I really like old machines, big and small. For example a vintage typewriter [Kids pay attention, that’s what people used to type a letter with. A sort of keyboard!] or a sewing machine. I think they are beautiful. These antique machines are real icons, which in this era have lost their function.
Sewing machines in new context
These beautiful sewing machines have been upcycled into something different. Designer Stef van der Bijl, founder of vanderBijl – design & interior in Amsterdam | The Netherlands, created the Sew Me Collection. Stef van der Bijl also redesigned all the pieces belonging to a sewing machine set, and turned them into interior products.
One of the most striking designs and part of this stunning collection is the Sew Me Lamp. The light turns on and dims by turning the hand wheel. The lamp is a limited collection.
Stef van der Bijl:
“When things have lost their function, I try to give them a new life by creating a new function. A combination between antique and modern is interesting by contrast. So grab something old and place it in a new context. Don’t deny your own past, but use the past to create something new.”
Photos © vanderBijl – design & interior
And in my opinion that’s exactly what makes his designs so appealing. The fact that he creates something new that is based on the old in this day and age of internet and enormous technological development.
