Every other week, together with Sjiek / Het Belang Van Limburg, we present a Limburg design icon, or one that is well on its way to becoming one. This week it is The Siblings by Frederik Delbart for PER / USE.

WHAT: The Siblings is a versatile lighting system with an LED lamp in a laboratory glass as a diffuse light source, whether or not combined with a wooden stand.

YEAR: 2014

When Frederik Delbart (° 1988, Alken) released “The Siblings” in 2014 with the Belgian label PER / USE, all the spots immediately were switched on. The lighting system ingeniously made use of LED technology embedded in borosilicate glass, which is mainly used in laboratories. “It is the result of a double investigation into both the aesthetics of laboratory glass and the use of the latest leds and oleds,” Delbart proudly announced at the time. The lamp has a conical shape and a kind of handle, as if it were a megaphone. You could see a modern interpretation of the gardenlamp in it and because the “handle” can also be placed on a slender wooden stand, you have a reading lamp or a table lamp depending on the height.

HENRY OF THE VELDE LABEL

“The Siblings” is actually a commercial translation of Frederik Delbart’s graduation work at La Cambre in Brussels. As a student he already studied new technologies and developments, such as the bright innovations in LED technology, and his thesis did not go unnoticed. Among other things, it opened the door at Phillips where he started working at the professional lighting department, but also at the PER / USE design label. That label came out in 2013 with a whole selection of new products of which “The Siblings” was received with great enthusiasm. It immediately got a Henry van de Velde label, a commercial quality mark for good design.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

“The Siblings is an important design for me because it is the very first produced design,” says Frederik Delbart. “The feeling that as a young designer you get the chance with a company, where they take a risk to invest in your product and give it a chance … won’t be forgotten all too lightly.” The return was immediately visible, “The Siblings” was eagerly picked up by the national and international design press. The strength of Frederik Delbart was to continue on that impetus and to develop a portfolio entirely as an independent designer.

DESIGNER OF THE YEAR

And that career has been booming since 2014, because he already has a lot of designs on the market and at the same time he knows how to set up longer, sustainable partnerships with companies. There is Quincalux, the West-Flemish specialist in door fittings, but also the Hasselt furniture company Recor, where he has been setting out the lines as art director for more than two years already. Under his influence, the label Recor Home has provided a breath of fresh air in affordable designer furniture. The biggest award is undoubtedly the Designer of the Year title that was awarded to him in October last year; and that for a designer who is still only 30 years old. With “The Siblings” he turned on the international design firmament.

The Siblings are available in four heights – 23 cm, 31.5 cm, 50.5 cm and 120 cm – in either wood, matte black or matte white and start at a target price from 550 euros. www.frederikdelbart.be