade. “It’s a surprise when you start to move Front went to the company’s workshops in 08. The Labobrain beyond that point and see, for example, the Udine to work out the technical details. 09. No desks mean writing on the wall LOVE WHAT YOU DO, WHEN YOU'RE DOING IT THE DESIGN SPECIAL 67 © All images courtesy of Mathieu Lehanneur

08.

The thought process : Mathieu Lehanneur – Labobrain (private commission) Technical process interests Mathieu Lehanneur less than conceptual process ; although he has recently produced both blown glass works and tufted rugs for the limited edition market, he regards manufacturing as a means to an end, rather than an area to be explored for its inspi- rational appeal. The processes that fascinate him are scientifi c, and specifi cally biological; the natural symbiosis that can exist between fi sh and salad plants, or the power of plants to fi lter air in our living spaces. 09. Last year the Harvard Professor David Edwards, who has worked with Mathieu in developing industrial applications for work helped Mathieu create an appropriate in the offi ce. For Mathieu, the vegetation also such biological phenomena, approached the working environment for his client. “I went acts as a reality check ; “even in a world where designer to create his Paris offi ce. “He asked to a meeting between three scientists who science and technology play a great part, me to provide certain key elements,” explains were talking about their inventions, and nature is still there, just underfoot ; it’s there Mathieu. “He had to be able to draw on the they were all drawing calculations and equa- to help them recall where they came from.” walls, he didn’t want a desk, and although he tions at the same time.” He gave the ‘grotto’ a had a lots of books and archive material he whiteboard fi nish so that it could constantly Works by Front can be seen as part of didn’t want to see them, because they stopped be drawn on and wiped down. The cave also Visual Voltage at Design Vlaanderen. him working and thinking.” has a conscious sonic dimension, rather like 11th September to 25th October. Mathieu decided to model the offi ce along a bubble of sound containing a conversa- Rue de la Chancellerie 19 Kanselarijstraat, the lines of the human brain, creating two tion ; “you have the sensation of something Brussels 1000. interconnected hemispheres, one ‘Cartesian’, very intimate – the sound is very targeted.” dedicated to order, memory and logic, the Mathieu worked with an acoustician to create Andrea, domestic objects that use plants other to imagination, creativity and emotion. the effect of being inside a very precise, but to fi lter air, designed by Mathieu Lehanneur “I have long been interested in the work of the invisible sound fi eld. together with Professor David Edwards, Canadian neurosurgeon Wilder Penfi eld,” In a sly dig at that most cerebral of archi- can be seen at Designed in Brussels. Mathieu explains. “He started mapping the tect/designers, he created a furnishing element 18th September to 1st October. human brain and the way it related to the called “Bucky’s Nightmare” – a leather Rue de Laeken 99 Lakensestraat, body back in the 1950s.” version of Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic Brussels 1000. The rational ( left ) hemisphere of the dome. “Buckminster Fuller is the personality offi ce was very white “like a virgin memory, that links designers, engineers and scientists All three design studios are presenting a the memory of a newborn,” says Mathieu. It – this was the meeting point between me and conference at the Flagey auditorium during provided a space for the professor’s assistants the scientist,” explains Mathieu. Stitched in Design September. to carry out administrative work, and caches soft leather, the dome collapses on contact Mathieu Lehanneur on 18th September, hundreds of white archive boxes as discreet with the human body, allowing the profes- BarberOsgerby on 24th September and storage for all the paperwork. sor to use it as a chair, sofa or even a bed. Front Design on 25th September. For the creative ( right ) hemisphere, In the ground beneath it, Mathieu planted Mathieu created a space he describes as a subterranean moss garden that humidifi es www.barberosgerby.com “almost like a prehistoric grotto for a modern the space, and permits the fantasy that one is www.frontdesign.com mathematician”. Watching the professor at having a siesta in a garden rather than a nap www.mathieulehanneur.com 68 THE NARROW ISSUE THE PROGRESSION

Arik Levy in his Paris studio This is Where We Are

— Challenges and questions don’t go away as a design studio becomes more established, they just shift emphasis. We asked three very different designers how things look from where they are right now.

Writer Hettie Judah THIS IS WHERE WE ARE THE DESIGN SPECIAL 69

complexity. People are complex; everything look modern. We don’t control the world; the is complex; whether it’s emotional, physical, world controls us. The more fl exible we are, fi nancial or industrial. I look at how challeng- the more we can go with the fl ow and follow ing it is to fi nd a solution and not to compro- the energy. The short answer is –I don’t plan. mise, and therefore I see no diffi culties. How much of your work is taken up with actually What is on your mind for the future ? designing, how much with the business side ? The crisis is the best thing that has happened In an optimal world I’d like to say everything to our profession and our kids – what con- is creative – if you don’t manage a business Arik Levy’s projects this year have cerns me for the future is oxygen and water; in a creative way; you’re gone, you’re dead. included Osmosis; a rather subversive much less plastic chairs. There are some I have to answer about 50 to 60 emails a offering for the Swarovski Crystal Palace in projects that are diverting towards industrial day and I receive about twice as many, but it Milan, and the design of the A Scent bottle science and environmental science – even doesn’t stop me from being creative. I don’t for Issey Miyake. In Paris, Levy works with if I make one piece of packaging one mm feel I need protection from the administrative a 20-strong team at the multi-disciplinary smaller, it doesn’t seem very much, but when side of the business – the best protection is studio L Design that he founded with Pippo you multiply it by millions, then I feel that I attack! I think the nature of fl exibility is the Lioni in 1997 have done something. What’s on my mind for nature of the new business environment. It’s the future is how to increase my awareness not how it was 20 years ago – but I don’t feel ¤ and personal criticism of everything I do. that is an invasion in any way. Could you describe the position that you fi nd yourself at in your career right now ? Are you where you planned to be ? Is this how A career is something in constant evolution; you imagined your career ? we don’t really know what is going to come. " The crisis is Since I don’t plan, I don’t see it that way. I’m This is a positive moment, since I feel that the best thing that in a process. This profession has a very long all the different work I’ve done in the past life, we can draw and have ideas when we’re 15 years in all the different fi elds are now has happened to 90 or 100 – I think I’m just in the beginning. converging in a good way; art, design, experi- our profession and But I’m happy to go to work, I’m happy about mentation, industrial design, furniture. It’s like where it is and what it does to me. fi shing; you cast out these great nets, and at our kids – what concerns a certain point there’s one single string you me for the future What advice do you have for those coming up pull on to collect the whole net and gather behind you ? everything together. But I also feel my career is oxygen and water ; There’s no golden egg! You just need a lot hasn’t started at all – I feel as though I’m in much less plastic chairs. " of love, a lot of work, a lot of passion, a lot of the pre-preparation stage. I’m in pre-labour. desire, a lot of self-criticism and honesty. You have to make your projects honest. It’s not What’s been the most exciting thing that’s about magazine articles or that one chair; it’s happened this year ? What have you learned recently ? about a philosophy, and believing. Because of the different fi elds I work in, French. I came for two years, and that there are constantly different things hap- was 17 years ago. I didn’t choose Paris, pening, so it’s diffi cult to say one is more Paris chose me ! I think I’ve been trying to exciting than another on a work level. On a learn French for 17 years, but I have the personal level, the most exciting thing is that impression I’ve only learnt it now. There’s the industry shows signs of motivation and a moment when it makes sense and when revival through this depressing crisis situa- you talk to people and they stop frowning at tion – the industry is alive even if the virtual you. Acquiring a language as a new tool is money is not there. fantastic. For every project I do I think in the There was a moment this year when the language of the environment I’m in – Italian, owner of IKEA became the second richest French or Hebrew – it’s quite a minestrone person on earth. It was exciting, because out there in my head ! what we do is real, not virtual; for years we have looked at Bill Gates, and it’s been How far ahead do you plan things ? pounded into our heads that software will Where I can, I plan case by case. Every save the world. Then in the end a guy with a project has its own speed, some take nail and a piece of wood becomes the richest fi ve years, some take fi ve minutes. What I do guy in the world. plan ahead for are things that are to do with Beyond that I have lots of launches and other people – we all have the same sort of projects – most recently the new perfume time, even if we’re in different time zones. So bottle for Issey Miyake for which I did the I know I booked my hotel room for Milan for whole concept – it’s out in September. the next fi ve years. I know what I’m going to do on January 26, 2010. Design is retroac- What are you fi nding diffi cult ? tive, so I have to imagine what the future is I’m a positivist, so I don’t think in terms going to look like in order to design a product of things being diffi cult, I think about that will launch in two and-a-half years and 70 THE PEANUT ISSUE THE PROGRESSION

Sylvain Willenz presented Landmarks, his second collection of lights with British producer Established & Sons this year, as well as limited edition works created in his studio, and the xxs mobile hard drive for Freecom (see The Word’s May-June 2009 Issue). In May his Torch Lights Series won Product of the Year and Best Lighting Design at the Grand Design Awards (UK). He is currently the designer in residence at CIRVA in France, and has just been nominated Belgian Designer of the Year.

¤ Could you describe the position you fi nd yourself at in your career right now ? Since 2008 there’s been a nice turning point. The collaborations with Established & Sons and with Freecom are serious in terms of the design world, and now producers are asking to do things for me. I feel like I can choose Sylvain Willenz in his Brussels studio right now – I only want to work with people that really interest me, whose vision I like as producers. I feel pretty free and comfortable. and industrial design (although gallery work How much of your work is taken up with The collaborations don’t have to be high end is still on the way). I like the idea of being actually designing, how much with the busi- or glamorous – there are small producers able to multi-task and having these clear ness side ? that have vision I appreciate as well. three routes – I don’t feel it devalues the way I don’t design that much – most of my I’m very enthusiastic about all the things that I work, I feel it’s more enriching. The experi- time is spent communicating with people are happening right now. ence of working industrially might inform how – 70 percent logistics and talking with I could work for a gallery or for a producer. people and planning things and having What’s been the most exciting thing that’s I fi nd pure hard 100 percent industrial design ideas – 20 percent of real technical work happened this year ? is kind of boring – people who only make and working out how something is going to I would have to say being nominated scissors and lawnmowers and screwdriv- be made, where, what material, what detail. designer of the year – of course there are ers – it’s more interesting when you see that For me that’s the real design work. The more exciting things than that in my life – but someone is quite diverse in his approach. 10 percent left is design thinking, which in terms of what I do and design that would Then when he does do a screwdriver it might usually occurs when I’m going to bed, be it. At this point this means it’s not exciting be infl uenced by how he might do something sitting on a plane or when I’m relaxed and yet but there are lots of exciting things this for a gallery. The jobs that pay the best so on holiday. My job is 10 percent thinking of will bring; new products and exhibitions. I’ve far are the industrial jobs because that’s things and dreaming about products and had some really nice meetings this year so where there’s huge production – work with what would be interesting to make and why hopefully those will bring some collabora- producers is less for the money, more for the would it be interesting and new and what tions for Milan 2010, and some very exciting recognition. Not one of these three activities it would bring? The real design is working business trips as well. is more interesting than the other. out stuff, driving to factories, speaking to I’d like to make some good proper furniture people, learning from them and fi nding What are you fi nding diffi cult ? – I’m still not sure if I can make furniture. The alternatives and convincing people that I’m To produce good ideas and good products candy collection is still on the edge between not crazy. – it’s easier to have loads of ideas. I like gallery and edition work. I’m not convinced – to have a consistency through everything that’s my challenge. I have a chair coming Are you where you planned to be ? Is this how I do – even if the things are very different. this winter. you imagined your career ? Whether works are intended for a gallery or I’d like to continue building my offi ce – there I guess I’m just happy where I am right now ; industrial production, it’s important to have are loads of things I can’t actually do – I can I don’t plan anything too precise in the long an approach that ties everything together, a sketch and scribble but I can’t draw or do 3D term. I do have plans, but generally I’m just vision or a way of thinking. I want to make work, so I need other people. very happy where I am right now. things that are complete – not just good, but for which the materials are right, the produc- What have you learned recently ? What advice do you have for those coming up tion is right, that make for a good package. That I shouldn’t be afraid. behind you ? It’s not just about the end result, but the It makes me feel pretentious to give advice whole idea and life of the item or product. How far ahead do you plan things ? – I feel young! I usually think it’s just impor- Usually a year ahead – at this turning point tant to listen to what you feel and work with What is on your mind for the future ? it’s hard to plan very far ahead. So I like to your gut feeling. Be curious and precise and I guess working with some brands I like have plans for a year. The start of the year is integral – think about every aspect, so that – and expanding the three avenues I like to after Milan ; the end of the year is Milan. All something should make sense and be simple. work in ; editions with producers, gallery work year I work on things aiming for Milan. THIS IS WHERE WE ARE THE DESIGN SPECIAL 71

Raw-Edges in their London ﬂ at

Raw-Edges (aka Shay Alkalay & Yael Mer) Stack by Established & Sons at the per- were presented in the selection of Designers manent collection of the MoMA New York. of the Future at Design Miami: Basel this Speaking with Goni, Yael’s cousin back year. They had previously worked with the in Tel-Aviv, she is only two years and six Design Miami team during the Craft Punk months old and takes Skype and webcam project at Fendi, for which they spent four for granted. And receiving a new three year days during the Miami design fair making working visa in the UK so we can now be pleated chair seats live in front of visitors. focusing in our creative interests and with They currently live and work in London. less bureaucracy involved.

¤ What are you fi nding diffi cult ? What’s been the most exciting thing that’s Everything ! But the most diffi cult one is happened this year ? keeping our studio space tidy. Many things: Getting the fantastic opportu- nity to work with Ambra Medda and Wava What is on your mind for the future ? Carpenter from Design Miami. Finding a new We going to have few projects in London fl at in London with a fantastic wallpaper of during the design festival in September, a Swiss landscape on one complete wall in also we hope to have a few new production the living room. Getting a new motor for our pieces ready for Milan. Grove, the revolving trees project, so now it’s going to work forever (this is after our old What have you learned recently ? motor stopped working during the Milan’s How to grill Portobello mushrooms with a bit Salone at Spazio Rossana Orlandi). Meeting of olive oil and garlic… that London is a fan- interesting people at our shows that will tastic city when it is sunny and 32 degrees… hopefully lead to new projects. For example, we know now how to use ATA Carnet when we are now going to make a Seesaw version exporting and importing goods to and from of our Pleated Pleat project at Fendi. Having Switzerland ! 72 THE PETITE ISSUE THE SPECIAL SHOWSTOPPERS

Wrap around the stock — From essential, lifesaving accessories to limited-edition designs, we mix-and-match it for this issue’s selection of showstoppers. Eagerly torn up, we couldn’t wait to give you a sneak preview, albeit through the cling ﬁ lm.

Photography Studio Habousha Writer Nicholas Lewis

VITRA Pretzel Chair DEDON Seashell Lounge Chair

We were instantly taken aback by Vitra’s If you’re anything like us, you’re probably Pretzel Chair’s curvaceous back rest and at a stage in your life when you’re ready to clean-ﬂ owing lines. Unbelievably light and trade in those generic plastic garden chairs sturdy, the chair is elegant in its composure for slightly more distinguished alternatives. and sits proudly like the woman everyone And German outdoor furniture specialist wants to get a piece of at a dinner party. Dedon has just what you need in the form Designed by Georges Nelson in 1952, of its low-seating Seashell collection. Made Vitra is today re-editing the chair – pre- up of an armchair, a side chair, a footstool, viously simply known as the “Laminated a beach chair as well as a lounge chair (pic- Chair” – in a limited edition series of tured), the collection’s breezy design and 1,000 to celebrate the American designer’s open mesh belie a sturdiness and comfort 100th birthday. well-suited for parties by the pool. Add to that the lounge chair’s wide backrest – the Approximately € 1,900 reason we made it ours – and we’d be sur- Available at InStore prised if you got us back indoors. Rue Tenbosch 90-92 Tenbosch 1050 Brussels DEDON’s Seashell Lounge Chair, € 879 www.instore.be Available from Dedon Showroom Antwerp Leopoldstraat 57 2000 Antwerp www.dedon.be WRAP AROUND THE STOCK THE DESIGN SPECIAL 73

CAPELLINI Skitch Stool

We’re suckers for anything remotely comical and functional, and this fold-away, colour- patched high stool hit both tangents with equal resonance. Designed by Australian Adam Goodrum and launched at this year’s Salone del Mobile as an addition to the Skitch collection which already included a chair, the Skitch stool is a fascinating design solution which cleverly manages to combine form, function and fun. Available in white, yellow, red, blue, black lacquer as well as in a mutli-coloured version (pictured), Capellini once again conﬁ rms its reputation as an editor of serious designs which doesn’t take itself too seriously.

www.cappellini.it

BROLESKINE Agenda

These tidy little agendas are a godsend in this day-and-age of paper rationing and ‘don’t print this email’ campaigns. Taking as central point the recuperation of used paper stock, Broleskine essentially is a binding specialist, (re-) binding everything from accounting paper and second-hand books to packaging and enve- lopes. Founded by Bariza Benmehenni and Corinne Clarysse, each agenda is a unique and intimate affair – some include glued newspa- per cuttings and ﬁ ctitious agenda entries whilst others simply have the agenda dates scanned in from other documents. Made-to-measure pleasure…

Available amongst others from Bozarshop Rue Ravenstein 15 Ravensteinstraat 1000 Brussels www.brolsekine.be 74 THE SHORT ISSUE THE SPECIAL SHOWSTOPPERS

IKEA PS Pendel

Part of Ikea’s high-browed PS collection, the Pendel clock has somewhat of a grandma feeling to it. An extension of Sweden’s ubiquitous Mora clock, the simpler – and more affordable – Ikea interpretation comes with a set of shelves, bringing new meaning to the term ‘a bookshelf’. Designed by Carl Hagerling to, as he says in the Ikea PS catalogue ‘combine Sweden’s patrimony with Ikea’s functionalism’, the clock’s imposing presence will ensure we have no excuse for being late.

Ikea PS Pendel, € 159 www.ikea.be

MAHAJAN MEDICAL SYSTEMS’ Ophthalmic Surgical Kit

We couldn’t believe our eyes – no pun intended – when we stumbled upon this lifesaving kit in the back alleys of Bangalore, India. Invented by India’s leading manufac- turer of surgical equipment, the country’s – and most probably the world’s – fi rst Ophthalmic Surgical Kit is a sterile, con- venient and affordable alternative for third world eye patients keen to minimise the risks of infections when going under the knife. With everything you need for a stress-free eye operation in a neatly disposed 21x16cm vacuum packed kit, the pack’s colour-coded simplicity and single use functionality makes it a sure shot amongst overworked and under- staffed Indian hospitals and their surgeons who might otherwise skimp on hygiene norms because of overfl owing waiting rooms. This, judging by initial sales fi gures, is the solution they’ve been waiting for.

From $10 www.mahajanophthalmic.net L=6IÉH I=DJI CI>C<4

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lll#WZbV\gVe]^Xh#Xdb 76 THE SLIGHT ISSUE THE FUTURE

utilise known properties of common materi- A staggeringly als in a more refi ned form ( refl ective sun fi lters that don’t form a white coating on the skin ), or which take inspiration from the protective small world below responses of the natural world ( the water- repellent qualities of the lotus leaf ). These re-jigged consumer products some- — What role is there for designers in the new what lack the dangerous, sexy quality that all the hysteria and hyperbole surrounding area of nanotechnology ? Are they there to create nanotech seemed to promise. At the moment products ? To serve the inventors with new nanotech can make us cleaner ( dirt repellent materials ) and better behaved ( more likely materials ? Or simply to explain what on earth is to apply suncream ), but this refl ects the going on to a public baffl ed by talk of dangerous immediately fi nancially attractive areas of the market – the known appetite for certain self-replicating nanobots and grey goo ? common and very lucrative products. “The stuff that is currently on the market described Writer Hettie Judah as nano is often not that interesting – it rep- resents science that’s perhaps 30 years old,” explains physicist and nanotechnology advisor Professor Richard Jones. “The role of more forward looking designers is to think of products that won’t be on the market until 2030 or 2040, that may have a big impact. Scientists have all sorts of schemes for doing things – but we don’t have much of a sense of Fifty years ago, Richard Feynman delivered a “But these products don’t always deliver what human needs are.” lecture – There’s plenty of room at the bottom what they claim : at most one third of them – in which he invited physicists into the vast, meet accepted defi nitions of nanotechnology but little explored world of the very, very small. as used for example by the German Ministry “How have we got to this state, where we have “In the year 2000, when they look back at this of Education and Research ( BMBF )”. a backlash to a technology that has not yet age, they will wonder why it was not until the arrived ?” year 1960 that anybody began seriously to Dr Thomas Stegmaier move in this direction,” he told his colleagues. Denkendorf Institute of Textile and Professor Richard Jones When Feynman was talking, computers were Process Engineering Soft Machines: nanotechnology and life still the size of a room. He fantasised of an era ( From BASF promotional material when such machines might operate at a micro for Mincor® TXTT ) level, then went further, to imagine storing Professor Jones spreads the blame for the data at incredible intensity, the possibility of hysteria surrounding nanotech between K micro surgeons that might be small enough to Eric Drexler; an engineer for MIT, who fi rst operate within the human body ; and physicists popularised the term (and the worst case sce- being capable of chemical synthesis, building " Words like ' nano ' are narios surrounding it) in his book Engines of molecules at an atomic scale. now being lavished Creation (1986) ; and the scientists currently Feynman’s point of reference for what might engaged in the fi eld who hype up the potential be possible in terms of function at a super- on countless products of the technology in their hunger for research small scale was the human body. After all; all as promotional tags grants. One of the pressing human needs right the information about the immensely complex now is evidently a grasp of what the heck this human organism is contained in a DNA chain to boost their alarming sounding new fi eld actually is – 2.2 to 2.6 nanometres wide. Feynman’s lecture market potential. " and it’s an area that Professor Jones has been touches on most of what we popularly ‘know’ working on in partnership with the Design about nanotechnology - or at least what we Interactions department at the Royal College fear about it – 50 years down the line. While of Art in London. we’re comfortable with the idea of informa- Would people still be scared of nanotech- tion and computing power happening at a Nanotechnology already surrounds us. Quite nology if we could make it strawberry fl avour ? tiny level, there is still quite a large ick factor literally, since the most evident products cur- This was the starting principle behind attached to the idea of this area getting at all rently on the market are fi lms or coatings ; sun- Cathrine Kramer and Zoe Papadopoulou’s biological. We have come to fear the spectre screen that contains refl ective nanoparticles Cloud Project ; a re-fi tted ice cream van from of small robot surgeons running amok inside of titanium dioxide or zinc oxide ; housepaint which the two recent graduates serve frozen our bodies, or rogue self-replicating machines and furnishing fabrics with a micro-textured yoghurt (mixed using liquid nitrogen to create digesting life as we know it. surface allowing dirt to sit proud of the surface ultra-tiny crystals), strawberry fl avoured Words like “nano” are now being lavished and wash off effectively in a shower of rain; clouds and create edible snow from a roof- on countless products as promotional tags to architectural glass coated with ultraviolet mounted rocket launcher that seeds clouds boost their market potential. fi lters. They are smart materials that either with strawberry ice cream-fl avoured bacteria. A STAGGERINGLY SMALL WORLD BELOW DESIGN 77

It turns out that people will happily eat ‘nanotechnology’ and freaky science if it comes in a cone. The point of the cloud project is both to communicate modern science at a popular level, and to break through some of the hysteria surrounding the subject ; during this summer the van also hosted discussions with prominent scientists and thinkers in the ﬁ eld. Zoe says that her whole neighbourhood

" ( Ginsberg ) fantasises about a world in which the hybrid organisms re-invigorate human biology, creating new-wave pathologies such as luminescent kidney stones or pollution sensing lung tumours. "

has now become nano-savvy as they have watched she and Cat decorating and fi tting out their van on the street outside her house. Instead of taking to the street, Daisy Ginsberg has been taking to the laboratory. In her Synthetic Kingdom project, she exam- ines how synthetic biology – nanoengineer- ing that takes its material components from the living world – might be classifi ed, and where to draw the line between the natural and artifi cial. Her Tree of Life bears a new 01. branch – Synthetica – and she fantasises about a world in which the hybrid organisms re-invigorate human biology, creating new- “What would be the utility of such machines ? some kind of interface evolves to allow design- wave pathologies such as luminescent kidney Who knows ?” ers to fi nd a role for these new technologies in stones or pollution sensing lung tumours. The the world beyond the laboratory. human body becomes a site of production – Richard Feynman In 2006 BASF, the worlds largest chemical in Nano Ecologies she pictures the substances company, opened up its Designfabrik – a ded- exuded by the body ( sweat, dead skin, other icated facility for designers to communicate unmentionables ) as harvestable and nutri- Amateurs prodding around in the fi eld with their scientists. The result has been two of tious nano-particles that can form part of a of nanotechnology quickly hit the broad the most prominent industrial design launch- micro ecology: in her scenario this involves Rumsfeldian plateau somewhere between the es of the past two years – Konstantin Grcic’s feeding such substances to a goose that in turn known and unknown unknowns – a vague lays eggs for the human donor to eat. awareness that they basically know nothing Interest in nanotech and the fi eld of human about the fi eld, but are not quite sure of just harvest is not unique to the design courses at how enormously ignorant they are. Is it folly to This Page the RCA. Over in Eindhoven, Mike John imagine that designers should be fully engaged Thompson’s graduation project Growing with every scientifi c aspect of an area ? Is it 01. Daisy Ginsberg's pollution sensing lung tumor Pains imagined the potential for adapting the enough that they understand the properties living skeleton – cultivating the body’s own of a new material or technology, and then Next Page material during life to provide custom-shaped work out the ways it might interestingly be 02. Ginsberg's take on unlimited energy: bone products – such as a pipe or work tool – harnessed ? As the science involved becomes The Luminaire to be retrieved after its death. increasingly specialised, it seems logical that 03. The New Tree of Life 78 THE SMALL-SCALE ISSUE THE FUTURE

02.

Myto chair made in the company’s Ultradur High Speed plastic, and the Bouroullec Brothers Vegetal chair, made in Miramid. Up to 50 years ago the oh-so-naughties nan- ometre would have been called 10 ångströms. But fashion plays its role in science too: these days talking nano is what gets you attention. There is still plenty of space at the bottom – products are already coming on to the market making reference to the picometre (10 -12), and surely femto (10-15), atto (10-18), and zepto (10-21) can’t be far behind (just wait to see what the next small car or MP3 player ends up being called). As for the utility of the really tiny things ? We all need to talk about it.

For further information on Professor Richard Jones: www.softmachines.org

Cathrine Kramer and Zoe Papadopolous: www.thecloudproject.co.uk

Daisy Ginsberg and the Synthetic Kingdom: www.daisyginsberg.com

Mike John Thompson: www.miket.co.uk 03.

The full text of Richard Feynman’s lecture www.zyvex.com/nanotech/feynman.html www.rado.com CERAMICA CHRONOGRAPH 80 THE TIGHT ISSUE THE SHELF

Trees + Flowers Atropa Bella Donna (2009) Desktop – Insects Animals (2009) By Arnoud Bakker By Man Ray Nooderlicht Steidl reading Describing his photographic work as “The only thing consistent about Man Ray’s research, Arnoud Bakker essentially photo- — Seeing the amount of art is its deliberate inconsistency” writes graphs women in all their form: “Their light, Merry A. Foresta in her opening essay their souls, their shapes in 3D, their mouths, books we get through, we for the book, and what an understatement their looks and so on,” as he explains, the thought it high time to get that is. Famed for his versatility, Man Ray purpose of which is to explore the idea of a often made several versions of a single idea perfect, universal girl. Photographed using a our eyes tested. Once at in a multitude of medias – from painting pinhole camera, his body of work is sweaty the doctor’s practice, we and printmaking to fi lmmaking and object and sensual, showing women in all their making. The latest book to celebrate his grainy glory… liked the place so much we considerable artistic estate, it presents over decided to make it our own, 4,000 items from the Man Ray Trust, metic- ulously categorised under such headings as Never Use White Type on a Black bringing this issue’s pick of Trees, Landscapes, Hats and Automobiles. Background And 50 other Ridiculous publications with us. We were particularly enthralled by his series Design Rules (2009) on Masks. BIS Publishers Photography Yassin Serghini Writer Nicholas Lewis An anti-rigidity cry to the design world, the Micro, Very Small Buildings (2007) book lists 50 design dictums it says shouldn’t By Ruth Slavid be followed. Everything from ‘K.I.S.S (Keep Laurence King it simple, stupid)’ and ‘Forms Follows There I Was (2008) Function’ to ‘Less is More’ and ‘Kill your By Collier Schorr The book’s name says it all. From concrete Darlings’ is contradicted in a visual manifest Steidl MACK shelters and capsule lofts to tree house spheres against the sheepish following of rules and and urban community spaces, Ruth Slavid’s catchphrases. Based on three articles the artist’s father study and celebration on the use of small wrote for Car magazine, There I Was is spaces is an ode to creativity and an inspiration Collier Schorr’s chalk coaled tribute to drag to all confi ned urban dwellers the world over. Just like a Woman (2008) car racer Charles ‘Astoria Chas’ Snyder. At By Bettina Rheims times laced with sorrow yet always belying a Galerie Jerome de Noirmont truly American narrative, Schorr’s drawings Zones (2008) effortlessly move between his childhood By Michel Mazzoni ‘Just like a Woman’ shows photographs of racetracks to the battlefi elds of Vietnam, Yellow Now women on the verge of, or having just had, an where Snyder died. Brutally honest in his orgasm. Red-cheeked and sweat-faced, the observations yet refreshingly light in his Eerie, soft and discreet, Michel Mazzoni’s unrestricted and unashamed prints reveal pencil touch, Schorr’s canny ability to lens focuses on those hidden parts of life a world of unabashed honesty, set against a portray the emotive in that most manly of you probably knew existed, but never really backdrop of womanly pleasure. environments – namely, drag car racing – paused at. Finding beauty where others makes him an unlikely hero of the tracks. might see banality, his static yet emotive prints exude a welcome calmness whilst at The Little Book of Cheese Tips (2005) the same time revealing a certain artistic By Andrew Langley Grote Verhalen (2009) confi dence. The fi rst book to be published Absolute Press By Matthieu Keuter by the Brussels-based French photographer, Nooderlicht we already can’t wait for one to follow. Novice cheese heads need not be worried anymore, the answer to all their worries has An intimate and visibly personal account of arrived in the form of Andrew Langley’s the world surrounding him, you get the sense book. A jam-packed mini-tome of cheesy that most of Keuter’s work is made in the fi rst advice, you’ll fi nd in it 50 tips to cheese- person, for his and his friends’ enjoyment buying, cheese-eating and cheese-storing only. Sometimes poetically surreal, at other such as ‘Give your cheese room on the board’ times hard-hitting, you’re somehow always left and, our favourite, ‘Always buy your cheese wondering what the story is about, and what from a specialist shop’. is trying to be said. Add to that the book’s quasi-homemade fi nish and collage aesthetic, and you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve stumbled upon someone’s personal diary. With Thanks to C.H.U Saint Pierre Site Césaer de Paepe Rue des Aléxiens / Cellebroersstraat Service Ophtalmologie and Lea Munsch DESKTOP READING CULTURE 81 82 THE UNDERSIZED ISSUE THE PENCIL

Far from impressed — You could throw a hurricane their way or, more dangerous yet, have an octopus tear up their prized – and regular – beach spot, our unfazed compatriots wouldn’t bat an eyelash for a thing.

Illustration Eledone FAR FROM IMPRESSED CULTURE 83 84 THE UNPRETENTIOUS ISSUE THE EYE

— Renowned for its world-leading universities and research facilities, Belgium is clearly in pole position when it comes to scientiﬁ c advancements leading to market introductions. We visit both ends of the spectrum – from research to commercialisation – keen to meet, speak to and capture the people, universities and companies responsible for making a tiny country such as ours a major player in the world of nano research.

Photography Sarah Michielsen Writer Nicholas Lewis ONE FOR THE NATION CULTURE 85

Inside IMEC’s 300 mm Clean Room, the largest in Europe

Our national nano tour of duty started with a it manages to get published (approximately static electricity in electronic packaging and visit to IMEC, with its campus a stone’s throw 1,500 per year) and the amount of spin-offs it automotive full pumps, known as ‘electron- away from Leuven’s Catholic University. successfully launches (at least one company a ic packaging’. It also specialises in what is Europe’s largest independent research center year is set up using IMEC technology). known as ‘mechanical reinforcement’ of fi ber on nanotechnology and nanoelectronics, it “(Every research project) is awarded with composites, prevalent in the aerospace and opened its doors in the eighties, on the back the sole consideration for its exploitation sport industries, as well as researching ways of the Flemish government’s insistance that potential and ability to create economic to replace steel by aluminum thus making the certain key industries should (and would) added value for Flanders,” says IWT director latter stronger, and lighter, reducing its weight bring about major economic opportunities. Lea Van de Loock, who isn’t one to understate by a third. But its core product remains its Awarded a 270 million euro yearly budget the importance of innovation for the region. Nanotubes, which are a hit with Asian chip- (2008) and employing 1750 people world- The same innovation is just as important to makers and hard-drive manufacturers. wide, IMEC currently has three global offi ces the region of Wallonia, who relies on its own Korea’s electronic packaging and boat - one in Silicon Valley opened in the 90s, one stimulus agency, the AWEX, to support, and making industries have proven especially in Shanghai opened in 2000 and a last one in partly subsidise, Wallonia’s exports. interesting industries for Nanocyl, who now Taiwan, opened last year. Nanocyl, one of the recipients of AWEX’s commands a 75 percent market share in the In part funded by the Flemish govern- largess, is one of the international success country, even usurping local companies and ment’s IWT spin-off (whose main purpose stories of the country. Located in a large leading it to open offi ces in Seoul made pos- it is to encourage research and development industrial park in Sambreville, the company sible thanks to AWEX subsidies. in Flanders) in part funded by such research was created in 2002 as a direct result of two All this, according to Nanocyl’s Global partners as Intel, Panasonic and Samsung, university laboratories merging. A Carbon Commercial Executive Director Monique IMEC is an incredibly slick affair; well-oiled, Nanotube specialist, Nanocyl fi rst began Lempereur, have made the company ‘the well-funded and well-reputed. Its ability to its work at lab-scale, going on to develop a Google of chemicals’ in Belgium, effortlessly attract researchers who’d normally opt for a pilot reactor study and then fi nally starting attracting top university talent looking for stay in the US is essentially down to its infra- full blown industrial production towards the their chance to work with the hottest topic in structure and facilities (the center has one of end of 2007. Employing 45 people (of which chemistry – namely nanotubes. the best 300mm clean rooms in the world, pic- 35 are chemists), the company manufactures tured above), the numbers of research papers Nanotubes which eliminate the damages of 86 THE LILLIPUTIAN ISSUE THE EYE

The changing room : Before entering the Clean Room, researchers need to change into full bodied suits and walk through a giant vacuum to remove all dust particles ONE FOR THE NATION CULTURE 87

An IMEC researcher at work 88 THE MINI ISSUE THE EYE

Chemist Fang-Yue Chan getting the equipment ready before the extraction of the Carbon Nanotubes ONE FOR THE NATION CULTURE 89

Aurélie De Pra in Nanocyl’s warehouse 90 THE SMALL-MINDED ISSUE THE EYE ONE FOR THE NATION CULTURE 91

Carbon Nanotubes being weighed once extracted from the reactor 92 THE UNOBTRUSIVE ISSUE THE EYE

Nanocyl’s marketing material

Check The Word Blog for more photographs of our national nano tour of duty. www.thewordmagazine.be /OW0NLINE

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#EWARNED 94 THE IMPERCEPTIBLE ISSUE THE STOCKISTS

The Stockists

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Alain Figaret Ermenegildo Zegna L www.alainﬁ garet.com www.zegna.com T Boulevard de Waterloo 30 Labrador T-shirts Waterloolaan, 1000 Brussels www.labradortshirts.be Tommy Hilﬁ ger B +32 (0)2 511 41 57 www.tommy.com Lacoste Balthazar Essentiel www.lacoste.com Avenue Louise 294 Louizalaan www.essentiel.be Galerie Porte de Louise 228 U 1050 Brussels 1050 Brussels +32 (0)2 647 77 37 +32 (0)2 512 20 32 V F Bavetton Laurence King Veuve clicquot www.labaronnepython.com Francis Ferent www.laurenceking.com www.veuve-clicquot.com www.espacebizarre.com www.ferent.be Leica BIS Publishers www.leica-camera.be W www.bispublishers.nl G www.debeukelaer.be X Burberry Giorgio Armani Louis Vuitton www.burberry.com www.giorgioarmani.com www.louisvuitton.com Y Place du Grand Sablon 37 Boulevard de Waterloo 59 Grote Zavel, 1000 Brussels Waterloolaan, 1000 Brussels Yves Saint Laurent C +32 (0)2 551 04 04 +32 (0)2 289 28 28 www.ysl.com Calvin Klein Givenchy LustAball www.calvinklein.com www.givenchy.com www.karienvanderkerkhove. Z com/soap Closed www.closed.com H M Chauncey Hackett www.chauncey.be www.hackett.com N Comme des Garcons Handpresso Noorderlicht Available from Houben www.handpresso.com www.noorderlicht.vpro.nl Place du Nouveau Marché aux www.eurcoquick.nl Grains 6 Nieuwe Graanmarkt 1000 Brussels Hermès O +32 (0)2 502 32 05 www.hermes.com P COS H&M www.cosstores.com www.hm.com/be Q Rue Neuve 66 Nieuwstraat Rue Neuve 17-21 Nieuwstraat 1000 Brussels 1000 Brussels +32 (0)2 223 36 00 +32 (0)2 210 00 00 Cotton & Milk Hugo Boss www.cottonandmilk.com www.hugobosscom the world vecto.indd 1 24/04/09 15:37:32 96 THE OUT OF SIGHT ISSUE THE ROUND UP

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/OW0NLINE CERAMICA CHRONOGRAPH CERAMICA CHRONOGRAPH

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Dining in style

Ristorante italiano , part of The Rocco Forte Collection “Hotel Amigo” Rue de l'Amigo 1, 1000 BRUXELLES | Tel. : 02.547.47.15 | Fax : 02.547.47.67 www.ristorantebocconi.com | [email protected] Ristorante Bocconi Absolut www.ristorantebocconi.com www.absolut.com 98 THE UNDETECTABLE ISSUE WHAT'S NEXT

Get your chops on — Practice your Konami Dance Dance — Ditch your Bathing Ape t-shirt in favour of a Visvim polo

Know your Udon from your Ramen, your Nigiri from your Sashimi — Forget about spray-on Eagles for your pimped-up truck. ‘De- corata’ is the new black — And don’t even mention Hello Kitty and Koala March — Close to jetting off to the land of the neon for a little inspiration, we thought we’d list all the things we know about Japan, and investigate the exact opposite for fear of falling into a clichéd perception of the country — And believe us, a cliché The Nippon Issue will not be ( ok, we might indulge in a bottle or two of cold sake whilst producing it but that’s as close to a cliché as we’ll come )

The Word's Nippon Issue — Because it’s high time for a new cliché — Out Friday 30th October 2009 Dining in style

Ristorante italiano , part of The Rocco Forte Collection “Hotel Amigo” Rue de l'Amigo 1, 1000 BRUXELLES | Tel. : 02.547.47.15 | Fax : 02.547.47.67 www.ristorantebocconi.com | [email protected]