NATURAL SELECTION
Furniture maker Cravt Original creates remarkable pieces using materials as diverse as egg shell, rock crystal and stingray skin
When it comes to materials, the people at Cravt Original have realised that you can’t beat Mother Nature. The genius of Cravt lies in letting the materials – and the original context in which they’ve been discovered – speak for themselves. Animal parchments, stingray skins, silver
leaf, selenite stone, mother-of-pearl and leathers are treated and polished. Duck eggshells and seashells are baked to create different shades, painstakingly arranged in a mosaic and then heavily lacquered. This approach bridges the ancient and the modern. It is rooted in age-old techniques, but is also completely in tune with the current move away from mass production in favour of unique, bespoke items. “We only work with natural materials,”
says Cravt Original’s Managing Director Denise Boekhoorn. “And everything is made and crafted by hand. We go to countries such as India, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. We look for people that still work with time- honoured techniques, because we believe that combining these techniques and materials with our designs can create new antiques.”
MATERIAL MATTERS The company started life as DK Home more than two decades ago, but since 2014 has been known as Cravt Original, which, says Denise, “speaks more about our craftsmanship and the intricate process that each piece goes through”.
The change of name heralded a sizeable shift for the company: “We moved the location of our headquarters from the middle of Holland to its capital, Amsterdam,” says Denise. “I also did a lot of travelling to source new producers and new materials, as well as a whole range of new and different techniques. This was crucial, and continues to be, because our aim is to create the most unique and special collections in the world, and to raise the quality of our work to the highest level possible.”
“WE ONLY WORK WITH NATURAL MATERIALS AND EVERYTHING IS MADE AND CRAFTED BY HAND”
The company’s range of exquisite tables,
cabinets, vases, chairs and assorted objets d’art is truly astonishing. These highly crafted items can be found in some of the world’s most exclusive venues, be it in the Schiphol Jet Lounge in Amsterdam, the Hyatt hotels in Düsseldorf and Vienna, or the Il Lago Del Cigni restaurant in St Petersburg. Indeed, the company’s unique designs ensure that Cravt Original is always in the minds of the world’s best designers and architects. “We make the impossible possible!” says Denise. “It is the reason why we attract such a discerning, expectant clientele with exacting requirements. They know we have the skill, the capability and the passion needed to do the project justice.”
FINESSE 167
EXTRAORDINARY WORK So what’s the future for Cravt? “We have worked on a lot of yachts and private jets, and plan to do more,” says Denise. “We are working for brands such as Dior, Fendi and Louis Vuitton; for the Mandarin Oriental, Park Hyatt and Four Seasons hotels; and for specialists such as Peter Merino, Tony Chi and Alberto Pinto. It’s mostly very high-end. But we might also furnish a three-star hotel or do a residential project. People who want single pieces know that we’ll deliver something extraordinary.” Ultimately, the secret of Cravt’s success is
versatility. The levels of craftsmanship and the refinement of the materials that characterise its products place the company in an exclusive niche market. But paradoxically, these are products that fit in anywhere. Because, after all, Mother Nature’s designs go with everything.
www.cravtoriginal.com
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