Simple pleasures: Dutch designers want us to reconnect with nature

Milan – One of the stand-outs at the new design destination in Milan, Ventura Lambrate, was the work by Weltevree, also known as Floris Schoonderbeek and Dick van Hoff.

On show in the ‘Made in Arnhem’ exhibition, the design pair’s collection comprised sturdy, satisfying products. The beautiful ‘Outdooroven’ was presented with an accompanying cookbook developed in collaboration with Dutch chef Jeroen van Werven.

Meanwhile the ‘Divewood’ board and ‘Dutchtub’ both encourage outdoor adventure, underlining a nascent consumer desire for simple living and to reconnect with nature, as we recently described in our Inspire trend, Primitivism.

Schoonderbeek and Van Hoff explained to LS:N Global that their aim is to reference a lifestyle choice and a more experiential relationship between item and user.

‘It is not the product itself,’ says Schoonderbeek, ‘but the experience that takes centre stage.’