DDW x Homegrown: Tim Teven

Who is Tim Teven?

Tim Teven was born in Roermond in 1993. After studying at Design Academy Eindhoven, from which he graduated in 2018, he immediately founded his own design studio in Eindhoven. "I grew up in an entrepreneurial family. My father has always had a steel construction company where I spent a lot of time as a child. That's where my interest in industry comes from. You also see a lot of steel and aluminium in my work," says Tim.

Hi Tim! What characterises you as a designer?

As a designer, I am inspired by materials and techniques, and I like to play with that in the design process. 
I always try to surprise myself by exposing materials to unconventional manipulations to see what happens. In my Pressure series, for example, I used extreme pressure. By controlling the deformation of the material, a simple manoeuvre can lead to an interesting product. 

Last DDW, your work was featured in one of the music videos (Nicolas Kanza) we made with Homegrown. What was it like for you to see your work in such a different context?

Super cool of course. It is a beautiful initiative and I hope that they (ed. Homegrown) will achieve their goal. 
Besides, it is always nice to see the furniture back in a nice setting.

Can you tell us something about the work featured in the video?

The video features work from the Pressure series. The pressure vase is made of a tube that has been compressed with 65 tonnes of force, creating folds in the material. 
These folds give the vase its soft appearance, and at the same time ensure that the vase has a bottom. 
Next to it, you see the pressure stool & bench. These are made of thin aluminium into which we press a pattern. With 45 tonnes of force, flat sheets of aluminium are shaped into a mould creating a pattern in the sheet. This pattern gives the material a cushion-like appearance and makes the panel stronger at the same time. This enables us to make seating furniture from thin sheet material. 


What else are you working on at the moment?

I am currently working on a number of new objects. Not so long ago, new work was presented at Galerie A1043 in Paris. That work can now be seen at the Piet Hein Eek gallery (ed. because of corona, the gallery is currently closed) and at Atelier Ecru in Ghent. 
We are currently working on an interior project for a Swedish boutique, for which we are partly supplying material for surface finishing.

Before we move on to the video of Nicolas Kanza... What type(s) of muziek do you listen to yourself?

Many different genres. A lot of older music like Jazz and hip hop from the 80's/90's. 
Most of the contemporary music I listen to is electronic, mostly from experimental labels. The Homegrown team complimented me on the music playing in my studio when they came to pick up the stuff for the video. I think the album 'Alles ist gut' by D.A.F. was on. 


Who is Nicolas Kanza?

Dutch-African Singer-Songwriter Nicolas Kanza has been singing since he was young. His distinctive vocals mixed with a sweet blend between pop and R&B gives Nicolas a unique sound. After his participation in The Best Singer-Songwriter of the Netherlands, Nicolas has focused entirely on developing his own repertoire. In collaboration with producer Adriaan Philipse, Nicolas has worked for the last 1.5 years on an EP that will be released later this year. 

Homegrown x DDW

Homegrown is an interdisciplinary online platform in which live performances are produced in collaboration with local art organisations. Various disciplines such as design, fashion, visual arts and music come together to put the creative spirit of innovative Dutch youth on the map.

DDW and Homegrown collaborated on a video series of 5 videos as part of the successfully completed Voordekunst crowdfunding by Homegrown. The first three videos have been recently launched; Reinel Bakole with work by Ward Wijnant, as well as Joya Mooi and Joshua J with works by Hedwich Hooghiemstra, and Nicolas Kanza featuring works of Tim Teven. Stay tuned for more!