B-Set

Year:	1999
Location:	Makkum
Designer:	Hella Jongerius
Client:	Koninklijke Tichelaar B.V.
Project type:	art & design

In 1999, Koninklijke Tichelaar put into production Hella Jongerius' seven-part porcelain dinner service. This did not just herald the beginning of a special partnership, it was also the first time in the company's history that it had produced items in porcelain. In an industry where, since industrialisation, perfection has become the norm, in this design Hella Jongerius focuses on the concept of 'imperfection'. She studied the possibilities of restoring individuality to the serial production process, an important recurring theme in her work. During a period she spent working at the European Ceramics Work Centre in ‘s Hertogenbosch (1997) she experimented with clay by firing it at a high temperature, which distorted each piece. This is how she developed the method for producing the B-Set, in which each piece acquires its own unique character and regains its individuality.

The B-Set is now considered an icon of Dutch design history and has been included in the collections of many international museums.