Lidewij Edelkoort interview

Lidewij Edelkoort was born in Wageningen, the Netherlands.Since 1975 she works in Paris as coordinator of two research centers on trend-forecasting : studio edelkoort and trend union;She is also the publisher of two best known trend magazines- bloom and view on colour.Li Edelkoort is involved in a humanitarian project heartwear, a non profit organization which helps craftsmen in developing countries export their products with respect on their skills, culture and work conditions. Since 1999 Li Edelkoort is chairwoman at the design academy of Eindhoven.


We met Li Edelkoort in Design Academy Eindhoven on March 12th 2008.

We did the interview based on exchanging keywords.

Fast food
Old fashioned

Design
Future

Fear
Finished

Manipulation
Everywhere

Intuition
Capital

Relation
Major

Emotions
Strong… killing

Happiness
Sometimes


Nuclear energy
Maybe... coming

Droog design
Droog design I think will almost have a revival

Family
A form…and family like an extended family, like friends, neighbors

Politic
Sucks

Religion
Dangerous, discutable( debatable)


Cultural differences
Sometimes I think people makes more than they really are, I think there’s also a lots of things in common, maybe the aspect is slightly different but still similar.

Integration
Is it possible?

Mood
Bored, that’s what we do, we make more bored


Work
24 hours… around the clock

Creativity
Survivor of the planet

Death
Finally rest, sometimes I can long for because how nice to be never wake up. No I’m joking, I think we should try not to be so fearful of death, it’s not easy but I think it’s important.



What's your biggest fear?
My fear is maybe it’s to be regress.

Who are you in few words?

My name is Li, from Lidewij
Family name is Edelkoort.

I was borned in The Netherlands long time ago.
Double virgo which means I’m very synthetical and analytical
I cannot prevent myself for making analysis which has to become my job.

My job is to find fragmence of the future already now.
By digging all these fragmence like archeology of the future.

I’m finding these ideas and stocking even without knowing. And one day I just can see.
So my profession is to predict the future and to help industries, service industries, and creative industries to prepare the future better, not to do big mistakes.

And my second job is chairwoman of the Design Academy Eindhoven already for several years now.
Education is my big passion.

I live in Paris and I have other jobs like editing magazine, doing humanitarian design with a collect if of friends.
I travel a lot and my schedule is full. But I enjoy what I do because I can always be curious and not thinking about the past too much. It keeps me very young mentally and be able to work better than better. It’s amazing you can train the intuition like an athlete. The more I listen to my intuition the better I can perform.


How can you work with your intuition?

I just listen, it is like a person whisping ideas in my ears. If somebody phones me with big question in industry even on the phone in my head already has a sort of film which starts to turn and the solutions starts to immerge. I have a crazy imagination and I never would have to make like lots of other people. I have the idea it’s like already known. So I’m not a designer, I’m preparing the frame work for the designer.


Believing intuition is also giving power and confirmation to your self confident. What do you think about that and what’s the process?

Most of the time we lose the intuition because we don’t listen to it and simply discard it. But if we listen to it and research the reason, we can arrive to a greater solution. It’s a sort of passage way. Of course behind the intuition, there’s also analysis, good sense, movement, evolution and other rational things. But intuition remains the most important.

I’m just transmitting the ideas, I’m like capturing them, analysis them and give it back.
It stays only a moment in my body.


Few words about the humanitarian project Heart Wear.

We make crafted materials, garments in Morocco, India and Africa. We help few communities around the world to develop. We restyle for our current universe without losing the origins then we sell it and return money to the tailors.
It’s a small project existing for 15 years between friends. We do it for joy and I hope we can develop it into a more worldwide organization.


Some suggestions for humanitarian designer.


If you go into the humanitarian field, you need to be very very strong. You need to be idealistic and realistic at the same time. Because people who are going to get help, they are greedy, needy so you can not be a soft type of person. This field is not fashion but it’s a long term development, it’s another way of working. It’s better to balance the carrier, give part of time for humanitarian project and making money and have fun somewhere else.

I don’t think we have to suffer to help people, if you are happy, strong and powerful then you can help. You have to love yourself before you can give.