INSPIRATION
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The highly chamotted clay Atelier Vierkant works with, is naturally coloured in the mass by oxides. Available colours are extra white, white-beige, taupe-grey, anthracite black, bordeaux red and cork. Samples of the finishes are sent upon request.
In Atelier Vierkant’s two factories in Bruges, Belgium, large clay pots in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours stand ready to be shipped to their destinations worldwide – luxurious homes, entrances of grand city hotels, the gardens of beachside resorts, and the corridors and atriums of public buildings. Within these spaces the large distinct forms, earthy tactility, and organic textures and tones of the pots go beyond their functions as planters and decorative accents to become architectural elements and sculptures of art. Elsewhere in the factories, various processes are taking place: a worker stands on a bed of wooden crates, bent over to reach and shape the insides of a square receptacle nearly as tall as himself; another, tool in hand, etches deep ridges onto the surface of a rotund planter, his hands layered with a coat of creamy clay; yet another is drenched in perspiration by the oven, firing a nearly finished urn (each takes three days to fire). these are typical scenarios for Atelier Vierkant, whose products can only be created in this way – slowly and surely, with dedication and by hand. This has always been, and is still the ethos of the family-run business. Willy Janssens started to make small pots for herbs and other plants, but the planters grew (in size) over the years, especially when he started to work directly with designers and architects. Originally a planter of laurel trees, Willy started making these pots. He began with square shapes (Vierkant means ‘square’ in flemish) after failed attempts to find pots with modern designs to match the architecture of his contemporary home. Bringing in his wife Annette, a fine art teacher, to work on the designs, he established Atelier Vierkant in 1992. He sourced robust german clay that could be fired at high temperatures to make strong, frost-proof vessels, and used natural oxides to create the distinct natural colours. Later on, his three sons - Bert, Dries and Ward joined the family business, which has now grown to incorporate a showroom in San Francisco, and an international clientele of which most are architects, and landscape and interior designers attracted by natural look, strength, quality and modern design of the products.
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Atelier Vierkant — Collection 2016
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www.ateliervierkant.com