The Skin Collection is a reaction to the 25-30 percent waste produced by the furniture industry. The furniture is found on the street or secondhand and modified and then covered in pieces of leather leftovers. What creates this amount of waste are things like the organic shape of the animal, its scratches, damages, scars and none matching colors after dying. This project is fed by the nature of this leather scrap, turning it into random patterns, referring to cell structures and growth in nature. The cover grows slowly around the object where colors blend together. The entire process is done by hand. It merges discarded objects with a skin made out of waste and gives it a new life.
Material: Leather remnants, found objects
All items of Skin Collection are one-offs. Availability, prices and commisions on request.
The Brick Chair is a reaction on a drawing made by James Gulliver Hancock. Pepe’s interpretation changed the chair into (second hand) children’s bricks. He wanted to stretch the possibilities of the material to its limits: the Brick Chandelier evolved. With a diameter of 2.70m, it amazes many. Pepe about the drawing of James Gulliver Hancock: ''My eye was caught by his type of drawing, it looks like a child has been drawing with a great eye for detail.'' His handwriting changed the chair once (into a drawing), Pepe's interpretation changed it again: into bricks. Evolution on a small scale. In short, the project is about interpretation and imagination. After getting the structure under control in the chair, he wanted to stretch the possibilities of the material to its limits: the Brick Chandelier evolved. With a diameter of 2.65 meter this chandelier amazes by the combination of being both playful and technical at the same time.
Material: second hand wooden blocks, steel.
Chair, H85 x W40 x L40 cm.
Chandelier, H110 x Dia 265 cm.
Hanger, H30 x W45 cm. Price €150
Sputnik is a paper-mâché bubble trapped in a metal frame. The freehand production process determines the shape. So they are all a bit different and become family. Once lit up it reminds of looking at full moon.
Sputnik was designed to be produced in a scheltered workshop where productions skills were relatively low. A rough guideline for the production would create little diffence in the outcome.
Material: paper, steel
Size: Large, L40 x W50 x H115 cm
Small, L430 x W40 x H70 cm
Lightness Of Being is a giant flexible lamp of 3.5m. The inside is full of technique though its look refers to a giant fairy-tale flower from Alice in Wonderland. The base is 75 kg, the stem weighs only 700 grams. This is equal to 1% of its total weight. To switch the light you pull the felt slowly over the stem and the 'flower' closes, and so does the light... The movement of the lamp is based upon the reaction of flowers to light. It seems that flowers hardly move, though when this is filmed in a time lapse you will find out that they have lots of movement in them following the sun. When light comes in only from the side plants can grow in spectacular ways. So can this 3.5-meter long lamp. It will find its way in extreme positions without the technical looks.
flat beige, 34 x 83cm
flat grey, 34 x 83cm
high beige, 72 x 62cm
high grey, 72 x 62cm
Leather Lampshades is Pepe Heykoop’s 1st project made in his workshop in a slum in Mumbai, India. Leather Lampshade is fabricated of soft lambskin leather, whilst its shape refers to old industrial lamps.
The shape is a simplified version of old industrial lamps. Circles became angled and the shade is now soft and therefore foldable so they can be transported flat packed. Leather Lampshade is produced in his workshop located in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Mumbai, India – providing meaningful jobs, income and hope for the neediest. Leather Lampshade has gone into production in 2011 and proceeds from sales are partly used to send street children to school.
The Bamboo Diamond is a stack of bamboo sticks. It gives a play of light while the light passes two layers. The lamp is made with drop out boys from the community. They have had never learnt to count properly… when we started the project. Now they ménage to handle 824 bamboo sticks of different sizes.
The Copper Lampshade is made of bamboo slices held together by copper wires stripped from old electricity cables. “From waste to wonder."This suspension light has been designed especially for our collaboration with the Pardeshi’s. We work with a group of underprivileged women to construct the lamp. The lamp consists of 13 sides. All women working on this project can make one piece at home while running the household in the mean time. When the sides are finished the parts blend together into this atmospheric light.
