Antwerp Design week 2024
This week I joined the press days ‘Antwerp Design week’ organised for their Second edition. Taking an early morning train from Amsterdam we arrived at a sunny Antwerp. My last trip to Antwerp was 24 hours in Antwerp with &Tradition and it felt good to be back. First stop was ‘The Club’ the central place of Antwerp Design Week and the starting point of the tours.
Antwerp Design Week is a B2B event and offers a fresh design experience for professionals where brands open their headquarters and temporary ADW showrooms in and around Antwerp, creating inspiring hubs. Offering workshops, talks and I was happy to join this second edition of ADW or should I say First as last year was edition zero. Which I experienced as a perfect organised event with personalised tips and contact with the organisation during the day. Thank you ADW for having us!
Paveau
An organised tour along the showrooms
Joining one of the organised tours, we learned ADW partnered with Hertz and we got our personal driver for the whole duration of the day. Coming by public transport it was great to have the opportunity to visit the addresses located a bit further from the city centre, without to much thinking and having to organise things. Really grateful for that opportunity.
With approximately 25 locations spread across 5 districts in and around Antwerp ADW divided the city into five districts for easier navigation. Despite the good transport options we experienced hours going really fast and it was impossible to visit every location. Let alone seeing something of the city itself.
Graanmarkt 13
Anouk and I finished our day at Graanmarkt 13,a store and restaurant we both love, with a small dinner at their restaurant before heading back home. So delicious and always fun company! As you might know Anouk is the founder of We are WOW Makers and I can’t wait to reveal more of our collaboration soon! Today I love to show you some of the highlights of the brands we visited at Antwerp Design week. Enjoy!
Pomax – The soul in your home
Pomax strives to create a ‘home’ where people can truly be and feel their unique selves. By creating products with a focus on natural materials and characterised by their simplicity and purity. Crafted with care and expertise and designed with love for imperfections, they really bring the soul into our homes. I loved visiting the brand and their kind welcome and will be showing more of them soon.
Ethnicraft
Ethnicraft is a brand I mentioned before, collaborating with imm Cologne and as part of partnering with MisterDesign
For twenty-five years Ethnicraft has been creating timeless furniture from solid wood. During Maison & Objet earlier this year I got a sneak peek of the Sculptural collection by Modern Shapes Editions and it was great to see the complete collection on display at the showroom. Have a look here at the video I made!
Atelier Vierkant
Being a long time admirer of Atelier Vierkantit was a pleasure to see part of their collection at one of The Antwerp Design Week Hubs at Ethnicraft. A part of the showroom where different brands were brought together in small stands. The atelier is specialized in production of high profile handmade ceramics.
Paveau
One of the other brands that caught my eye at the hub was Paveau Glassware, reading the founders story of launching Paveau Glasware after she received her grandmothers 100-year-old vintage Val Saint Lambert glasses in different colors for her wedding and her search for an easy to refill glass water bottle with a screw cap.
Melmath Agency
Last but not least we visited Melmath Agency, the Benelux Design agency and distributor for mainly Scandinavian design brands is located in a beautiful building in the centre of Antwerp. Not only the building has a great style, all brands under their roof are sophisticated and most of all timeless. After meeting them on several fairs over the last years it was such a pleasure to finally visit them at their headquarters.
Have a look at the different brands here and keep an eye on the blog and my Instagram as I will visiting several of their brands next week during 3 days of design.
images ©vosgesparis
