Brighten up with aluminium TEXT: BAS VAN DUREN | PHOTOS: KYLDO ART & DESIGN
When Dutchman Fred van Luipen discovered aluminium art back when he used to live in the Dominican Republic, he might not have foreseen the success it would bring by selling it in the Netherlands, but seven years after opening up his first shop, there are now six Kyldo stores. Five of them are based in the Netherlands (Naaldwijk, Spijkenisse, The Hague, Veenendaal and Oegstgeest), one in Hamburg, all specialising in predominantly aluminium art, while also offering a wide array of glass objects, vases, lamps, clocks and sculptures. Pieces that can really liven up any room, whether it’s at home or in an office space. It’s chilly, but that doesn’t stop people from shopping outside in Naaldwijk, a city just a stone’s throw away from The Hague. Those longing for a bit more warmth can find theirs at indoor shopping centre ‘De Tuinen’ where one’s attention 16 | Issue 73 | January 2020
is easily drawn by the vibrant colours that radiate from Kyldo Art & Design. A man who can’t be older than 25 enters the shop to buy a small but sweet statue of a dog and can’t help but comment on how much he enjoys everything that’s on display. It’s music to the ears of Fred van Luipen. “We’ve done market research to get some kind of grasp on what kind of customer our art attracts and although we thought it’d be in the age category of 35 to 50, we learned we really can’t put a label on it, as we get birds of different feathers, and we wouldn’t want it any other way.”
designs to workshops throughout the world and have the results back within a few months. Van Luipen: “It’s a process that involves using grinding wheels and brushes on a thin aluminium plate. That creates depth. By using airbrushes and
Aluminium art The ‘we’ Van Luipen refers to, is the core group of Kyldo that started out with him, two friends and two in-laws, who accumulated some additional entrepreneurs along the way. All of them create their own designs for the aluminium wall art that’s on sale, send said
Fred van Luipen.