tonight, design flanders presents the henry van de velde awards & labels 2009, which look at the achievements of designers and companies from over the past year. inaugurated in 1994, this is the sixteenth edition of the awards and labels. organized in cooperation with OVAM and the flemish parliament winners have been selected under the following categories: young designer, career – for contribution to the field of design, company, best product – van de velde label and eco design.

the jury consisted of: johan valcke, jan boelen, leen creve, colette demil, klara desmedt, wouter ulburghs, dieter van den storm, guy vermeirsch, veerle wenes.

‘chained brooches’ by jorge manila navarrete photo by bart vermaerke

jorge manilla navarrete receives the young talent award. the mexican belgian jewellery designer creates pieces which are not necessarily aesthetically pleasing, but are a reflection of the spiritual and raw nature of the materials in which he uses in his work.

henry van de velde awards and labels 2009from the ‘parasite of your love’ collection by jorge manila navarrete photo by tom lagast

henry van de velde awards and labels 2009 from the ‘tales of a big city’ collection by jorge manila navarrete photo by bart vermaerke

henry van de velde awards and labels 2009 from the ‘tales of a big city’ collection by jorge manila navarrete photo by bart vermaerkehenry van de velde awards and labels 2009 from ‘the day you went away’ collection by jorge manila navarrete photo by tom lagast

henry van de velde awards and labels 2009 from the ‘ese hombre’ collection by jorge manila navarrete photo by bart vermaerkehenry van de velde awards and labels 2009 ‘decoratie of gordijstof’, 2004 by martine gyselbrecht photo by lieven herreman

the career award goes to martine gyselbrecht receives for her creativity and research within the field of textiles. working since the 1970s, she has been recuperating natural elements through her work. she has always manipulated and experimented with materials she has found or received, never buying any new ones.

henry van de velde awards and labels 2009‘zetelbekleding’, 1993 by martine gyselbrecht photo by lieven herremanhenry van de velde awards and labels 2009 ‘meubelstof’, 2005 by martine gyselbrecht photo by lieven herreman

henry van de velde awards and labels 2009 ‘meubelstof’, 2007 by martine gyselbrecht photo by martine gyselbrecht

henry van de velde awards and labels 2009 ‘occhio’ designed by roel vandebeek for drisag this year, the company award is granted to drisag for its continuous pursuit of design in all its facets.

henry van de velde awards and labels 2009‘luxe projectstoel’ designed by roel vandebeek for drisag

henry van de velde awards and labels 2009 ‘amerigo office chair’ designed by stefan schîning

along with the awards are the henry van de velde labels. this year twelve products have been granted with this title, which symbolizes quality. awarded products exhibit a new vision and perspective in approach to design and material research. here is a look at several of the projects:

henry van de velde awards and labels 2009‘neo’ by pilipili & eliet creative lab for eliet europe n.v.a ‘green shredder’ which uses a patented axe principle. the machine is foldable, and has a hinged opening so branches can easily be inserted. it is the first shredder to have an integrated collection tray.

henry van de velde awards and labels 2009‘triplet hawk’ by enthoven associates for swiss-axethis is a diamond loupe which combines a high-quality optical lens with an ergonomic, lightweight design.

henry van de velde awards and labels 2009‘donut’ by dimitri de martelaere for dorel france s.a. – hoppop brand a plastic baby potty which has two separate parts, making it easy and simple to clean.

the other henry van de velde label winners are: cosmolite luggage by erik sijmons for samsonite disk hanging lamp by jean-françoise d’or of loudordesign studio for toss B freecom mobile drive XXS external hard drive by sylvain willenz for freecom technologies b.v. geena directional lighting by R&D team TAL for TAL n.v. maison OI by marie mess & cathérine biasino for arte n.v. oasis seating elements by bram boo for feld, produced by drisag office furniture philink by jeroen theuns & caroline voet for ahrend b.v. play by jaga ontwerpstudio for jaga n.v. publiek by frederik aerts for berghoff worldwide henry van de velde awards and labels 2009‘buzziscreen’ by sas adriaenssens for technospace (buzzispace)

an acoustically absorbent room screen which is handmade from biodegradable cardboard covered in a felt skin which is produced from recycled PET bottles. the buzziscreen is the marketed product presented with the OVAM ecodesign award. two products are recognized in this category. the other is ‘the beci bike project’ which is still in production. it is a sustainable modular bicycle storage infrastructure, designed for the city of brussels.

helena schepens is responsible for the design of this year’s trophy:

henry van de velde awards and labels 2009 photo © lieven herreman