The story of the cone

This is a photograph of ten molds for the ceramic cone drying in the backyard of our studio.
And that is not at all what we planned.

We planned to have the cones made in China, where they're great with ceramics and can easily produce large amounts of ... well... anything.
After sending a package containing several ceramic cones + a mothershape to cast a mold around to the manufacturer we had been in touch with, we were confident nothing could go wrong.

Photographs of the first batch of samples we received
read about it here

The first batch we received was not quite there yet, but promising nevertheless (remember), so Thomas made a lovely sheet to communicate the adjustments we were looking for (thinner walls, different glaze-heigths, darker and redder terracotta a.o.), which we e-mailed to the manufacturer that same week.

We didn't hear anything for a little while, but weren't alarmed, thinking that -after the adjustments were made- we were pretty much ready to order a first batch.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, we received this photograph:

photograph we got from the manufacturer

Slightly baffled, we immediately replied with a new sheet with adjustments, stressing the parts that were most important to us.  
And that's the last we heard of this manufacturer.

Having no time to start this process again with a new manufacturer before the first Waterworks batch is due, we decided to take matters into our own hands and set up an in-house production-line.

So that's where we stand: we're waiting for the molds to dry so we can start casting the first cones soon.
There is one plus to this whole situation: The money saved on shipment is now used instead to buy a kiln that can hopefully be put to good use for many future House of Thol projects.

Photoshoot day in Arnhem

Masha Bakker during the Waterworks photoshoot (With Thomas assisting)

The official Waterworks launch is getting closer and closer, which means we were in dire need of professional product photographs. The pics we've used so far are ok(-ish), but lack crispness and professionality.

Since we were highly impressed with Photographer Masha Bakkers' work, we thought she would be perfect for the job. We got in touch with her a couple of months ago and yesterday we drove to the other side of the country to work with Masha in her studio in Arhem.

Here's a example of Masha's work:

Masha Bakker Photography for Lenneke Wispelwey

Once we got there, it took Masha only about 15 minutes to set up and shoot the first photographs, which were already right up to the mark.
After shooting in the studio for about an hour we packed up our plants and Waterworks-sets and went to 'Kweekland' (a little urban-gardening centre 5 minutes from Masha's studio) for a few location-shots in a little greenhouse.

This morning we received low res versions of the many many photographs that were shot yesterday: it's up to us to make a first selection.
Alright...      This might take us a while....

Interested to see more of Masha's work? Check out her website.

Publication in this months' EH&I

Check out this full page of Waterworks in this months' 'Eigen Huis & Interieur'. :-D

Can't make out the text? Here's a close-up:

Offline to online: Elle decoration publication

Read the article on the Elle Decoration website.

Volkskrant Magazine Publication

Very happy to be in this weeks' Volkskrant Magazine design special.
Jeroen Junte, one of the top Design critics in the Netherlands, dedicated an entire article about crowdfunding Dutch Design. And we are in it!

Difficult to read? Here's a close up of our little part:

Unfortunately i can't link to an online version of the article, but if you open the photographs in a new page you can enlarge them and you should be able to read the whole article.

Wonen.blog webpublication

Read the complete article on wonen.blog.

Elle Decoration publication

We almost missed this publication in last months Elle Decoration.
Luckily a friend texted me, and we were just in time to buy ourselves a copy!