Emptying a home to fill it with talent

We literally stumbled upon the quaint idea that is “Een huis vol talent!” – A house of talent. Initiated by Nanning and Mischa Tydeman, a brother and sister duo, Mischa evicted her belongings from her private home in the De Graaf apartment building so that a troupe of talented designers could fill her bedroom and living room with their wares. Nanning, whose background is in fine arts and art history, and big sister Mischa, a creative therapist by trade, have enjoyed the success of their idea which  popped into Nanning’s head in only June this year. This meant a lot of very quick thinking to get some friends together from Utrecht and Eindhoven … Hey, who has some nice interior products to show in a house in Eindhoven, for the Dutch Design Week? There was no shortage of friends and contacts who put up their hands.

What I like about this idea is that many of the designs to be seen during a week like this can be somewhat obtuse, hardly practical – bordering on art. There’s nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, sometimes you feel like you’re walking through a trade show or some sort of “home and interiors fair” which is a little bit uninspiring in terms of “design” in an important sense (mind you, beautiful stuff). What this House of Talent is, is three-fold. It creates a podium for a range of designers and it puts an interesting range of products in context. Then there’s the third bit. You need the talent of curators Nanning and Mischa to put the right pieces together, from the right curtain color to the complementary artwork (not part of the exhibition, but fitting nonetheless).

Ambitions for the future are to possibly work with a real estate agent, or deck out an entire house – the response has been very positive and best of all, Nanning and Mischa love to have a chat! From the moment we approached the house, Nanning was at the door, ready to offer us nibbles and wine. We were given a special tour of the house, and an explanation given of each charming object in the house. I think the Tydemans will exhibit again in Dutch Design Week 2011 – pop in to say hello, you won’t be sorry. Brought up in a house where art and design was much loved and learnt, this brother and sister pair are sure to bring much much-loved and understood art and design into other homes in the future.

Nanning walks us through the house of talent starting at Mieke Meijer's cabinet

Mischa explain's the story behind Frrry's fairtrade luggage

Mieke's bed, inspired by a chair

Some of the designers in Mischa's house