Jeanine Keizer

Breathing New Life into the Old Jeanine Keizer, former wife of designer Piet Hein Eek is a celebrated ceramicist, renowned the world over for bringing new life to second-hand ceramics. Scouring thrift stores, markets and auctions for pre-loved plates and cups, she gives ceramics a second lease of life by dip-dying them in paint and glazes, through which the original designs are sometimes revealed. It’s a neat and creative solution against the problem of over-consumption. Jeanine studied at Design Academy Eindhoven and later at the Art Academy in Den Bosch. She has had work exhibited at the Groninger Museum, Groningen and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. Piet and Jeanine have spent many years renovating an old mill in France and furnishing it with their artwork. Their ability to transform waste products into works of art is shown by these innovative designs, including one made from the discarded lids of camembert cheese packaging. Re-used and Recycled It is no surprise then that the current wallpaper design by Jeanine Eek also makes reference to recycling and renewing the old as the bottle caps that we so often throw away become the colourful subject of a wallpaper, giving them a brand new lease of life in art. CROWN CAPS makes an obvious choice for a kitchen wallpaper with its colourful bottle caps. If you’re a fan of different drinks, or simply a collector, this might just be the wallpaper design for you. There is no repeat in the pattern so every bottle cap is unique and there is plenty to keep the eye travelling across the wall. This wallpaper is both very current and forward-looking. Should it be a topic close to your heart, there is a nuance of reference to commercialism, over-consumption and the need to recognise our responsibility to the environment. It also fits well with the current interior design trend for reclamation and an increasing interest in the subject of sustainability. This wallpaper would look fantastic contrasted with antiques and vintage pieces in line with the current trend for mixing old and new. With the huge number of bottle caps it showcases, the wallpaper even has a kind of history of its own. Whatever your reason for choosing it, this wallpaper really makes a statement. It comes in two background colourways of black or white to maintain the pattern as the stand-out element of the design. For a workspace, this design would also fit especially well with pubs, bars or cafes, or as a quirky backdrop to a brewery or retail space. Any business concerned with recycling, re-using or creating art out of recycled objects might also find this a very appropriate interior background. If you like this design, you may also be interested in other wallpaper designs that use multiple examples of the same object, or in those that touch on themes of recycling and reclamation.

Photo Rene van der Hulst