When did you realize that design was your vocation?
_MB:As a young boy I didn’t know that the job of a designer existed. All I knew was that I wanted to be creative in one way or another. It was only at age 15, when an older friend of mine began to study architecture, that I discovered design was a profession. I liked the idea of self-expression within set parameters, and I still approach design in that way. I don’t consider myself to be an industrial designer. Perhaps I’m more of an artist born in a designer’s body.

When did you realize that design was your vocation?
MB: As a young boy I didn’t know that the job of a designer existed. All I knew was that I wanted to be creative in one way or another. It was only at age 15, when an older friend of mine began to study architecture, that I discovered design was a profession. I liked the idea of self-expression within set parameters, and I still approach design in that way. I don’t consider myself to be an industrial designer. Perhaps I’m more of an artist born in a designer’s body.

What were your first creative expressions?
MB: All kinds of things. My parents gave me a lot of freedom. I had my own bedroom and would play around in it, customizing everything from furniture to guitars to bicycles. At one point I slept in a hammock, which demanded a different kind of bedside table: something I could easily reach when reclining yet tuck away when I wanted to swing. In a way, my circumstances forced me to start designing.

You eventually made things official by studying at Design Academy Eindhoven…
MB: Yes, but after three months there I almost quit. I was at the point of discussing with the administrative department the possibility of getting a refund. Then my father told me that he thought I was in the right space. He didn’t push me, but subtly suggested that I stay. From that moment on I decided to go for it, even though that early uncertainty continued throughout the years. My gut feeling was that I had something to say but I didn’t know how to express it. I failed many times. Eventually I came up with the idea of making the Smoke furniture collection.

How did Smoke come into being?
MB: I needed to choose a theme for my graduation work and wanted to challenge the definition of beauty. I questioned why we need to preserve products, as if time doesn’t exist, when nature itself is in constant flux. We typically try to not damage our furniture, but I did the opposite: I burned it. The pieces took on a new kind of beauty and made people look at them in another way.

You tried other ways of altering the furniture: soaking it in water, throwing it off a cliff…
_MB: I experimented a lot within the theme of preservation and natural evolution. In retrospect, some of the results resemble the Clay Furniture I developed a number of years later. Clay was also a balance between rigidity and natural expression.