Collectible Brussels: highlights from the 2023 edition

An international platform for collectible design, Collectible Brussels is now in its sixth edition, offering collectors a curated selection of unique and limited-edition pieces from galleries and emerging designers. 

Just as in previous editions, fair founders Clélie Debehault and Liv Vaisberg assembled a team of professionals starting with a selection committee that includes Lilli Hollein, director of MAK Vienna; architect Glenn Sestig; and Paul Thompson, vice-chancellor of the Royal College of Art. But they also collaborated with designer Leo Orta, who led the fair’s Curated section, and Brussels collector and curator Jean-François Declerq, whose fair section Dialogue explores historical designs in relation to contemporary creation. Special attention is given to emerging talent through New Garde, a new element of the fair that, as Vaisberg puts it, aims at ‘renewing the collectible design scene’. 

Here’s our pick of the fair, on at Tour & Taxis’ Sheds until 12 March 2023.

COLLECTIBLE 2023: HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE BRUSSELS DESIGN FAIR

Tableau: You Can Be Anything

'Barbie has, in our opinion, gone through a revolution in past decades,' says Tableau founder Julius Værnes Iversen. The Copenhagen design studio presents an installation inspired by the Barbie Dreamhouse, showcasing new pieces in a bubblegum-pink setting. Among the colourful designs are folded glass side tables by Lumière Bricoleur, a mirror printed with flowers by Chris Calmer and a metal bench by Pettersen & Hein. 'Barbie has become more inclusive regarding dolls' body shape, gender roles, sexuality, ethnicity and much more. We wanted to emphasise that there are a lot of places in the world where people are not accepted for simply their being. Therefore we created a living room inspired by Barbie, since the company in our opinion has gone through a revolution in the past decade.'

tableau-cph.com

Maarten De Ceulaer: Stained Glass Lights

Maarten De Ceulaer presents his ongoing ‘Stained Glass’ series, from a collection of expressive lighting designs that explore a new approach to designing with colour and light. Mixing coloured glass with unexpected results, De Ceulaer sliced panels from a flat piece of glass to compose his cylindrical lighting designs. 'I wanted to create a lighting collection that is bursting with colour, lamps in which colour is used as a material,' says the designer. 

maartendeceulaer.com

Objects with Narrative: What’s for dinner

Inspired by an imaginary dining room experience, Swiss design gallery Objects with Narratives presents ‘What’s for dinner’, an immersive dining room experience featuring works by Jan Ernst, Lukas Cober, Laurids Gallée, Mircea Anghel and Faina, among others. 'The exhibition is not defined by a style, material or process but defined by a single dedicated room that brings people together and closest to these natural elements: the dining room,' reads a statement from the gallery. ‘This space acts as a podium where craftsmen from more than 15 different cultures around the world can express themselves. Each collected object, with a story of its own, comes together to join the narrative of a ritual we share universally. This is an invitation to reconnect through the materials and processes of a timeless design collection that takes us back to a place where we find comfort and [what] made us human after all.'

objectswithnarratives.com

Form Editions

Within the fair's Bespoke section (dedicated to innovative materials and artisanal techniques), Amsterdam's Form Editions (Amsterdam), led by design-duo Rive Roshan, showcases the desgners’ personal works as well as pieces from their design collective. The booth includes stools 3D-printed using Bavarian sand by Rive Roshan, as well as the duo's mirrors made with rippled glass, and furniture made of assembled stone and metal by Collin Velkoff.

formeditions.com

New Garde: emerging talent of collectible design

A generous section of the fair is dedicated to new galleries, design studios and collectives. Collectible's mission is to give these creatives a platform, showcasing their work prominently at the fair's entrance. Among the New Garde selection are Marseilles' Good Sessions, presenting 'Beautiful Garbage', comprising functional designs made with repurposed discarded materials; and NeeNee Collective, composed of Korean designers based in Eindhoven and Amsterdam; as well as Heim + Viladrich Office in collaboration with Laurids Gallée.

Collectible Design Fair is on until 12 March 2023

Tour & Taxis, Sheds
Avenue du Port
1000 Brussels 

collectible.design