- Art & Design
Handmade porcelain light objects, that is what Coup-de-Foudre stands for. From a great passion for porcelain and a fascination for art and craftsmanship, founders Goedel Vermandere and Jan Arickx create designs that reflect the beauty of natural imperfection.
When looking at the lighting designs of Goedel Vermandere and Jan Arickx, we too felt a coup de foudre. Thus, the brand did not steal its name. The business saw the light of day in 2007 and combines a fascination for art with craftsmanship. The duo designs and manufactures inspiring porcelain light objects that reflect the beauty of natural imperfection. Why porcelain? ‘In the first place because this is really my thing: working with the material and with your hands has a healing effect. It clears your head and brings body and mind into harmony. But mainly because porcelain is a natural material with an extraordinary transparency. It possesses a fragility that cannot be achieved with any other material. Our creations consist of contemporary, organic forms, which, together with the transparency and white colour, often give them something feminine,’ explains Vermandere. Apart from porcelain, the duo also works with metal, often to obtain a basic construction that is then dressed in porcelain, but also sometimes as a support for the whole. Tree bark, wood and branches are also sometimes used in Coup-de-Foudre's designs. 
‘Working with matter and with your hands has a healing effect'
All designs are handmade, an aspect that is very important to the couple. ‘In this way we really want to distinguish ourselves from the others. Porcelain is not a simple material; it shrinks and deforms during the firing process. Porcelain also has a memory. A technical knowledge of the material is therefore certainly required. The search is endless. Again and again, you push the boundaries and this in turn opens up new perspectives. We do not want to make an industrial product. With us, everything has to pass through our hands and we do not avoid technical challenges. We want people to feel this. We find that our customers are looking for something unique, something handmade and preferably something sustainable made from a natural material. That is exactly what our designs stand for: we can fulfil all wishes,’ she explains. 
Vermandere and Arickx have already had a wonderful run with Coup-de-Foudre. They tell us that their ambition is to fight with matter, to solve a technical problem that requires perseverance and to make people happy with their light objects, their works of art that give light. A very nice intention it seems to us and we have no doubt that Goedel Vermandere and Jan Arickx will effortlessly succeed in it.
Photography by Lenzer