7th Balthazars awarded

Year after year, the Balthazar contest for furniture grows more popular. For this edition, the number of entries had tripled. The jury, presided by Marie-Anne Desiere, the manager of the Modulo communication agency and with further members Siegrid Demyttenaere (art director and journalist on DAMn°, Be Magazine, Furniture Fair style trends), Chris De Roock (Optimo/Fedustria), Frances van der Steen (freelance trade journalist, trend-spotter, Be Magazine, expert on products in the furniture sector), Leen Creve (freelance trade journalist: Knack Weekend, Nest et al.), Colette Demil (freelance journalist, specialised in the home in the broadest sense of the word) and Gerard van Os, spent an entire day judging the novelties.

These are the results of their intensive deliberation:
- The 2013 Best of Belgium trophy went to the Kreamat company for its Sparta model, designed by Studio Segers. The jury appreciated the fact that Kreamat hereby puts the bed in a broader context, and was charmed by its functionality and many possible ways of personalising it.
- The Country Today Balthazar, for a piece of furniture that is able to set a rustic trend in a contemporary lifestyle, went to Kluskens for the Tense table. The quality of the designs from this Dutch family firm has been of a very high standard for years, and this year it resulted in this super-slender solid-wood table.
- Most Green went to LS Bedding for the Circular Bed. This concept was devised on the basis of the cradle-to-cradle philosophy, and is an example of far-reaching cooperation between firms. At the end of its useful life each bed can be either composted (the ‘bio’ range) or simply recycled (the ‘techno’ range).
- Choosing the Most Innovative was no easy matter. In the end the Balthazar went to Mathy by Bols for their Fusion, a design by David Enthoven. This clever eco design in MDF and aluminium was also founded on a process of cradle-to-cradle thinking. The metal connecting parts are kept to a minimum, and the thin 4 mm aluminium extrusion was designed specially to provide sufficient stability and strength. (source: Brussels Furniture Fair)