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COLLECTIBLE: ELLE Decoration Netherlands has a very wide reach and you have an important editorial responsibility. We are amazed at how much of experimental and cutting-edge design you feature in each issue. How do you situate contemporary collectible design in comparison to other types of design? What are the challenges in presenting this type of content to a broader audience, is it well received?

Evelien Reich: At ELLE Decoration we have set ourselves the goal to show what is just over the horizon and give people the tools towards that future. That means we try to combine the avant garde with more commercial design and practical information. Collectible design can serve different purposes: it can be a beautiful item someone falls in love with, but also an indication of a coming trend. I feel very strongly that this is a field where innovation is in the driving seat and we look to these designers for the shape of things to come. Luckily our readers share our forward-thinking attitude and are very open to us showing the direction that design, and by extension the way we live, is developing.

“There have been so many pieces that I saw for the first time at the fair and that have set me on a path of discovery, that made me look at the future in a new way, which is frankly, amazing.”

C: What do you think COLLECTIBLE brings to the contemporary collectible design market? Do you feel the market has changed / evolved since the creation of COLLECTIBLE four years ago?

ER: I think COLLECTIBLE has given this type of design a suitable home, and one that is accessible to a larger audience, which is great news. The market itself has become more open as the appetite for the work has grown. Where art is still seen by many as something that you have to know a lot about to appreciate it fully, collectible design is much more approachable. Also, more designers are gravitating towards this work, coming up with incredibly exciting pieces that move us forward. In collectible design there is more freedom to create, and this is being utilised in increasingly interesting ways.

C: Which collectible design trends do you forecast for this upcoming season? What do you think we will see at COLLECTIBLE this year?

ER: You know what I like best about COLLECTIBLE? That it can really surprise me! There have been so many pieces that I saw for the first time at the fair and that have set me on a path of discovery, that made me look at the future in a new way, which is frankly, amazing. And it’s not just about individual pieces, it’s about connecting the dots. To see all the works together, you can start to see trends developing. That said, I think we’ll see a lot of design that plays on the idea of ceremony and spirituality. And perhaps we will look at the idea of folklore a bit more, as a way of accessing a past that on the surface looks more innocent? I always find it a bit sinister, folklore, like that movie ‘Midsommar’. Everything is idyllic but they’re out to kill you. But that might just be me.. On the other end of the spectrum there is a great need for unadulterated fun and escapism, I think we need it after the year we’ve all had.

C:  Is there something specific that you are looking forward to discovering at COLLECTIBLE 2021?

ER: I love meeting new people that have a vision that I am unfamiliar with, and COLLECTIBLE has become a place to do just that. I was speaking with a designer a while back and he said: ‘We have all been stuck in our studios, just working non-stop and are chomping at the bit to show our work.’ I hope to see many of these new ideas at COLLECTIBLE. Because we all want to know: where do we go from here?

C: Which designers or design studios you would dream to work with on a photo shoot?

ER: Oh, no, I am not going to play favourites! Because, you know, it all depends on the story we want to tell. A design can be totally unsuitable for one feature but perfect for another. And it’s not about personal taste. I may love a certain work, but it has to fit into a certain narrative. But the list of people we want to work with has become increasingly long, the scene is buzzing with energy, which bodes well for the future of design.