This article is an interview with Mieke Meijer for the official launch of the first NewspaperWood collection in Milan, April 2011.
How it all began
Mieke Meijer:
"In the spring of 2003 I started my third module in the direction 'Atelier' at the Design Academy Eindhoven. This course (which, by the way, no longer exists) differed from all other courses: the lessons took place in the middle of the workshop. Students who chose this course were 'makers'. Experimenting with materials was the basis for every assignment."
“The assignment with the theme ‘wood’ got me thinking. Wood in its smallest form is the basis for paper. Once in the form of paper, however, it can no longer be recovered from the paper recycling cycle: it remains paper. I thought it would be nice to be able to MAKE wood from paper again.”
“I had a stack of newspapers and started with the oldest newspaper. With a small roller, I spread glue on the newspaper and rolled it up as tightly as possible. Every day I spent two hours gluing and rolling up newspapers, CREATEing a paper ‘trunk’.”
“The workshop managers at the academy were less happy with me: ‘Could I saw the trunk on the bandsaw?’ I think it cost the school a saw blade, but the result was beyond expectations: the material seemed strong and it was also very beautiful! I spent the few days that remained before the assessment experimenting with the New material. It turned out to have a surprising number of similarities with wood: it warped, you could sand it, make connections in it, etc. I passed my module and… the project ended up in the closet.”
Vij5
Mieke Meijer:
“It wasn't until 2007 that I came into contact with Arjan and Anieke from design label Vij5. While leafing through my portfolio, they came across the NewspaperWood project. They knew of the existence of the material, but not that it was mine. They wanted to get started with it right away!”
"In 2008, we presented the material again to the public during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven. The response was overwhelming and in 2009 NewspaperWood was even nominated for the 'Doen material award'."
Production
"Meanwhile, behind the scenes, we were steadily continuing the development of the material. Making NewspaperWood producible wasn't a walk in the park. We had to go from a manual process to a less labour-intensive and cost-efficient product. Step by step we progressed, but with every solution we often encountered a new problem. That was sometimes very frustrating, and I admire Arjan and Anieke for persevering. I think that's their strength: picking up projects that are gathering dust and making them a success at all costs. If it were up to me, I would have given up long ago ..."
Mieke Meijer
Collection
Mieke Meijer:
"At one point, the step towards Designs could be made! We already had ideas ourselves, but we also thought it would be fun to have other Designers work with the material to broadly investigate and showcase the possibilities with NewspaperWood. No sooner said than done: Vij5 sent out an invitation, resulting in many responses."
"Ultimately, a selected group of Designers was formed from this. We regularly came together to brainstorm, exchange ideas and discuss Designs. The first prototypes are presented in Milan."
NewspaperWood BV
Due to the growing success of NewspaperWood, Vij5 and Studio Mieke Meijer are now joining forces in a new separate company called NewspaperWood bv. This company is committed to the production and development of the NewspaperWood material in order to investigate new semi-finished products, products and innovative Applications.
For more information, you can visit our Website: www.newspaperwood.com
About Studio
Mieke Meijer
Studio Mieke Meijer maneuvers between the architecture and design fields and avoids the traditional limitations of both.
Studio Mieke Meijer was founded by Mieke Meijer and Roy Letterlé. The studio designs, develops and produces special objects for the public and private domain. Meijer (Wezep, 1982) graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven. Letterlé (Kerkrade, 1978) graduated as a structural engineer from PTH Eindhoven. Meijer and Letterlé give lectures and workshops at various educational and cultural institutions. They currently teach at Design Academy Eindhoven and HKU Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht. In addition, they are co-founders of NewspaperWood BV.
