vij5 at milan design week 2011

‘newspaperwood’ by mieke meijer with vij5 photo by merel van beukering fotografie

vij5 is a dutch designlabel which consists of a collection of interior objects for the home which are characterized by their simplicity and use of existing elements. their presentation at milan design week 2011’s ventura lambrate area, features a number of products including ‘lloop’ and ‘newspaperwood’.

detail of the layers of newspaper which create a wood grain effect photo by merel van beukering fotografie

dutch designer mieke meijer‘s ‘newspaperwood’ produced in collaboration with vij5 is a reversal of traditional production processes – instead of production going from wood to paper, it goes the other way around. the material is made from surplus amounts of newspapers that are layered in such a way that they produce the effect of wood grain or rings of a tree, giving the product the aesthetic of real wood. it can also be cut, milled, sanded and can be treated like almost any other type of wood.

previously, designboom published an article on the ‘newspaperwood’ in its early stages of development. on the occasion of milan design week 2011(april 12th – 17th, 2011) vij5 presents the current progress and development of the material with mieke. they have invited a group of young dutch designers to experiment and develop the first prototypes and product collection made from ‘newspaperwood’.

upclose photo by merel van beukering fotografie

sample of how the ‘newspaperwood’ can be treated photo by merel van beukering fotografie

‘lloop’ by ontwerpduo for vij5 photo by ontwerpduo

various finishes of the copper lamps including pale green matte, polished copper and light grey matte photo by ontwerpduo

holland-based otwerpduo‘s ‘lloop’ copper pendant lamps for vij5 can be adjusted in height through means of extending or shortening the loops of electricity cable which are held in your desired place by wooden toggles. each lamp comes with two wooden pieces, a transparent plastic pull relief and 6 meters of textile electricity cable.

photo by ontwerpduo

underside of ‘lloop’ photo by ontwerpduo