Wieki Somers

Wieki Somers (born 1976 in Sprang-Capelle) is a Dutch designer. She works together with Dylan van den Berg under the name Studio Wieki Somers. Somers is considered part of the second generation of Dutch designers who have gained international acclaim. Unlike the first generation of Dutch designers, who have focused mainly on conceptual, functional designs, this second generation also recognizes the importance of aesthetics. Her work consists of using everyday items newly realized with the incorporation of foreign material, form, technology, or function, and poetry. Somers strives to create pieces to trigger the user’s imagination and heighten awareness. Her personal outlook on life is reflected in her approach to design. “I like realizing the potential of everyday things by revealing their hidden beauty.”

In October 2009, Studio Wieki Somers won the Golden Eye (the award for best Dutch design) at the Dutch Design Awards with the Merry-go-round Coat Rack, designed for the cloakroom of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. By pulling ropes, coats are raised onto the carousel-like construction, making them appear to be floating in space. The coat rack was also nominated in 2009 at the London Design Museum's Designs of the Year awards.

While some work is outsourced, designing and prototyping in her workshop allows Somers to iterate and apply research for herself. Many of her works, early and now, incorporate the work of specialized artisans; such as her Bathboat. Bellflower Lamp, a woven carbon-and-glass fiber fabric woven using a process developed for the aerospace industry, in the shape of a flower. Other well-known designs by Somers include the High Tea Pot, shaped like a pig's skull and accompanied by a fur cosy; the Bathboat, a bathtub shaped like a rowing boat; and the Bellflower, a two-metre-tall lamp woven out of a single piece of fabric using an experimental weaving technique. In 2007, Somers was commissioned by the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag in The Hague to design a tulip vase, Departed glory.

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