Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis, who was named designer of the year at this year's Dezeen Awards at the end of November, talks in an interview about the challenges facing budding designers. Marcelis, known for her work with resin and stone, began her career after studying industrial design in Wellington, New Zealand, followed by an education at the Design Academy Eindhoven. After graduating in 2011, she decided to start for herself, thanks in part to the opportunity to find a studio and home cheaply, so she did not feel immediate pressure to make money from her work.
Sabine Marcelis is a versatile designer. For Mathmos' 60th anniversary, for instance, she introduced her signature minimalist and elegant approach to design with Mathmos' classic Astro lava lamp from 1963. Photo: Mathmos.
Marcelis acknowledges how happy she was with this start, but does not believe it would be possible today due to the high cost of living. Her breakthrough came with a commission for a major fashion house, for which she designed the 'candy cubes' that now characterise her work. Despite resin often being associated with her work, two-thirds of her projects consist of glass. Marcelis stresses the importance of sustainability and her influence on increasing the bio-content in resin to almost 60%.
She stresses that designers should be well-informed about sustainability and that her clients are also increasingly concerned about this. Marcelis, who is emerging as one of the best-known female designers, notes that the design industry can still be difficult to access for women, but also for young designers in general. She calls for more openness to new ideas and designers.
She recently worked on a project for the AlUla design space, aimed at empowering and involving local artisans, as part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 plan. Marcelis stresses that such projects offer opportunities for change. She does not plan to focus on interior design projects in the future, but wants to remain fully involved in every project of her studio, to ensure that it remains worthy of her ideas and name.
Source: Dezeen