Following the success of the guide’s first edition, visit.brussels, in partnership with four Brussels creators, is publishing a second edition of the original guide for design, style and aesthetics aficionados. It’s a great way to get off the beaten track and discover original and authentic places.

Brussels is setting trends in design and styling, thanks to the growing number of talented creators and original initiatives such as the Collectible fair, the Brussels Design Market, Uptown Design, Brussels Design September and Nationa(a)l, not to mention the MAD Brussels Fashion & Design Platform, the ADAM Brussels Design Museum and schools like La Cambre / ENSAV, whose reputation continues to grow.

The guide aims to help people discover or rediscover Brussels through the eyes of four creators. For this second edition, visit.brussels asked three furniture designers, Alain Gilles, Lucile Soufflet, Julien Renault, and stylist Conni Kaminski to share their favourites.

Elegant and practical, the book is divided into five sections – restaurants, bars, hotels, shops and cultural venues – with each containing the creators’ portrayals. From specialist bookshops and concept stores, to neighbourhood cafés, this guide helps you to discover extraordinary places and is both attractive and user-friendly.

With its 128 pages and a graphic design that emphasises visuals, « Brussels by designers » is bound to attract inquisitive Brussels inhabitants and first-time visitors in search of original places.

The Brussels by designers guide is on sale for €8.50 at visit.brussels’ reception desks and in several Brussels bookshops.

Number of pages: 128
Language: English
Closed format: 11 x 16cm
ISBN: 978-2-9602158-1-6
Price: €8.50

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Since its creation in 2002, the Brussels Design Market has evolved into the « largest European vintage design market » and has quickly become a must-see in the international vintage design calendar. Each edition attracts a larger number of exhibitors and welcomes around 7000 visitors.

Maintaining its unique atmosphere usually characterized by flea markets, the Brussels Design Market has continued to attract more and more visitors from year to year and has developed into a real meeting place.Brussels Design Market is not only a place to find original design pieces which have made the history of design, but also a welcoming place to meet and exchange. Besides buying a piece of Knoll, Eames, or Pesce, you will enjoy a break with a warm coffee or an original dish proposed by the quality food trucks on site.

Rendezvous is given to design lovers and professionals, to dealers and collectors, in the historical and exceptional setting of the exhibition rooms – Sheds 3 and 4 – of Tour and Taxis!

Who are the exhibitors ?

The Brussels Design Market welcomes more than 100 exhibitors from all over Europe (Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and beyond).

What is there to buy ?

Over the years, the selection of merchandise exhibited has increased. Arriving from all over Europe, the dealers present an eclectic collection, bringing together multiple styles and trends that have impacted the 20th century. Visitors discover original and iconic pieces from Italian, French, American, and Scandinavian design created by the biggest names in the history of design, such as Sottsass, Le Corbusier, Eames, or Jacobsen and Panton. Alongside these icons, the Brussels Design Market also offers anonymous and exclusive design pieces at affordable prices.

Practical Info

Registration through this link.

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Patterns

The Belgian visual artist is known internationally for her artwork made of paper executed in a special technique. The method involves processing the material for many hours forming paintings, sculptures, installation art and collages. Isabella says that the first question people always ask her is why paper? And she has a simple answer to it: “When I was a kid I played with paper all the time and since then I haven’t changed my medium.” And not that she hasn’t altered the material – she has mastered the craft in a way that the shapes of smooth, ribbed and pleated paper suddenly have the ability to transform into fabrics.

And this is the case with her last exhibition where her paintings are imbued with the colorful atmosphere of African textiles. The works designed in the last year drew inspiration from the weaving tradition of linear and geometric patterns. Sometimes they actually represent fabrics, such as in the costumes of some silhouettes without a face; sometimes they form the background of dreamy scenes with stylised antelopes, birds, and of other places – they give rhythm to fascinating abstracts compositions.

Colours

Isabelle de Borchgrave observes the scenes with all the nuances of her palette – vivid hues in contrast: somewhere the pale earth tones evoke the hot, dry temperatures – elsewhere deep blue, yellow and red areas create an intense atmosphere or the awakening of warm colours that manage to find contrast from one another. « It’s all about the colours,” she says, “and how they cooperate with each other.’’

The new works of de Borchgrave are an immediate transference to Africa

One of the most interesting aspects of the exhibition is that the Brussels artist, who always had a passion for fabrics and colour, has never been to Sub-Saharan Africa before. To become familiar with the patterns and textures, she visited Matonge, the African district in Brussels. She sketched the figures on the street and looked at photo reportages about Africa in her well-organised bookcase.

’’We all, especially those who haven’t gone there, have a different Africa in our minds. Mine is rather brutal, peopled with spirituality and magic expressing power and might, but then I am male whereas Isabelle – even though she is une femme forte – is a woman and therefore more impressed with Africa’s elegance, grace and romanticism,” says the artist Marc Leo Felix.

In the era of easy travels to the other side of the world and ’’we have seen it all’’ statements, people have forgotten to explore their imagination by reading stories, seeing traditional art and dream about undiscovered lands mixed in a cocktail of hues in their visions.

The exhibition stands out with its pure message

It is not about politics, it is not about a search of revenge of social inequality or questions on racism – it is a real celebration of traditional patterns, forms and emotions of the culture.

One can work without a realistic picture because painting is very much about the perception of the self – of finding a minute to look under a magnifying glass and meet that owl, the elephant, and the wild cat interlaced in symbiotic conversations with forms, African motifs, and most of all with the public.

The new series will be shown in the gallery space of the studio of Isabelle de Borchgrave in Brussels, a more extensive exhibition is on display, including a 4 x 4 meter hut built for the occasion, in which children can take percussion lessons. In 2019 the exhibition will travel to Geneva and San Francisco.

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“You will find an extravagant porcelain boot in the window of the Agave flower-shop, stylish watch in a barber shop, and a bicycle in the popular Brussels joint El Turco,” says director of Czech Centre Brussels, Jitka Pánek Jurková. “This project thus literally opens a window into the history of Czech design to a broad audience.”

Everyone can discover the venues for himself with a map available at Brussels.czechcentres.cz/100czech, or during a guided tour with the curator Iva Knobloch on September 29 (16:00, in French) and September 30 (16:00, in English).

The exhibition was created by Czech Centers in cooperation with the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague. The event ‘100Czech: The Story of Czech Design’ is supported by CzechTourism and is a part of the official celebrations of the century of Czech statehood in Brussels.

100Czech: The Story of Czech Design  – 21 September – 4 October 2018, Ixelles/Elsene, Brussels

Brussels.czechcentres.cz/100czech

Guided tour on Saturday 29 September 16:00 in French, and 30 September 16:00 in English. The meeting point will be specified soon.

More information on the website and facebook pages

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Brussels is setting trends in design and styling, thanks to the growing number of talented creators and original initiatives such as the new Collectible fair, the Brussels Design Market, Uptown Design, Brussels Design September and Nationa(a)l. Not to mention the new MAD Brussels Fashion & Design Platform, the ADAM Brussels Design Museum and schools like La Cambre / ENSAV, whose reputation continues to grow.

The guide aims to help people discover or rediscover Brussels through the eyes of four creators. For this first edition, visit.brussels asked three furniture designers, Jean-François D’Or, Damien Gernay, Marina Bautier, and stylist Gioia Seghers to share their favourites.

Elegant and practical, the book is divided into 5 sections – restaurants, bars, hotels, shops and cultural venues – separated from each other by the creators’ portrayals. From the specialist bookstore, through the concept store, to the neighbourhood café, the guide allows you to discover out-of-the-ordinary places and is both attractive and user-friendly.

With its 128 pages and graphic design with a strong focus on visuals, « Brussels by designers » is bound to attract inquisitive Brussels people and first-time visitors in search of original places.

Good to know:

The Brussels by designers guide is on sale for 8.50 euros at the reception desks of visit.brussels and in several Brussels bookshops.

The post Brussels by designers: The new favourite guide appeared first on Brussels Express.