Tsunagu つなぐ is Japanese for ‘to connect’, and you can take that quite literally during this workshop. You’ll be connecting with your hands, with wood, with light and with the creators behind the design.

Volmaakt’s Tsunagu lighting collection, developed in collaboration with Dirk van Gogh’s team, blends sleek Japanese design with the craftsmanship of our local social economy. The secret? Sipo wood and clever wood joints without a single drop of glue or screw. Made to last a lifetime.

After a brief explanation from Dirk about the story behind the collection, you’ll roll up your sleeves. You’ll get your hands on the wooden joints and set to work alongside the designer: building, sketching and experimenting. You’ll immediately sense how material, light and form come together.

Directions to Bar Edward

Tucked away in the shadow of the Vrijdagmarkt, on the banks of the River Leie, lies the stunning pop-up venue ‘Bar Edward’.

After an impressive 120-year history as a bakery for the people, a printing works, a community clinic and a cultural and political secretariat, the owner, COOP, temporarily handed over the keys to this site to Trefpunt. Thus, Speldenstraat 1 became a place for doing and thinking, a crossroads between culture, wellbeing and social enterprise.

Design label Volmaakt proudly presents ‘Tsunagu つなぐ’: a new lighting collection. The series is the result of an intensive collaboration between Volmaakt and Dirk van Gogh's team (Futures through Design, HOGENT / KASK & Conservatorium). Tsunagu is inspired by Japanese craftsmanship, which focuses on the emotional connection between people and objects. This is in line with Volmaakt's mission. The Ghent design label only produces within the social economy.

The design collection ‘Tsunagu つなぐ (connect, verbinden)’ closely matches the atmosphere inherent in the Japanese world of meaning associated with lamps made from paper and wood. The meaning refers not only to the physical, ingenious wood connections, but also to the forging of relationships and emotions. The choice of materials (wood and paper), the refined design, and the social manufacturing process create an emotional bond that encourages the user to cherish the object for a long time.