CURRICULUM VITAE by SEROJ

—— Personal information

Full name Seroj de Graaf Nationality Dutch & German Date of birth 10 July 1982 Dutch Native English Excellent command German Good command Contact details Donker Curtiusstraat 25K 1051JM The +31647189880 [email protected] Portfolio www.seroj.nl

—— Profile

Seroj is a renowned Dutch product designer with a focus on lifestyle products and fashion accessories. His acclaimed City Cufflinks® designs are successfully distributed worldwide by companies such as KLM - Royal Dutch Airlines, Heineken, Project No8, Selfridges, de Bijenkorf and Rijksmuseum. He is known for having a fine eye for detail and a broad knowledge of materials and techniques. His dedicated approach to add value and meaning to products and brands enables him to design and develop well detailed products attuned to a worldwide audience. Together with others Seroj wants to set the standard for the next level of ‘total product design’. Adding value to the entire process of design, development and manufacturing. He aspires to design timeless classics and develop unique products which combine minimalism, fine details and luxury and are on top of their league.

—— Summary of skills

• More than 10 years of international experience in product design, technical development and production. • Broad knowledge of materials and production techniques, resulting in innovative combinations of modern technologies and craftsmanship. • Experienced in an array of industries i.e. furniture, eyewear, footwear, leather goods & bags, motor & bicycle, consumer products, lighting, consumer electronics and packaging. • Very handy and mastery in hand sketching, model making and prototyping. • Able to create inventive solutions within set budgets and scopes. • Highly experiences working in Adobe illustrator creating concepts, designs, technical drawings and presentations.

—— Character

• Curious and eager for knowledge in fields such as art, manufacturing, tech and business. • Energised by working together in a diverse team of specialists. • Love of sharing knowledge and skills in order to contribute to the success of others. • Visual spatial thinker with a fine eye for detail. Naturally seeing the bigger picture and the details that will make the difference within. • Inspired by travel, music, contemporary art, people, business, craftsmanship, technology. —— Education

2006 - 2006 Syntens innovation centre Production optimisation for business and industry. 2000 - 2005 Academy of Design and Arts Arnhem Bachelor of Design, Cum Laude, department Product design

—— Work experience

2016 - today City Cufflinks International B.V. - Product designer / co-founder Under the City Cufflinks® brand the unique handcrafted sterling silver cufflinks by Seroj are sold via various channels such as De Bijenkorf, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Rijksmuseum, Schaap+Citroen, TheSocietyShop, ProjectNo8 in New York City, London and Amsterdam. www.citycufflinks.com 2014 - today New Design Associates - Product designer / co-founder Design and development of iconic design products and Brand Objects for multinationals. In-house or on behalf of third parties. www.newdesignassociates.nl 2005 - today by SEROJ - Product designer / founder Design, development and production of lifestyle products, fashion accessories and packaging. www.seroj.nl 2005 - 2010 Asylum Collection V.O.F. - Product designer / founder Interior collection made by Dutch craftsmen produced in limited series, distributed via galleries. www.asylumcollection.com 2003 - 2003 Marcel Wanders Studio - Product design intern Design and development of interior, luxury and consumer products for clients such as Boffi, Cappellini, Moooi, Alessi, Desso, Droog and others. www.marcelwanders.com

As external design specialist involved in: 2017 - 2017 Travelteq - luxury luggage brand for men - Senior product designer Responsible for design strategy, direction of the design team, design and technical development of leather goods and other smart solutions for a life on the move. Sourcing of manufacturers. www.travelteq.com 2016 - 2017 BAGS - luxury leather goods for women - Senior product designer Responsible for the concept development and design of a collection of high quality leather bags and accessories for a new luxury brand launching in 2017. 2014 - 2015 Linja Shoes - womens footwear - Senior product designer Responsible for the design, development of a comfortable high heel pump and packaging. Combining Italian footwear industry and orthopaedic footwear industry to innovate. Sourcing of manufacturers in Italy. www.linjashoes.com 2013 - 2016 Ace & Tate - eyewear - Senior product designer Responsible for setting up the design and development department. Sourcing of manufacturers in Italy. Design, technical development and production of eyewear, packaging and other accessories. www.aceandtate.com —— Selection of designs

2017 – Travelteq Design and development of two luggage collections consisting bags, trolleys and other travel accessories in high quality leather and nylon. www.travelteq.com 2016 – BAGS Design and Development of a luxury collection of leather bags and goods for a small start-up. 2016 – Ace & Tate Development of eyewear collection SS17 www.aceandtate.com 2015 – ADCN Design and development of a premium letteropener for the 50th anniversary book. www.seroj.nl/adcn-sesame 2015 – New York City Cufflinks Design and development of handmade sterling silver cufflinks epitomising New York City. www.newyorkcitycufflinks.com 2015 – London City Cufflinks Design and development of handmade sterling silver cufflinks epitomising the city of London. www.londoncitycufflinks.co.uk 2015 – Ace & Tate Design and development of eyewear collection AW15 + SS16 + AW16 www.aceandtate.com 2015 – Linja Shoes Design and development of the finest comfortable high heels and unique packaging. Dutch Design, Italian made with a hidden innovation that makes them the finest comfortable high heels. www.linjashoes.com 2014 – Ace & Tate Design and development of eyewear collection AW14 + SS15 www.aceandtate.com 2014 – Schindelhauer Bikes Design and development of a Front Pannier Rack for Schindelhauer bikes Berlin, Germany in collaboration with one of the oldest metal companies in the Netherlands. Combining elegant style and durability for the urban lifestyle bicycle market. www.schindelhauerbikes.com/en/accessories/components/Front-Pannier-Rack.html 2013 – Ace & Tate Design and development of eyewear collection AW13 + SS14 www.aceandtate.com 2013 – Amsterdam Canal Cufflinks Design and development of handmade sterling silver cufflinks epitomising the Amsterdam Canals. Exclusively distributed by City Cufflinks. www.citycufflinks.com 2010 – Anouk Design & production of an unique packaging for the Limited edition of For Bitter Or Worse by Dutch singer ANOUK www.seroj.nl/anouk 2005 – Asylum Collection Together with fellow designer Bo Reudler I created the Asylum brand and collection. Based on our manifesto we designed and developed a collection, photography and communication. The collection was launched in Milan during the international design fair in 2006. After many publications world wide it is now produced and sold in limited series via ToolsGalerie in Paris. www.asylumcollection.com —— Selection of interviews and publications

2018 FD Persoonlijk (NL) - Interview Black book 2017 MirrorMirro Book publication (CH) - Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland Asylum Collection, Narcisse mirror, presented at the exhibition Mirror Mirror, amongst artist such as Andy Warhol and Bill Viola. 2017 Playboy (NL) 2016 MarketingTribune (NL) - Large interview in print and online: http://marketingtribune.nl/design/nieuws/2016/09/%5Binterview%5D-brand-object-is-een-tastbare- variant-van-een-branding-campagne/index.xml Holland Herald (KLM International), Flying Dutchman (KLM International), Meanswear Buyer (UK), The City Magazine (UK), Quote Media (NL), A Life Tailored (USA), Dandy In The Bronx (USA), Insider Media (NL) Intoview Magazine (UK) 2015 Audi Magazine (NL), Winq (NL), PS Magazine (NL), Vrouw (NL), The Big Black Book (NL), DutchCultureUSA (USA), Wendyonline (NL), LindaNieuws (NL), The Fashion Master (NL), Sprout (NL), Glamour (NL), Metronieuws (NL), Volkskrant Magazine (NL), Elegance (NL), Marie Claire (NL), 2014 De Kring Circulaire (NL), FD Persoonlijk (NL), Metronieuws (NL), Villa d’Arte (NL) 2013 Manners (NL), Bastiaan van Schaik (NL), Rhine Capital (Switzerland), Mixedgrill (NL), BLVD (NL), Couturekrant (NL), Talkies Magazine (NL) ArchitectuurNL(NL) 2012 De Kring Circulaire (NL), Quote Magazine (NL) 2011 Elsevier (NL) Commercial Black XS L´exces by Paco Rabanne (with Iggy Pop) (FR), 2008 DAMn Magazine (BE), De Architect (NL), ELLE (NL) Commercial Paco Rabanne 2007 LE Design magazine (RUS), NoiThat Design magazine (Vietnam), Noordhollands Dagblad (NL), Product Design Diversity Book (NL), Residence (NL) Salon Design magazine (Ukraine), Vivenda (NL) 2006 BLVD (NL), Casa Basic (Spain), Casa & Estilo, De Architect (NL), Design Week (UK), ELLE Wonen (NL, FRAME (INT), Home Design magazine (BUL), LE Magazine(RUS), Mood Media Trendforecasting book (FR), Residence (Netherlands) 2005 ELLE Deco (Poland), Goede Morgen Nederland Television program (Netherlands), Items Design magazine (Netherlands), L'Officiel (France), Telegraaf Newspaper (Netherlands) (selection of publications does not include publications of designs made for Ace & Tate) —— Selection of exhibitions

2017 – Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland Asylum Collection, Narcisse mirror, presented at the exhibition Mirror Mirror, amongst artist such as Andy Warhol and Bill Viola. 2017 – Dutch Centre, London, United Kingdom Presentation of City Cufflinks together with photographer Marie-Jeanne van Hövell tot Westerflier 2015 – Masters of Luxury, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Presentation of LINJA Shoes 2015 – Spaces, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Official launch and presentation of LINJA Shoes (solo) 2009 – Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland Asylum Collection, presented by ToolsGalerie, Paris France 2009 – New Borns, ToolsGalerie, Paris, France Various products of the Asylum Collection 2009 – Carpets Stories, ToolsGalerie, Paris, France Carpet Equus of the Asylum Collection 2008 – FIAC Art Fair, ToolsGalerie, Paris, France La Table Introvertie of the Asylum Collection 2008 – Decors, TOOLSGALERIE, Paris, France Platter Diner de Midas of the Asylum Collection 2006 – Milan Design Week / Fuori Salone, TuttoBeNe, Milan, Italy Official launch of the Asylum Collection

—— Selection of other activities

2017 – Framed, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Guest curator for online art platform Fraemd 2017 – The Gallery Club, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Talk on the unique design and details of the Limited photo books by Toluca Editions. Each edition is a multidimensional work of art. Combining product design, graphic design, poetry and photography by renowned designers such as Harri Koskinen, Nendo and Atelier Bow Wow. 2017 – Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Talk on my vision and design process developed by various experiences and insights throughout the years since my childhood until today. 2017 – Amsterdam Fashion Institute AMFI, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Guest lecturer on the process of product- and fashion accessory design. 2016 – Glassology by Libbey, Lisbon, Portugal Jury member during the finals of the Glassology design competition by international glassware manufacturer Libbey Inc. 2016 – ADCN annual book launch, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Short talk and presentation on the design of the Sesame opener: as a unique piece of design that comes with the annual book of the Dutch association for Advertising, Design and Creativity (ADCN).