What does the ideal dining table look like for someone who dedicates their life to beauty? Serax asks the creative duo Orson van Beek (29) and Romain Albers (28) a.k.a. Harmo. Their answer: a pared-down trio in which Vincent van Duysen, Kelly Wearstler and Piet Boon defy gravity.
Can you introduce yourself first?
Orson van Beek: “Romain and I have been friends since childhood and studied at the Design Academy in Eindhoven. Then we both went to work for the same creative agency with offices in different cities. Romain worked in Amsterdam, and I worked in Paris. After that, Romain moved to Paris and we founded Harmo there a good six months ago (May 2024). We work in Paris, so most of our customers come from the fashion world. We focus on digital and spatial design. Spatial design refers to everything three-dimensional. It can range from interior design, set-dressing, and scenography to furniture design. In short, everything that is physical. That's my field of work.
Romain Albers: I focus on digital design. In fact, I do exactly the same thing, but in the digital world. With 3D software programs you can create very physical spaces and objects. Most of our projects consist of campaigns in which we create a strong image of a collection or a brand. The tangible and the digital often run in parallel in these projects."
Your dream table is made up of three surrealistic videos that defy gravity. How did you arrive at that?
Orson: “During our investigation into Serax's communication, we noticed that the objects are often shown in tower form. We found the stacking game very interesting. How far could we push the stacking? It led us to physically impossible stacks that form a dialogue between balance and dynamism."
Romain: “We chose not to display one, but three, collections – we call it a triptych. At Serax, every designer is asked to bring their personal and unique visual language to the table. In that way, Serax brings forth many design perspectives. If we chose only one designer, we think it would be too restrictive visually."
Orson: “Three is also a number that works well. It allowed us to link the collections to the three main meals of the day: breakfast, lunch and dinner."
You've tied every meal to a collection and a city.
Orson: “Indeed. For example, we chose Cena by Vincent van Duysen for breakfast in Paris —although Cena is Italian for dinner, Zuma by Kelly Wearstler for lunch in Los Angeles and Base by Piet Boon for dinner in Kyoto. Since we are two Belgians in Paris, the choice for the first city was obvious. Vincent’s Cena exudes true class and reminds us of the finer dining in the City of Light. Kelly lives in Los Angeles, and her collection exudes that city's DNA. Piet Boon's designs are extremely minimalist, clean and pure. We found that the style matched the pared-down aesthetics of traditional Japan found in Kyoto."
Why exactly did you choose these three collections from Serax?
Romain: “They were the collections that immediately attracted us during the tour of the Serax headquarters. They differ enough but have a common core: a certain purity. These designers are looking for the essence of the object. It's the same purity we're looking for with Harmo. With every project we dig into the essence and try to bring the absolutely necessary, nothing more. We think about design in a very puristic way."
The dream tables are developed fully digitally.
Romain: “We thought that was the most logical thing. The digital space offers unrivalled freedom. With one click, you can change the light or move objects in the way that you want. In real life, you're bound to things like gravity. In the digital world, I can drop an object upwards like this. (Laughs) The only limit is your own imagination. Our interpretation is literally a dream table. It's about an idea, a virtual image that's completely malleable and detached from reality.”
Are you a creative and interested in curating your own dream table? Contact us at hello@serax.com
