Dutch designer Annebet Philips is known for her archetypal designs with a playful twist. For Serax, she created a tableware collection called Carte Blanche. Using cardboard, Annebet built whimsical prototypes for plates and cups, then translated those forms directly into ceramic. The result is a trompe-l’oeil crockery, complete with fold lines and uneven cardboard-like edges, yet crafted in earthenware. That idea—along with many others—was born in her Amsterdam studio, where Serax was invited for a visit.
Annebet’s studio is a bright space with white-painted wooden floorboards and a calming view over the water. “I like a space that feels like a blank canvas,” she says. “Because I work with strong graphic lines and colour, I prefer to keep the background white. When I’m creating, there are things everywhere around me—I use the floor and pin all sorts to the walls.” The creatively chaotic atmosphere sometimes spills into the living room. “I have a trestle table and a cabinet on wheels so I can expand my studio into the rest of the house.”
Annebet previously had a separate studio elsewhere in the city, but chose to bring her workspace home. “At this stage in my life—I have two young children—it’s the most practical solution. Sometimes I need to switch from designer to mother in a second, but there is also an advantage. Capturing shapes in spontaneous, intuitive sketches made up of just a few strong lines is a key part of my signature. Having limited time available actually benefits that process. In the past, I could lock myself away like a hermit and keep working endlessly, sometimes unnecessarily. Now I design with more focus, less hesitation, and make decisions faster.”
The studio is filled with cardboard—one of Annebet’s favourite materials. “You can make something representative very quickly with it.” She almost always creates scale 1:1 models, and cardboard is ideal for that. “I need to imagine the object in three dimensions. Everything starts with a quick sketch on paper, often little more than a scribble. Then I make a prototype and begin developing the idea further. Carte Blanche started with a prototype of a cup, which I then expanded into other forms, such as a teapot. After that, I rework the cardboard shapes meticulously in 3D software so the design can move into production.”
Normally, (cardboard) prototypes serve only as references, but with Carte Blanche, the prototype was transformed directly into the final product. The ceramic tableware retains the same irregular, playful shape as the original cardboard model. “I wanted to preserve the spontaneity inherent of prototypes in the finished piece”, Annebet explains. “The collection is an ode to spontaneity and to the creative power of those first rough ideas—sketched in a flash onto a white sheet of paper or cardboard. That’s where the name Carte Blanche comes from. For me, that is the most exciting phase of the design process.”
The shapes of Carte Blanche reference classic tableware. Where does that fascination come from? “I like to start from archetypal forms because they are so recognisable. They are part of our collective memory. I enjoy giving those forms a twist, adding something unexpected.” She redesigns recognizable forms in an almost childlike, intuitive way, which gives her work its surprising character. “I’m also interested in capturing the essence of an object using only a few lines. The essence of an object and its archetypal image are closely connected. Holding onto recognisability while presenting it in a new and surprising way—that, to me, is the art.”
Annebet is not only creatively driven; she also has a strong technical mind. She graduated as an industrial designer from the renowned Delft University of Technology. “People sometimes think I spend all day drawing, but that’s not the case. My education is ingrained in me. I always want to translate a creative concept into a functional product that can be technically manufactured and reach many people.” That is exactly what Carte Blanche is: an intuitive idea refined into a perfectly usable object—perfectly imperfect, and seemingly effortless.
