Finding the Happiness in Clean Spaces and a Simplistic Aesthetic
Finding the Happiness in Clean Spaces and a Simplistic Aesthetic
Capturing the Beauty of Minimalist Essentials with Hanne Willmann
Name:
Hanne Willmann
Photography:
Courtesy of Hanne Willmann Studio
Words:
Marissa Stempien
Minimalism may be a hot trend when it comes to home decor, but for artist and designer Hanne Willmann, this simplicity isn’t a trend, but a beauty that inspires and informs her designs. In 2015, she founded Studio Hanne Willmann, an award-winning, Berlin-based multidisciplinary design studio that focuses on creating furniture, lights, and tableware—all with a transformative emphasis on detail, textiles, and craftsmanship. Hanne currently runs her eponymous studio with a passion for the aesthetic appeal found in the understated beauty of these elements. And somewhere between moving studio locations and having a baby, this wonder-woman artist has found her happiness and calm within this space.
After studying at the University of the Arts in Berlin and Elisava in Barcelona, and working for the design studio Autoban in Istanbul and for Werner Aisslinger in Berlin, she found her niche in design. She was named Design Talent of the Year 2015 by A&W Magazine and was awarded German Design Award Newcomer Finalist in 2016. The next year, she won the German Design Award for Excellent Product Design in Furniture. Since then, she’s been sweeping up nominations and wins due to her penchant for great design and eye for simplistic beauty. In her own words, she tells us exactly what she loves about her work.
Visual Pleasure Magazine: Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind your designs? How are you inspired to create new pieces?
Hanne Willmann: My inspiration mostly comes from the people I talk to within the companies and how they produce. A lot of producers work as craftsmen and have been doing their work for generations. The knowledge they gained is incredibly inspiring.
What are some of your favorite mediums to work with? Do you use different textiles to evoke certain emotions, meanings, style, etc?
Glass is one of my favorite materials for now. Especially, because I’ve just started to learn so much about it. Even within glass, there are so many different surface possibilities and all of them provoke certain emotions.
What are some of the pieces or collections you’re most proud of or enjoyed working on the most?
The “Flakes” Table Light is one of my favorites for now. It transports my idea of aesthetics with the knowledge of glassmakers.
What was it like opening your studio? Do you feel that you have more creative control and have you found yourself working on projects that you may not have been unable to before?
I’ve slowly opened my own studio five years ago. Step by step I worked less for others, stepped out of lecturing at universities, and began to work on my own projects. But I still see all of my projects as cooperations between me and the company I design my products for. I enjoy, not having all the “creative control” and instead let the products become a true symbiosis of me and the people I design for.
Do you try to create for form and function in your pieces or do you let creativity take precedence when it can?
I need my products to be clever, useful, and emotional. So I guess all in one.
You create so many different types of designs—do you think of them as individual art pieces or rather pieces that belong to the whole of the room?
I believe the products are so different because I work with so many different people, crafts, and knowledge. This way it could never get boring!
Your designs are simple and clean. Do you create these pieces as a neutral backdrop to someone’s unique style or do find beauty in minimalism?
I’ve never been attracted by much “shishi.” I prefer cleanness, I actually need it to be happy! So I guess it's more a result of my personal preferences.
Are there any artistic elements that you have yet to explore that are you looking forward to creating in the future?
I am looking forward to working more with ceramics, as well as textiles. Both materials I haven’t worked with so much. I really enjoy learning more and more.
