IL concept
‘The most beautiful jewel a person can wear are the arms of the person she loves.
For those who have had the good fortune of finding this happiness and those who haven’t yet, I am here…’ (Isabelle Lenfant, inspired by Y.S.L.)

Transforming everyday objects into precious jewels and imprinting them with life’s sensibility so that they remain engraved in our memory: that is the approach chosen by Belgian jewellery designer Isabelle Lenfant for what she calls her Heart Jewels.

For Isabelle, jewels are highly symbolic: they can evoke a memory, a presence, a sense of protection…
They form a second skin… as well as a suit of armour between the body and the world, shielding it from the inevitable ups and downs that are part of a life lived to the fullest.
As Jeanne Moreau once said: ‘I don’t have much of a memory… but I do have souvenirs’. Jewels are that souvenir…

This jewel tells a story… Isabelle’s dream is that the people who wear her designs will appropriate them and imbue them with their own history, their own symbolism – their life, quite simply – and that they will thus wear… la vie en rose.
Isabelle Lenfant’s initials – ‘IL’ – blend both femininity and masculinity.

The collection ‘IL by Isabelle Lenfant’ reimagines everyday objects, such as a Band-Aid wrapped around a finger or applied on a neck or wrist. A silver or gold diamond, in whose split genuine jewels are inserted…

The branches of a tree to remind us that we are the only solid foundation of our lives…
As Juliette Binoche once said: ‘To dream, you must have your feet on the ground. The deeper the roots, the stronger the branches’.

The pieces in the collection are in 925 silver and in 18-carat gold. Some pieces are set with precious stones such as diamonds or rubies and have been designed in the finest tradition of jewellery design.

An important part of Isabelle’s research focuses on individuality, on the adaptable nature of her designs. The chains can thus be worn in different ways, and those who wear them are thus in a sense continuing her designs. The chains are ornamented with unusual symbols: a set of keys to unlock all possibilities, envelopes that are open to receive a secret, a love letter, a plug and socket to disconnect, smashed watches and their mechanisms to arrest time and live in the present…

The pieces in the collection ‘IL by Isabelle Lenfant’ are a presence one forgets, an ‘otherwise’. They carry us into a world lit up by the beauty of experience, of not-forgetting and of individuality. A world where life is punctuated by three ellipsis points and not a full stop. A world where adaptable jewels offer a blank page to those who wear them and imprint them with their own story, their own secrets, their own symbolism and thus turn the given piece into something unique, in their own image.

Know-how
« IL by Isabelle Lenfant » ART jewels are designed hand-crafted, in the pure jewellery tradition. Made in Belgium and in France.

“IL’s” creations exist in hand-polished sterling silver (925/1000) or charcoal grey oxidized.

Silver is a living matter that individualizes each creation. In time …life tarnishes and oxidizes it….This matter itself symbolizes the concept of uniqueness that is developed thereafter in Isabelle Lenfant’s creations… it consolidates and embraces it.

As “Il by Isabelle Lenfant”’s creations are neither silver plated again nor rhodium… they oxidise in the course of time … If you want them to remain as they are just clean them with a soft cloth or use a product for silver.

Though cut to the quick as if life had already brushed them… the chains are joined together by links soldered by hand.

Lockets are also hand-cut and each of the keys is chipped in a different way … that makes them unique.

Polishing makes it a mirror… reflecting shades and lights…

A large part of Isabelle Lenfant’s search focuses on individuality, on the adjustable side of her creations. Chains can be worn in various ways, in different lengths … what allows the one wearing the jewel to make it his/her own.

The Collection extends to 18 carat gold items, black, white…but mainly pink ones to wear life in another way.

Gold is a matter that time can’t deteriorate. That way it symbolizes the sparkle kept in our eyes despite our own life’s chaos…

Today “Il by Isabelle Lenfant” ‘s creations are set with precious stones, according to the stones symbolic and colours, inside the ring allowing the skin to be in contact with the stone and its qualities

Own desires and secrets could also be engraved…

Custom-made jewels to transform the proposed item into one unique piece reflecting the one who will adopt it….

100 % Made In Belgium.

Established in 2008, TAMAWA owes its clear identity to the Bakelite ball, used as the core material and component for all the products in its collection. It all started when designer Hubert Verstraeten met with Belgian snooker ball manufacturer SALUC, set in the region of Tournai in Belgium. From then on, SALUC would supply Aramith (Phenolic resin) to the designer who first started by self-producing two watches, followed by the design of a whole jewellery line, which inspired the name of the company – ‘TAMAWA’, meaning in Japanese; “ball on steel ring”.

Japanese inspiration

Tamawa Ball LampIn order to open up to wider creative possibilities, TAMAWA quickly decided to call upon emerging design talents such as Big Game, Belgian designers Sylvain Willenz and Alain Berteau, the artist Yann Lestrat, jeweller and silversmith Nedda El-Asmar. By bringing its own understanding and by translating in its on way the concept of the ‘mono-form / mono-material’ of the Bakelite ball, each designer has enriched the collection with unique items- Nedda El-Asmar, in creating memory form jewellery, Big Game with the BALL LAMP, Alain Berteau with a USB key and Pepper and salt mills and Sylvain Willenz with his coat-stand LOCK, wall hooks PIFF and suspension lighting RAY.
With an impeccable technical quality (shine & durability), in a wide range of up-lifting colours (white, blue, yellow, purple, black, orange, red and pink, all official snooker colours), the playful nature of the products goes far beyond the snooker ball rooms, all being as much of a reference to the iconic ‘Hang It All’ of Charles & Ray Eames than a playful approach to objects with its infinite colour combination.

In a very short time, TAMAWA acquired a legitimate Producer status.TAMAWA focuses on a method of production integrated to the company’s infrastructure, stock capacities and manufacturing facilities, all allowing creative as well as logistical flexibility. Surprisingly, the sphere allows never-ending ideas. However, TAMAWA’s challenge is to make sure it always maintains a coherent collection, with its particular attention to aesthetics and its interest for clever engineering. Design manufacturer 100 % Made in Belgium Collaborations with emerging designers With this very focus, TAMAWA can provide high quality objects at affordable production costs, enabling Belgian production and the use of a majority of European components. It is a real pleasure for TAMAWA’s Designers to come to the workshop and work on their ideas, to experiment on their project, going through different phases of the manufacturing process; from milling, drilling, high pressure-assembly, fine-tuning and testing to the final product.

Working with graphic design agency DONUTS.Brussels based graphic designers DONUTS were chosen to implement the brand’s identity. DONUTS created the TAMAWA logo, product packaging, brochures and the graphic identity of the website. All the advertising material put forward the idea of the sphere form and colours, in tune with the unique identity of the brand. Their aesthetic and their approach are in keeping with TAMAWA’s reality. It only takes a look at the introduction video on the website (“2 spheres, 8 colours, 64 rings”) to understand the tactile and versatile qualities of the brand’s collection.

TW27 & TW35 watches by Hubert Verstraeten.Tamawa Small Watch TW27
Watches are the emblematic pieces of the collection. TAMAWA’s watches are discernable illustrations of the brand’s values, demonstrating a real know-how of clockwork that only a few manufacturers can craft today. Composed of a spherical dial, a Bakelite ball and of a double bracelet, their design is the perfect reflection of the TAMAWA universe.

Tamawa LOCK

LOCK coat-stand by Sylvain Willenz.
LOCK is a reinterpretation of the archetypal coat-stand. Inspired by COATED, a former coat-stand project, Willenz developed LOCK, a simple and effective solution comprising a Bakelite ball and 3 sticks. The particularity of this coatstand lies in the simplicity of its elements and how they are put together. The 3 wooden poles are inserted through a cleverly machined Bakelite ball, which maintains them together thanks to a sole screw discreetly located under the ball . The softness of natural wood contrasting with the glossy Bakelite ball results in a joyful and playful item for the home.

Salt& Pepper Mills S&P 57 and S&P 76 by Alain Berteau.Tamawa S&P Mill
These two models of salt and pepper mills are composed of 2 and 3 Bakelite balls in order to reflect their method of use. Both designs use a unique system called Crushgrind (its material and its sturdiness allow to crush both pepper and salt with ease). S&P 57 and S&P 76 are playful and elegant seasoning items for the kitchen and the dining table

Piff by Sylvain WillenzTamawa Wall Hooks

PIFF is a family of 3 versatile wall-hooks. There is no use of glue; only pressure has been used to assemble all parts together. The PIFF wall-hooks are available in 4 colour ways. In All Black, all Red and in 2 colour mixes. Very easy to mount to the wall. Each PIFF comes with a special strong screw and a wall-plug.

Tamawa Ray Light

RAY pendant lighting by Sylvain Willenz
With RAY suspension light, Sylvain Willenz explores Tubular-Lighting once again, a few years following his personal project INNERTUBE (a rubber lightshade kept in shape with a circular TL). TL Lighting is rarely used in domestic environments. RAY makes use of TAMAWA’s specialized production techniques, expertise and understanding of Bakelite balls, consequently creating a domestic lighting fixture with a refined technical solution; an original and colour ful alternative to common TL connectors.

Ball Lamp by Big GameTamawa Ball Lamp

The idea to create a lamps as first object for the Tamawa home collection came very naturally. Big Game has the habit of stripping its objects of their,original function, creating the pretext for a new design. The Ball Lamp is a white glass globe resting on a ball the same size of bakelite, a confrontation of two different materials re into the work dhybridation, familiar ground and source dinspiration favorite of the trio. With the play of light that accentuates leffet juxtaposition of the two forms of spherical homothetic, the language is at once simple, delicate dunes while having strong visual presence.

Jewelry collection by Hubert Verstraeten
The TAMAWA jewelry collection plays on the beauty of the surface of the bakelite beads, which is reduced to its purest form of the jewel. The mini colored
bakelite beads can be used in diverse ways as they can be adjusted on watches, earrings, cufflinks and rings. For example, when forming part of a necklace, the beads follow the movements of the body harmoniously as they shift on a stainless steel base resembling that of a crescent moon or a smiley. Available in various sizes, the jewel becomes a landscape for open and innovative experimentation. They can be made up of one bead, two beads, three beads or more seamlessly assembled on a timeless string of pearls. Oversized as regards the traditional accessory, the beads may be worn on the fingers, wrist and body combining their smooth asymmetric design with originality for presentation in a pure classic style. Always combined with stainless steel, these accessories unite style and fashion with innovative design and are available in a rich palate of colors such as red, yellow, blue, orange, violet, rose, black and white. Assembled and intertwined seductively, TAMAWA plays on the contrasts, harmonies and beauty of the ideal object. Encrusted gemstones such as amethyst,
topaz, smoky quartz or diamonds serve only to enhance the discrete elegance of this collection. Luxury in Technicolor opens the door to many other possible variations of a similar theme using all the bead colors and gemstones. Glossy and glamorous, these micro Bakelite beads are like pearls, offering a way to customize your own jewelry box, with a personal touch and in a contemporary style.