In parallel to her practice as an artist, Claire de Jong set up JONG! Design, a project creating contemporary furniture and fittings in collaboration with highly skilled artisans and craftspeople.
JONG! Design was conceived and established together with her late husband James Carr-Jones, who played a pivotal role in some of the most interesting leftfield design projects by internationally renowned luxury brands such as Hermès.
Following his tragic passing, Claire has revived the project in recent years. Focussing almost entirely on bespoke and limited edition pieces, She works with Antwerp artisans and craftspeople skilled in the use of wood, metal and other materials and fabrication techiniques needed to realise these singular designs.
Many of the designs feature visual and aesthetic commonalities with her work as an artist; formal composition or abstract form. But, they also involve the "hidden" narratives and stories of the kind that feature in her paintings. For example, one of the designs for a pouffe, at first glance, appears to be a straighforward contemporary furniture object realised in steel and high quality wool. On closer inspection, however, the hand-stitched "tubes" that cover the soft seating surfaces reveal themselves to be made from vintage wool fabric made exclusively for Karl Lagerfeld's work at Chanel, carefully sourced through Belgian fabric specialists.
JONG! Design focusses on comissions and one-off pieces, handmade in Antwerp. However, the studio has developed a number of designs for practical prêt-à-porter items ideally suited to the contemporary home.
For more details on JONG! Design and current available pieces, please contact the studios directly.