Sculpture That Sparkles

Defying time and trends, this sculptural lighting brand is creating flirtatious, sensual and at times, ironic design that is favourited by royals and rappers alike

When an architect and a sculptor met at art school and decided to raise an illuminated sculpture into the sky, no one would have thought that this meeting of chance would become one of the world’s most sought-after brands. Now, with “two official family feuds over the inheritance of a light” and requests from the likes of Louis Vuitton, W Hotels, royals and rappers around the world, BRAND VAN EGMOND continue to create hand-crafted pieces that radiate passion and emotion, and add character to people’s lives.

After graduating from the Utrecht School of Arts in The Netherlands as an architect/sculptor, William Brand faced criticism from the industry as he began to design, produce and distribute his own pieces. Unheard of at the time to do all of this yourself, William believed autonomy was to be maintained in order to “create art without constraints”. Still working out of the same atelier in Holland to this day, BRAND VAN EGMOND continue to keep their independence and family philosophy at the heart of all they do. While William still sketches his ideas with pencil and paper, every BRAND VAN EGMOND piece is sculpted by hand, “we even make our own boxes,” says Dennis Van Egmond, William’s nephew who also works within the family business.

Flirtatious, playful, surprising and ironic are just some of the terms that come to mind when you stand before a BRAND VAN EGMOND design. As it dangles from the ceiling like a sparkling magnum opus, your mind becomes perplexed at the delicately twisted steel, the twinkling of the hand-blown glass, and the thought of how one man curated such a piece. William’s inspiration comes from a variety of things from architypes, memories and nature, to personal spaces for custom projects. Beginning with a pencil and some paper, William sketches ideas and then retreats to his atelier where Dennis says “we use him for long periods of time. But then he’ll emerge with something so different from what we’ve seen before”; yet another BRAND VAN EGMOND masterpiece.

With no interest in being “fashionable”, BRAND VAN EGMOND prefer to be “surprising”, with the concept and language of a design being its most valuable feature. We want to “touch something that is more eternal,” says Dennis. The brands largest work to date is a 28-metre-long lighting installation in the Middle East, weighing just under 1500kg, and taking almost three months to create. But when asked what his favourite piece was, Dennis replied, “We always love the last … we can still feel its curves and the sweat still in our hands … it’s an emotional thing”.

Today, BRAND VAN EGMOND has retailers in over 90 countries around the world and has recentyl opened its first mono-brand boutique in the Starhill Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysia’s diversity, value for authenticity and strong appreciation for craftsmanship is why BRAND VAN EGMOND believes this is the right place for them to be.

Adorning 400-year-old castles in Europe to the most contemporary, minimal flower shops in Tokyo, BRAND VAN EGMOND is not subjected to time or trends but makes its own rules, and plans to continue creating art without constraints that will outlast generations.

For more information, visit BRAND VAN EGMOND.