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Concrete Lace by Doreen Westphal at Maison & Objet

02.02.12 | By
Concrete Lace by Doreen Westphal at Maison & Objet

Doreen Westphal Concrete Lace Curtain

One of the stand-out pieces at Maison & Objet for me was Doreen Westphal’s concrete lace curtain. Not only visually stunning, it plays with our conception of gravity, delicately suspending something we perceive to be very heavy in mid-air.

The design is based on an old lace pattern from Belgium, which Doreen translates into a digital file. From this she creates a mold using plexiglass and silicone. She then lays the wire or ribbon into the mold (which takes half a day in itself) and pours the concrete. The concrete is a special mix called Quantz by G.Tech which hardens in 3-4 days. Once hardened, the mold can be removed and the lace curtain is complete.

Doreen Westphal concrete lace

Our trip to Paris for Maison & Objet 2012 was supported in part by Airbnb.com.

Katie Treggiden is a purpose-driven journalist, author and, podcaster championing a circular approach to design – because Planet Earth needs better stories. She is also the founder and director of Making Design Circular, a program and membership community for designer-makers who want to join the circular economy. With 20 years' experience in the creative industries, she regularly contributes to publications such as The Guardian, Crafts Magazine and Monocle24 – as well as being Editor at Large for Design Milk. She is currently exploring the question ‘can craft save the world?’ through an emerging body of work that includes her fifth book, Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure (Ludion, 2020), and a podcast, Circular with Katie Treggiden.