Indeed, they had already visited the Molenbeek-based company last year with a concrete idea, intended for the "Belgium is Design" exhibition at the Salone del Mobile in Milan. "The aim of the exhibition, curated by Siegrid Demyttenaere, artistic director of Damn Magazine, was to create duos of designers and Belgian artisan companies. We chose Emaillerie Belge because we think enamel is a beautiful material. Unfortunately, when we contacted the company and proposed our idea, the then CEO refused: he and his team had little interest in realizing our project. And the price he quoted was astronomical. He did not understand that this kind of collaboration could be innovative for his company, which at that time was dying," Muller explains.
Information about the company's state of health reached the ears of entrepreneur Tanguy Van Quickenborne (37). In February, he visited Emaillerie Belge, the last remaining enamel manufacturer in Belgium. On June 17, he took the reins of the company and invited Muller Van Severen to revive enamel. This time in the company of Sabato.
I plan to do the same with Emaillerie Belge as I did with Van Den Weghe. We want to dust it off so a new generation can discover the product.
Poetry at 800°C
Let's start by answering Muller Van Severen's questions. Enameling on a reflective surface: it is possible. On natural stone: in the testing phase. Different colors of enamel on each side: possible. Infinite colors. "There are few materials that inspire us as much as enamel," Van Severen admits. "We love the brilliance, which reflects light beautifully. The depth of color in the thick layers of enamel is incredible. Enamel is much more than a layer of paint: it is both solid and alive."
Enameling is a craft process similar to glazing ceramics. It consists of glass flakes that are ground before being mixed with a binder and a pigment. This paste is sprayed onto a metal base and melted in a kiln at 800°C. The baking cycle takes 45 minutes per color layer and the number of layers is infinite. However, the base color is always taupe, to which numerous new colors and even screen-printed motifs can be applied.
Enamel is not a new product: it was already known in ancient times. The Egyptians and Romans used it to decorate art objects. Only in the 1920s did a real enamel industry emerge: certain everyday objects are now systematically enameled for functional reasons, because this material is refractory, washable, hard, resistant, durable and unchangeable.
Collectors still associate Emaillerie Belge with historic advertising plates, for which they are willing to spend a fortune. Founded in 1921, the company employed 130 workers at its peak between the wars. Today, only five remain. "In the past, practically everything was enameled: pans, baths, refrigerators, washing machines, frying pans, kettles, colanders, buckets, flower pots and even street signs and Paris subway signs," explains Tanguy Van Quickenborne. "With the advent of the powder paint industry, we lost this market. Today we have to find other outlets."
Enamel is much more than a coat of paint: it is both solid and alive.
600,000 euro investment
Breathing new life into a forgotten business is proving more difficult than expected, even when it is national heritage. Not much had happened in recent years in terms of acquisition or customer care, and then everything came to a halt when the previous owner quietly put the business up for sale after selling the land to a developer. "We should be gone within the year, which is no surprise," Tanguy Van Quickenborne confides. "I am looking for a new site to set up a new factory, from 1,500 to 5,000 m², preferably in the Brussels region because I consider it a typical Belgian product. This represents an investment of 600,000 to 700,000 euros. So we really need to boost our business. We also have to finance Muller Van Severen's experiments. Otherwise, it's game over.
The first task of Vincent Vanden Borre, who is responsible for day-to-day management, is to shake up old clients, seek new commissions and stand out with an innovative profile. "I like to work with architects, designers and artists who come up with new applications for enamel," Van Quickenborne explains. "The good news is that this is slowly starting to happen: architects such as Glenn Sestig, Wim Goes and Sophie Dries have already been here. Artist Michaël Borremans asked me if I could enamel a bronze sculpture. Designers like Damian O'Sullivan, Maarten De Ceulaer and Quentin Decoster have also been here. I'm waiting for chefs Sergio Herman, Peter Goossens and the Boxy brothers to come by. While some have not responded, others have been inspired. I don't force anyone to work with enamel, but we are open to new ideas."
Instigator
It is no surprise that Tanguy Van Quickenborne is the man behind Emaillerie Belge. Known as a passionate lover of art and design, this entrepreneur has an excellent nose for identifying quality products and business opportunities. "I wasn't looking for an acquisition, but I'm keeping my eyes open!" he laughs. "The acquisition of Emaillerie Belge, like that of natural stone company Van Den Weghe in Zulte, came about by chance. I had just graduated and desperately wanted my own business. My father knew the owner, Philippe Van Den Weghe, well and knew his business was up for grabs. I was young and naive and bought it, but I might as well have been doing something completely different. It is as an instigator that I am at my best: I love to (re)launch companies and once they do well, I need a new challenge to take on."
In just five years, Tanguy Van Quickenborne has turned his natural stone business international. Traditional commissions still account for most of his turnover, but the company is increasingly working with architects and designers on high-end projects, such as Joseph Dirand, Pierre Yovanovitch and Glenn Sestig, as well as with Hannes van Severen and Fien Muller, when they launched their first collection as a duo at the initiative of gallery Valerie Traan. In fact, the entrepreneur had provided them with natural stone at a good price, so they were not hindered by financial problems.
When you dream with designers, it gives a company wings.
"One of their first projects was a rectangular sideboard and they wanted each wall in a different type of marble. At Van Den Weghe, our employees were skeptical, but when the furniture and the designers appeared on TV, they understood the value of innovation. When you dream together with designers, it gives a company wings. That's also what I intend to do with Emaillerie Belge: reinvent it so that a new generation discovers this product."
See you next April at the Salone del Mobile in Milan!
Original article: Sabato
