CREATE BEAUTY DO GOOD
Can design make our world (a little) better? How to create beauty out of waste? What is the link between creativity and personal development? Blooey, the Rotterdam-based design studio founded by Remko Verhaagen, uses the value of design to do good. This vision is based on three principles: Beautiful design. Sustainable materials. Social process.
Mathenesserdijk 412L / 3026 GV / Rotterdam / the Netherlands studio@blooey.nl / collection@blooey.nl / +31 (0)6 16 42 96 42
BEAUTY
There is dignity in the focused creation of natural beauty. It is sometimes hard to explain, but the best beauty is the kind that makes you want to do good. The simplicity of Remko’s work is not only a result of his love for aesthetic purity. The iconic quality is also key to translate abstract concepts such as vision, culture and sustainability into tangible designs and meaningful experiences.
SUSTAINABILITY
Blooey works exclusively on projects for ecologically and socially engaged clients using the attraction and business value of premium design to inspire public awareness, support charities and create circular concepts with shared rewards for all stakeholders. For every project – product, interior or brand design - it is Blooey’s mission to work with recycled, renewable and local resources.
SOCIETY
Every object, space and material has its unique quality and so too every person has its own talent. To share the positive inspiration of a creative process, Blooey developed the DESIGN DOING program. This workshop-based training uses the actual design process - with professional brainstorming tools - to offer a ‘sheltered’ learning experience that grows personal development and (creative) confidence for disadvantaged people. Blooey’s CBDG collection supports ONZE stichting and other collaborating charities.
Blooey is looking for partners (both commercial and non-profit) to help us grow our vision of doing good by design.
COLLABORATIONS
10XL / Arima Café / Batavus / BouwAkademie / Bouwkeet / Bravilor / Buurman / Cocondo / COFO / De Hartstichting / Douwe Egberts* / ECCO / Fresh Forward* / Geesa* / Gemeente Den Haag / Gemeente Rotterdam / Good Group / Good Hotel (Amsterdam, Antigua, London and Rio de Janeiro) / Grolsch** / IVN* / JINC* / Kringloop Den Haag / Leger des Heils / Niños de Guatemala / Noorderwind / NS OV-fiets* / Onirico / Philadelphia Zorg / Provincie Zuid-Holland / River Cleanup* / Save the Children / SIGU / Stichting Stunt / VanBerlo / WIJ3.0 / Zuid Hollands Landschap
AWARDS
iF GOLD (Batavus)* / iF (Juce)* / iF (EVBox)* / iF (Handicare)* / iF (KBP)* / Red Dot Best of the Best (Handicare)* / Red Dot Best of the Best (Douwe Egberts)* / Red Dot (Juce)* / Red Dot (EVBox)* / Red Dot - (Tomorrow’s Kitchen)** / Red Dot (Widek)* / Red Dot honourable mention (SoupServer)* / GIO (Batavus)* / GIO (Douwe Egberts Promesso)* / GIO (Douwe Egberts Cafitesse)* / GIO (Handicare)* / GIO (KBP)* / Entree Magazine Hotel Concept nomination (Good Hotel) / REBELS innovation/disruption (Good Hotel) / National Geographic Big Sleep Hometown Hero (Good Hotel) / Luxury Waterfront Hotel of the Year by Luxury Travel Guide (Good Hotel) / Circularity Challenge (Provincie Zuid-Holland) / CityLab010 (ONZE) / Circulaire Ambachtscentra 2020 (ONZE)
* As part of the VanBerlo team
** As part of the Flex/design team
REMKO VERHAAGEN
The son of an artist and an architect, Remko Verhaagen (1980) studied at Delft University of Technology, where he graduated in 2006 with a master’s degree in Product Design. He worked at some of the best design studios of the Netherlands (among which VanBerlo, where he is still part of the team), designing for brands such as Batavus, Douwe Egberts and Grolsch. His work featured in some of the world's most stylish publications (Dezeen, Designboom, Elle, Monocle and Wallpaper) and has been awarded 20+ prices including the iF Gold, RedDot Best of the Best and GIO design award.
When Remko was asked to design a social business hotel concept from scratch, he knew it was the perfect opportunity to do something new and good. The years as the Art Director of the Good Group - working on projects in Amsterdam, Antigua, London and Rio de Janeiro - taught him about interior design and entrepreneurship in a way he could have never experienced at a studio.
In the late summer of 2016 - exactly ten years after he started his career - Remko took some time to think about what he wanted to do next. So, he got his sketchbook, rented a small cabin in the forest and asked himself: what is the best thing I can possibly imagine doing?
He discovered that he strongly believes in the concept of synergy: when everybody does what they love and you collaborate based on each other’s strengths, you get great results. And so, combining his own talent for design and the intrinsic wish to do good, the CREATE BEAUTY DO GOOD motto was going to be the leading vision for establishing his own studio in Rotterdam.
Blooey works exclusively for clients that share our vision of positive impact by design. Resent projects include (AFVAL)BAK: a waste bin made from waste for Provincie Zuid-Holland, an interior design upgrade for Save the Children and BALK: a wall lamp/shelf made in co-creation with disadvantaged people at WIJ3.0.
In 2020 Remko starts a new concept: ONZE Fabriek / a social guild for circular design. Now, in order to create more impact, Blooey collaborates with a wonderful collective of partners: Gemeente Rotterdam, Philadelphia Zorg, WIJ3.0, Noorderwind, Buurman, BouwAkademie, COFO and the workshop of the Salvation Army. Together we combine design, sustainability and social innovation. We do this by using waste materials for our designs (ONZE projecten + ONZE collectie) and by offering learning and working opportunities for disadvantage people during the creation and production process. ONZE has already won two competitions: CityLab010 and Circulaire Ambachtscentra 2020.
For more information about Blooey, ONZE stichting or Remko please mail to studio@blooey.nl
