Founded in Antwerp in 2016, Nortstudio is the shared practice of Jef De Brabander and Kathleen Opdenacker.
We’re two designers with two very different backgrounds, but we found common ground in our love of working with our hands and manipulating materials.
Kathleen is trained as a graphic designer, and has an eye for the expressive use of colour and geometry. Jef studied industrial engineering and worked in the construction industry before opting instead to hone his problem-solving and fabrication skills on the more intimate scale of objects.
Together, we create furniture and accessories whose colourful, graphic volumes blur the line between two and three dimensions. We have a love for good craftsmanship and we like to explore materials. Our experiments often result in one-of-a-kind pieces.
Our work draws inspiration from the structural details of architecture, the daring shapes and palettes of Italian design, and colour combinations sourced from paintings and fashion magazines — all filtered through the intuitive process of hands-on studio experimentation.
