By Gabrielle Kennedy /asdf 22-04-2011

OP-VOORRAAD has appeared before in Amsterdam, Munich, Taipei and Antwerp.  This Easter it is back in Amsterdam at the Lloyd Hotel.

It has been two years since OP-VOORRAAD launched its first pop-up store.  It has gone from a little-known, little-understood concept to a phenomenon that is bringing experimental jewellery art to the uninitiated.  Now, designers from around the world approach the collective asking to participate.  “We have to be very discerning,” says Jeannette Jansen, one of the initiators.  Jansen launched OP-VOORRAAD with Ineke Heerkens and Jantje Fleischhut.

It has worked because the concept was so new.  “Gallerists are more interested in one-offs rather than in multiples, so that sort of work has never really had a place before,” explains Jansen.

But still, contemporary art jewellery is a difficult business.  “It is so unknown and people don't really know what to think,” Jansen admits.  So far the OP-VOORRAAD pop-up shops in Amsterdam and Tapei have been the most successful because they were attached to larger design fairs and thus attracted a more informed audience.

“I think when people come to look they are always most interested in pieces that tell a story,” Jansen says.  “They ask questions and when they hear what the piece is made from or why the artist made it, they become quite enthusiastic.  That then makes them keen to know about other pieces by the same artist.”
    
Over Easter at the Lloyd Hotel, work by Ted Noten, Ruudt Peters, Hanna Hedman and Jantje Fleischhut will be available amongst the 71 national and international participating jewellery artists.

One of the top-sellers from the current collection is a hot pink pig ring by Ted Noten made from nylon in a 3d printer.  “I always thought it sold so well because it was a Noten,” explains Jansen,” but in Tapei, they don’t know who Ted Noten is and it was still the best seller.”

And one of the most intriguing pieces is by Noemi Doge – a hexagon shaped brooch made from recycled soccer balls.

Some precious metals and gem stones are used in the work, but mostly the pieces are fashioned from unexpected materials like animal skin, rubber, dental plaster and string.

Contemporary jewellery presented in galleries is never going to attract a new market.  In that way, OP-VOORRAAD acts as a sort of bridge.  The presentation resembles a hardware store – white perforated walls  with metal hooks jutting out.  The jewellery pieces are in transparent bags and hang on the hooks - people can pull them off, look at them and ask questions.

“I think our format helps to get new people interested in contemporary jewellery,” says Jansen.  “In a gallery they might not enter or ask, but here it feels more comfortable.”

OP-VOORRAAD has also recently opened a new webshop.  “Previously we sent unsold pieces back after the shows,” says Jansen.  “Now we want to keep the work for one year, but still that means a lot of drawer time.  Now people can access our collection 24 hours a day.”


OP-VOORRAAD

Lloyd Hotel Amsterdam
Oostelijke Handelskade 34

from April 21 till May 8

Every day open from 4-8 pm

Easter weekend from 10-8 pm

Closed on Queensday
Contemporary jewellery lecture at 8pm on May 2nd also at the Lloyd.


Images: top page OP-VOORRAAD's team Heerkens, Jansen and Fleischhut.  Main page top brooch by Julia Walter, Ted Noten's pig ring, brooch by Annemarie van Gorkum, and bracelet by Peter Hogeboon.
 

Add to favorites