Het Tafelbureau

Launched in February 2014 in Wassenaar, The Netherlands, Het Tafelbureau is a design and manufacturing studio specializing in handmade steel products.  Describing their work as “raw yet elegant,” the studio is the collaborative project of founders Joyce Veul (born in Amsterdam in 1979) and Mike Westgeest (born in Den Haag in 1974). The two met in Barcelona in 2004; they are married and have two children. Veul studied communication science at the University of Amsterdam, ultimately earning a Master’s degree (2001). Prior to launching Het Tafelbureau, she worked as a communication strategist in the field of sustainability. Westgeest earned his Bachelor’s degree in business administration from Haarlem Business School (1998). He was also trained as a blacksmith at Westgeest Staalmeesters BV, a forge near The Hague operated by his family since 1908. Veul is responsible for the studio’s designs, while Westgeest, the craftsman, oversees in-house production. All of Het Tafelbureau’s products are handmade at the nearby family blacksmithing atelier. The studio opened a second location—a showroom-slash-office—in Vreeland in December 2014.

Het Tafelbureau launched its first collection Between Reality and Fantasy in early 2014. The furniture and accessories collection consists of steel tables and candleholders. According to the designers, it was “inspired by the unthinkable; between reality and fantasy is a world full of opportunities and uncertainties.” It was presented at Rossana Orlandi Gallery in Milan during Salone del Mobile, at the Mint Shop during London Design Week, at Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, and at Object Rotterdam (all 2014). As of this writing, the studio aims to launch its second major collection at Salone del Mobile in 2016. As the partners note, “Het Tafelbureau wants to create the antiques of tomorrow.”