Client stories
- Leon van Vive
When a dental practice turned 25, the staff wanted to surprise the management with a sculpture that matched their own field. They arrived with a clear brief: a large tooth at the centre, with one person chiselling and another flossing. The material was a deliberate choice too: ceramics is a material used within dentistry.
Keramiek, gemaakt voor het 25-jarig bestaan van een tandartspraktijk
A 25th anniversary is a moment to pause and look back at the history of an organisation. In this case the initiative came from the staff of the dental practice.
They wanted to give the management a sculpture that not only referred to the anniversary, but was also recognisably connected to their daily work. The practice itself had to return in the sculpture.
We did not have to start from a blank page. The staff already had a concrete idea of what the sculpture should depict.
The brief revolved around a large tooth with two people around it.
One person had to sit on top of the tooth, chiselling with a hammer. The other had to sit on the side of the tooth, flossing.
That made the content of the sculpture clear. Our task was to translate that brief into a three-dimensional composition in which the tooth and both figures form one sculpture.
The tooth took the central place. The two figures are placed around it at different heights. The hammer and the floss make their actions recognisable and connect the figures to the tooth.
That way something of the original brief is visible from several sides.
The choice of material had a direct relationship with the dental practice as well. Ceramics is used within dentistry.
So ceramics was not only chosen to give the sculpture its form. The material itself also refers to the field the sculpture was made for.
That makes the material part of the story: a dental scene, executed in a material used in that same world.
With bespoke work, a client does not always have to arrive with only a rough idea. This project shows the opposite.
The staff already knew what scene they wanted made. The two actions, chiselling and flossing, had to be recognisable in the sculpture. The bespoke work was in translating that existing idea into a feasible three-dimensional sculpture in ceramics.
That distinction matters: the concept for the scene came from the staff. We translated that brief into the final sculpture.
The ceramic sculpture was given by the staff to the management to mark the 25th anniversary of the dental practice.
In one object several parts of the occasion come together: the tooth refers to the field, the figures perform recognisable actions and the choice of ceramics fits the dental context.
The result is a sculpture made specifically for this practice, these recipients and this anniversary.
Leon van Vive -
More about anniversary sculptures or about ceramics as a material.
Anniversary and milestone
An award does not have to be a cup, a trophy or an abstract object. Sometimes the design is already in the brand guidelines. That was the case for Conspect: its own mascot became the basis for a custom award, cast in resin, as an edition and with a gold-coloured finish. Recognisable to anyone who knows the company, and Conspect's alone.
A sculpture does not have to be bronze, silver or a single colour. Sometimes the strength lies in colour, and in a lot of it. Resin gives us the freedom to combine almost any form with a colour palette entirely your own, from restrained brand colours to an outspoken full colour art object. And because it is cast, the same design can be made as an edition without ceasing to be handwork.
A bottle of wine, a nice hamper, a good pen: fine gestures, but a few months later they are usually gone. Some moments deserve something that stays. For a larger group of employees, clients or partners, that is one design, made specifically for your organisation and then produced as a series. These are seven moments where that works.
