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Company name: | ITE |
Activity: | Product design and concept engineering |
Website: | www.making.nl |
Speaker: | Ite Kingma |
Assignment: | Collaboration at Ahrend |
"I believe in designing solutions, not solving design." A statement by Ite Kingma, who has built a fine track record as a product designer and concept engineer. Together with Basten Leijh, Ite Kingma worked for Ahrend, on the space in space concept 'Silence collection'. Ite Kingma enjoys working with Basten Leijh and says he has learned a lot from the projects they have completed together.
"The cooperation with Basten Leijh can be called unique. Characteristic of him is the fluid way of working, the way he is open to ideas from others and his ability to move along in processes. Basten has a strong vision to which he adheres, but is not rigid in this. From him I learned to move along in the process and to be a real team player. This makes working more enjoyable for everyone involved in a design process."
Roads that keep crossing
Ite Kingma himself graduated in 2007, on the Sandwich Bike designed by Basten Leijh. He then worked for Basten as an employee for 5 years, after which Ite Kingma moved elsewhere for a period of 2 years. This was followed by another 5 years of collaboration, at Gispen and Ahrend. Meanwhile, Ite Kingma has been self-employed for almost 2 years and he and Basten Leijh regularly work together again.
Ite Kingma concludes that working with Basten Leijh unites the best of both worlds for him: "I am creative for a technical person, Basten is technical for a creative person. We complement each other beautifully on different fronts."