Hoek Af (Table, Chairs) by David Hoppenbrouwers
I like language and how the meaning of words or sayings have to be interpreted, so when you start trying to use a word in as many ways as possible you come across strange or funny things. Somehow one of this sayings collided with a table that was slowly forming in the back of my head.
“Hoek af “ literally translated in english means "missing a corner", but when you say somebody is missing a corner in dutch it means that they are a little bit crazy. I was thinking about these words while i was thinking of a friend of mine who is “missing a corner”, so it became obvious to me that although he misses a corner he actually is more interesting. And than it struck me that if you take a square and you cut of a corner two new corners are created, meaning that instead of loosing something, something is won. Every piece of “hoek af” has lost a corner but won two corners and thus two legs. When missing a corner you still have your other corners, the ones you always had since creation, this is the more classic part if you will; and then the extra corners are the more colorful part . For the table and the chairs the same rules apply, so the wood is the classic part and the colorful part is the colorful part.
Design Challenges
David Hoppenbrouwers did not encounter any design challenges while designing the award winning Hoek Af Table, Chairs.
Production Technology
Al the wood is oak, the legs are turned and then the wood got finished with a white parquet oil. The seat of the chairs is caned by hand, this is a very labor intensive process, but it is the strongest way of caning because it is possible to create a lot of tension.This way the cane doesn't snap as fast. The colorful parts are made from metal which is welded and than painted.