Furniture designer Gjalt Pilat won the Frisian design award in 2011 for his wooden table series ‘Pake Sytse’

Pilat: ‘Winning the Vredeman de Vries Design Award has had a very positive meaning for our company. The ‘Pake Sytse’ is our most successful table to this day. Although it is the most expensive table we have ever had in the collection, it is still the best seller. Not only in the Netherlands, but also far beyond: from New York to Helsinki. When I received the award, the table was appreciated for its good design, but it has also turned out to be a very good selling product.

The international project world now knows where to find our office. We are listed on various international sites such as Architonic, a platform for architects and designers. ‘Pake Sytse’ already has a large size, but we have made much larger tables for this market. The smaller version is suitable for consumers.

I was very proud to receive that award. It also took me by surprise, it was a very positive surprise. And I think the prize is especially beautiful because the jury consists of colleagues, professionals, creatives from the world of design. If they come to the conclusion that you deserve the prize, then that just feels good. The certificate is still displayed in our company. The Frisian creatives I meet know that I have won the prize. However, the price is not really alive with the general public. But I thought it was also intended for the Frisian design world, a prize by and for creatives. Recognition by peers. That’s fine. And the longer such a price persists, the more solid its significance is. It does play a role for clients that a design has won a prize, even if it is a regional prize. Clients appreciate that, it shows that the design is special.”

Text is from the special issue of cultural opinion magazine ‘de Moanne’