Simple, contemporary and distinctive without being loud: multidisciplinary designer Nathalie Schellekens, owner of Studio ONS, creates products that bring a smile and connect people. Her designs – intuition shaped into form – are functional and joyful, meant to be cherished. “I want people to feel happy with my creations. Design should be something you want to keep, and preferably pass on to future generations.”
Text: Nathalie Schalke
Breakthrough
Her love of design revealed itself early. ‘As a child, I was always busy: crafting, building miniatures and models, feeling cushions in home stores, discovering patterns. If I saw something interesting, I would study it and try to make it myself. Knotted bracelets, for example – which I then sold to my friends or on Queen’s Day.’ Independent entrepreneurship came naturally to this pragmatist. Choosing the Design Academy Eindhoven, specialising in product design, was therefore a logical step. During an internship in Vietnam, she discovered the art of weaving – a technique Nathalie still uses today. Winning a pitch for the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven marked her breakthrough. ‘I was given archive materials such as films and newspaper articles and allowed to set up a complete exhibition. I hung the items on steel wire stretched like a washing line through the museum tower. I called the exhibition: ‘Hanging Out the Dirty Laundry.’’
Playful twist
Her work carries a recognisable signature: simplicity, character, and clarity. ‘My designs are functional, recognisable, and without embellishment. Personally, I love stripes and graphic patterns – they are elemental, clear.’ Bolleke – the portable LED lamp designed for Fatboy – has become a global hit. ‘I never imagined it would become this big. I come across them in the most unexpected places – Zwolle, Sicily – and that feels amazing.’ Other designs, such as the illusory Prop rugs for Textiles&More, the iconic Monroe parasol for Borek, and Flip – a table that can be ‘flipped’ to reveal two different surfaces, made in a social workshop – embody the same design philosophy: surprising, adventurous, multifunctional, and always with a playful twist.
The name of her studio is as simple as it is meaningful and layered. ‘ONS stands for Ontwerpstudio Nathalie Schellekens but it has multiple meanings,’ explains Nathalie. ‘A design is never just mine; it belongs to us. I create together with clients, together with makers. And there’s also a touch of Brabant: conviviality, that indulgent, sociable element.’
Cherishing
Trends? She doesn’t follow them, but she observes them. When rounded forms and arches are popular, she prefers to work more cleanly, as with the Cubio & Lina cabinet collection for DYYK. For Nathalie, design begins with curiosity, feeling, and intuition. ‘Good design is thoughtful, timeless, and of high quality. Design shouldn’t be an addition but should give purpose to a space. I want people to feel joy in my designs, to cherish the items. In that sense, I’m old-fashioned – wanting to preserve and keep design, to pass it on to your children.’
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Often, an idea emerges spontaneously or during experiments in her studio. ‘Like with the Ami chair I pitched for Satelliet Originals. My partner looks at my sketches with a pragmatic eye, gives practical feedback, and that’s how an idea grows into a 3D presentation or prototype.’ Ami (meaning friend) is a design you want around you – a bistro-style chair with continuous lines, appearing as a single piece. ‘In the design, I recognise a character, a smiling little face.’
Turning point
A creative process rarely follows a straight line, Nathalie knows all too well. She is familiar with the notorious designer’s block. ‘I always reach a point in the process with too many ideas, too many choices. Then I block, but I realise – this is the turning point! I lie in my hammock with a book or magazine and literally let go. Many solutions and ideas arise this way. When I step back, leave something for a while, and stop looking at it, creativity starts flowing again. I trust the process – it always works out.’
Essence
For her designs, Nathalie prefers to work with new materials, products, or spaces – blank canvases – and she looks beyond the product itself. ‘I see the design and the space it occupies as one whole. Collaboration is crucial – with manufacturers, architects, and contractors – as it gives me the freedom to bring both products and spaces to life. The challenge and satisfaction lie mainly in experimenting.’
Is there one creation she’s most proud of? ‘I stand fully behind what I’ve made. When are you proud? When something sells successfully, or when you’ve gone through an intense process and created something unique, of which only one exists? For me, it’s about people being able to enjoy my design for years and feeling at home with it.’