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Values

Values are the guidelines for day-to-day actions both personally and professionally. They are revealed in how we look at the world, treat each other, source from the world around us, face new challenges, and take care of those around us. These are my guidelines.

REFLECTIVENESS
Slowing down is crucial for listening, observing, and focusing on each collaboration. The collaborator's needs, dreams and goals are the starting point for each new commission. Working efficiently doesn't mean rushing. ‘Busy’ isn't a part of the vocabulary when seeking timeless approaches instead of chasing trends.

INSIGHT
Taking a broad view enables an understanding of connections to bring forward thoughtful proposals and solutions. Through insight, each collaboration becomes strategic – leading towards the commissioner's vision and goals, as well as supporting the needs of the surrounding world.

CONNECTION
Connecting lies at the core. Each collaboration is connected to the commissioner's stories, present and future, people, and the environment. Outcomes that are both grounded and novel feel integrated – as if they have always been there. New and exciting, yet a natural continuation of the existing.

BOLDNESS
Boldness is an attitude – taking steps that are scary and sometimes feel uncertain. In collaborations, I encourage to take the next step and enter a new chapter. Boldness can be strongly conceptual, yet paired with functionality. The sense of awe engages both emotion and intellect.

CARE
Care – cura – lies deep at the core. Respect is the starting point for dialogue and collaboration. Caring for humans and nature is fundamental. I am committed to contributing to a world that is a little more just and beautiful for both humanity and nature.

In the past two decades, my journey has taken me from fashion to interior architecture, from societal design to architectural policy work, and from collectible design to curation; from creating an installation at an abandoned factory with zero budget in the Netherlands to visiting ancient glass factories in Venice; from an old castle garden in the Belgian countryside to the empty streets of the occupied Hebron Old Town in Palestine; and from interviewing world-renowned architects and designers to mapping urban culture in Helsinki, Finland.

This multidisciplinary background has given me a broad understanding of contexts and practices, connections between design and society, and the evolution of cultural and societal phenomena – and has established a valuable position in artistic direction and creative leadership.

Throughout this journey, one thing has remained – a love of publications. My background as an editor-in-chief, founder of publications, editor and freelance journalist has taught me to connect people, practices and phenomena; to lead content and teams; and to keep complexity at bay. From this editorial perspective, I see an exhibition as a publication in spatial form, and seek continuation and longevity through programming. In curating designs, phenomena, people, practices and experiences, the question of outreach is always present. As a team leader, I see my responsibility as enabling my team to do its best work within an open and encouraging atmosphere.

Years of living and working in Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK have brought international connections and perspective to my work – a functional Nordic approach, a conceptual and experimental Dutch line of thought, and an emotive sensibility to design from Belgium.

In my work, this comes together with a deep respect for nature, an appreciation of beauty as a complex phenomenon, a psychological and phenomenological understanding of design, an inherent commitment to social justice and decolonial practices, and an openness to listen and learn.

I am currently based in Finland, in a small village by a river in the lush countryside, an hour’s drive from Helsinki, and work across Finland and internationally. ✕

∼ Master of Design, Social Design, Design Academy Eindhoven, The Netherlands