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Renewing Materials – Lightweight Porcelain Stools & Benches by Djim Berger
Dutch designer and craftsman Djim Berger has pushed a mixture of porcelain and polystyrene to the limits, creating this fantastic series of monolithic-looking stools and benches.
I think it’s easy to dismiss a material as unworkable. When I read about Dutch designer and maker Djim Berger’s battle with porcelain and polystyrene mixture it intrigued me a lot. The ‘Lightweight Porcelain’ collection showcases his idea of pushing porcelain to its limits, in which he has been able to produce stools, benches and smaller stools for children.
His method involves mixing 1/3 of porcelain and 2/3 of polystyrene pearls, a feat in which professionals thought would not work as the polystyrene content is too high. Using this technique he’s able to produce a beehive like texture on the stools and benches, once in the kiln the polystyrene burns and reveal the porcelain beneath. This makes each piece of furniture unique.
This is not a new collection by any means, and has been added to for well over 5 years now. But for me they’re very relevant to the work that we represent and showcase here on the website. Yes they are monolithic-looking and slightly edgy in their handcrafted manner, but at the same time the shape is simple and modern looking. I hope you like them and will see more on the links below. Enjoy.