De Intuïtiefabriek is an all female designstudio finding common ground in their intuitive way of working and their use of materials and techniques. They bring them to create within different fields of design, from slipcasting porcelain to blowing glass and bending wood. The outcomes vary from furniture to tableware and jewelry. To De Intuïtiefabriek, designing is all about craftsmanship, the touch of material and the actual act of making things. Amba Molly, Eefiene Bolhuis and Eva Gevaert aim to create perfectly crafted products, from which you can feel the love with which they were made. They create a pure, precise and almost fragile feeling, taking the observer into a new world.
What are some recent, upcoming or current projects you are working on? We have a very nice collaboration with jewelry label The Boyscouts coming out soon! And we are going on a work trip to Japan for new inspiration and meeting interesting people!
What is one of the bigger challenges you and/or other designers are struggling with these days and how do you see it developing? The last part is the most challenging. Because we are working with many different craft techniques and craftsmen, we have to communicate as good as possible and stay sharp until the very last end. Finishing is therefore the hardest. Because it feels like you are almost done, but actually that is the part that takes the most time and you have to stay focused to bring to project to the perfection we want it to be.
How did your interest in art or design begin? This is different for the three of us. But since we all studied at the Design Academy Eindhoven where you learn to visualize new ideas and concepts about the world around you, the love for creating objects got more developed during time and interest become serious work that you start to love.
How has living in your city affected your design practice? We are all live in Amsterdam, like a lot of our friends who are also working within the fields of design. It is because we are all in the same city and we all go to the same places, this creates a creative environment for us to work in.
What products or companies are you interested in right now? We love products that are well made and have the feeling of the maker who made them and have natural materials. At the moment, we have an extra love for Japan from their crafts to their culture.
What materials do you use in your work and what is your process like? When we create a new project, we normally start with a theme. Everyone will start looking for images and form ideas. Eventually, we pick the most inspiring idea out of the bunch or put a few ideas together which we work out together. Every project is really a group effort. Inspiration is a huge part of our designing process. With our pieces we always try to tell a story about a technique, craft, or certain wonderment. Together we come up with a theme, which we want to talk about and create an “Intuïtiefabriek” world with. Materials and techniques are a great source of inspiration to us. They bring us to create within different fields of design; from slip casting porcelain to blowing glass and bending wood. The outcomes vary from furniture to tableware.
Tell us a joke. uhhhhhmmm, don’t think of the pink elephant in the room!!
What artists or designers are you interested in right now? Japanese wood craftsmen.
What’s your favorite thing about your city? That it has the feeling of an small village; it’s a cozy city.
What was the last show you saw that stuck out to you? The show of Richard Long. His pictures are so strong and with a video installation added to this pictures the story that he is telling got even stronger. Just beautiful!
What is your beverage of choice when working in your studio? We drink a lot of verviene tea, actually all the time.
What are you really excited about right now? That we are going to Japan in 3 weeks!
What are you listening to right now? Gregory Porter.
Can you share one of the best or worst reactions you have gotten as a result of your work? When we showed our work for the first time in Berlin, a young women kept on coming back to our presentation without saying anything. After the third or fourth time she managed to say something. She thought it was so beautiful she just had no words. Moving people is a great compliment when you create.