Hasta La Ideas

Belgian designer Hubert Verstraeten of Tamawa will present these watches made of Bakelite at Maison & Objet in Paris this week.

Named TW35 40, the watches have cases in a choice of eight colours, with the face and hands in either silver or black.

Maison & Objet takes place 3-7 September.

The text that follows is from Tamawa:

Whilst waiting for the arrival of the young Belgian designer this October at Bon Marché’s Galerie Imaginaire, Tamawa will be making an appearance at the Maison & Objet Show in Paris with a collection which has been diversified by the addition of a new watch to the accessory and jewellery range. Playing definitively on the purity and simplicity of Bakelite beads, Hubert Verstraeten, the artistic director of the brand, is proposing a brand new watch model larger than the previous one. Called the TW35 40, it is made entirely in Europe. The face, made up from a 35 mm bead is available in the brand’s usual colours. The interior of the watch face is available in silver and black, just like the hands, thus permitting many combinations with the 8 Bakelite colours.

The black leather bracelet is available in a double or single length.

Exercising radical style, Tamawa exclusively uses Bakelite beads. It maintains a history in design which takes off exactly from where the mythical “Hang it all” by Charles & Ray Eames stopped: 8 colours (the official snooker colours) made from 2 to 16 cm diameter beads, this is the designer Hubert Verstraeten’s scope for the unlimited conception of a range of objects. Today, the collection which began with jewellery, is expanding into accessories and objects for the home (lamp, photo stands, coat stands) designed by Hubert Verstraeten and guest designers such as the Big Game collective or Sylvain Willenz. In Japanese, Tamawa literally means “bead on a steel ring.” The young Belgian designer is relying on the shift in focus to propose an elegant and fun range. Having moved away from its “snooker” image, Bakelite has immediately regained its pure and profound nature, the plastic qualities of which go beyond the snooker room. The idea of ‘play’ is there however, but in a formal way: infinite possibilities – from precious objects to furnishings – with this small sphere, as basic as it is essential.

Tamawa at Maison & Objet

Stand J181 Hall 7
3rd to 7th September 2010
Parc des expositions, Paris-Villepinte

Tamawa at Bon Marché
Galerie Imaginaire
2nd floor
30th October to 31st December 2010.

See also:

.

Nevroz spirit level by Yann Lestrat for Tamawa	All our stories about watches	More design stories