Collection Design Challenge
Collection Design Challenge

Designed & Made in Luxembourg

Villeroy&Boch presents its new limited edition collection designed and manufactured in Luxembourg. Developed by designers and artists from Luxembourg and produced in Villeroy&Boch’s porcelain manufactory
in Rollingergrund, these decorative items were created by the winners of the “Design Challenge” contest launched by Villeroy&Boch and Luxinnovation, the national agency for innovation and research. Each edition is limited to 100 pieces.

Design challenge

The new limited edition collection by Villeroy&Boch is the result of a “Design Challenge” contest.

These objects were created by designers and artists from Luxembourg and are produced in the atelier of Villeroy&Boch’s porcelain manufacture in Rollingergrund, a district of Luxembourg City. These decorative items are the winning designs of the “Design Challenge” contest initiated by Villeroy&Boch and Luxinnovation in 2014.

For this purpose five of the country’s artists and designers were invited to take part in the competition and developed a concept within only a few weeks. From the very beginning of the process, the artists exchanged ideas with specialists from the manufacture and the company’s marketing and sales departments as well as the collectors and experts at Luxinnovation and the Musée National d’Histoire et d’Art.

A jury composed of members of Villeroy&Boch and Luxinnovation chose three of the five projects: “Luxembourg City Casket”, by Anne Kieffer, “Magical Mullerthal Jewellery Box”, by Trixi Weis, and “Old Luxembourg Coffeepot in Motion”, by Christophe de la Fontaine.

History

François Boch, from Lorraine, in modern France, was a royal cannon caster before ­beginning the production of ceramic ­tableware in 1748. In 1766, his son, Pierre-Joseph, submitted a request to the Austrian government for permission to found a factory in the province of Luxembourg, one of the Bochs’ early key markets.

histoire_image

In Septfontaines, a valley not far from the fortress of Luxembourg, “Jean-François Boch et Frères” began early industrial series production in 1767. The new factory, bearing the title “Manufacture Impériale et Royale”, quickly grew into the country’s first large company. Tableware from the Bochs was generally referred to as “Luxembourg-style”.

histoire_portraits

Pierre-Joseph BochNikolas VilleroyJean-François Boch
(1737-1818)(1759-1843)(1782-1858)

Villeroy&Boch S.à.r.l. Luxembourg’s headquarters is located in Rollingergrund, in the heart of the City of Luxembourg. The Hotel & Restaurant division controls most of its activities from here. The historic Chateau des Septfontaines, which belongs to the historic location of Villeroy&Boch S.à.r.l., is now a listed historical monument and is available to hire for receptions and events.

histoire_chateau

Porcelaine Manufacture

Even today, work at the factory in the Rollingergrund still uses the “méthode traditionnelle” – selected individual pieces are lovingly finished by hand. And that’s how it has been for eight generations.

histoire_four

SECTION of a ceramic furnace from the first half of the 19th century
Old Luxembourg TUREEN

Luxembourg City Casket

by Anne Kieffer

For Villeroy&Boch, Anne chose the architectural and historical symbols of the city of Luxembourg and designed a jewellery box combining the Huelen Zant, the Red Bridge, the valley of the Pétrusse and the Gëlle Fra. The outer shape of her object is reminiscent of an egg, a kind of shell that protects what is inside.

Size: L: 170 mm  D: 115 mm  H: 220 mm
Material: fine porcelain
Limited to 100 pieces

Luxembourg City Casket

Magic Mullerthal Jewellery Box

by Trixi Weis

The artist, who always likes to slip a bit of humour into her work, wanted to create an object that was both decorative as well as useful. That is why the box hides little drawers and secret spaces discreetly integrated into the work.

Size: L: 280 mm  D: 230 mm  H: 280 mm
Material: fine porcelain
Limited to 100 pieces

Magic Mullerthal Jewellery Box

Old Luxembourg Coffeepot In Motion

by Christophe de la Fontaine

With this impressive coffeepot, Christophe de la Fontaine wants to change the static view that we have of the objects that surround us every day. Through this work, the designer demonstrates the movement of a coffeepot in use while simultaneously giving a nod to the origins of Villeroy&Boch.

Size: L: 325 mm  D: 155 mm  H: 470 mm
Material: fine porcelain
Limited to 100 pieces

Old Luxembourg Coffeepot In Motion

Designers

  • Anne Kieffer

    Anne Kieffer

    studied industrial design in the United States. After working in Italy for a few years designing interiors for Fiat, she decided to open her own creative studio. She lives and works in Luxembourg and Milano.

  • Trixi Weis

    Trixi Weis

    is a visual artist, stage designer for theatre and dance and prop designer and chairs the “Association des Artistes Plasticiens du Luxembourg” (AAPL), the association of visual artists in Luxembourg. Fascinated by nature, Trixi Weis drew her inspiration from the Mullerthal region to create a very individual jewellery box.

  • Christophe de la Fontaine

    Christophe de la Fontaine

    first studied sculpture at the Lycée des Arts et Métiers in Luxembourg before working alongside Patricia Urquiola, one of the leading lights of Italian design. In 2010 he established his own design studio in Milan.

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Discover also the collection Manufacture by Villeroy & Boch and its figurines “The Little Bargeman”, “The Turk on the Stone” and “The Penguin”

http://www.villeroy-boch-collection-manufacture.lu/