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Celebrating twelve and a half years at the company, Creative Director Catharina Idema is head of brand and creative content at Coulisse. With a background in high-end interior design brands, teaching design at the styling Academy Artemis and graduating from the Design Academy of Eindhoven, Catharina has the creativity, expertise and credentials to take the design at Coulisse to the next level.
Joining the company in 2010, she has come full circle in her career and is returning to what she loves the most – conceptual thinking and visual storytelling. Catharina reveals “I have always been interested in the story behind a product - where it comes from, what it does and what it offers people.” She adds, “I'm always interested in the bigger picture – making products that have real meaning and of course, are genuinely beautiful. I also really appreciate that Christiaan and Maurice have so much love and passion for new innovations, which means I always have new challenges in brand and design. Always looking to the future and this vision is paramount to everything we do.”
It’s an old saying, but it’s one that is more relevant than ever in the current climate. During the pandemic, people spent much more time at home. Catharina explains, “This was a new concept that most people welcomed. Home became a sanctuary – a place to treasure and to feel safe. It also became a new workspace and home offices became more important than ever before.” This of course changed the way people thought about their interiors. Catharina describes, “In this new climate, people want to make their own choices and follow their intuition. Whether it’s for work or pleasure – it's about enjoying our surroundings. For the interior industry this gives us opportunities to create soft, relaxing and comfortable spaces - and window coverings are a major part of this.”
Beauty meets intelligence with our Motionblinds. Now safety, convenience and energy efficiency are essential for every smart home.” Catharina knows what needs to happen next. She clarifies, “We need to change our whole thought process. Not just the products themselves, but a change in the industry and human behaviour. We must use our intelligence and our intuition to contribute to a better, healthier and safer place to live and work. With our window decoration solutions, we can add value by working together and putting real thought and vision in everything we do. This is how we can make an impact – for now and for years to come.”
Beautiful tactile materials with a natural soft feeling are trending right now. Catharina expresses, “For coulisse beauty has always been a major part of our design, but now in these times it will play an even bigger role. Our current Living Beauty concept fits this trend perfectly. We are more thoughtful about what we add to our collections and look very carefully at what we add as products into this disruptive world.” She outlines further, “Everything we create should be beautiful and captures our senses. It is proven that if you surround yourself with beautiful products, you are much happier. This is what we believe in at Coulisse. Therefore, every product we design or marketing content we create in our in-house marketing department must be captivating and relevant. Always well thought out with an eye for beauty.”
Nature is an ultimate source of inspiration for Coulisse. Catherina describes, “We see how people want to be closer to nature. Escape the cities and be surrounded by natural materials, plants and trees. Oxygen for one's mind. Materials are inspired by colours from the earth and natural materials are getting more and more important. Our Living Beauty campaign with Jasper Abels is a perfect match with this trend. The campaign was shot in the Reggedal nature reserve in Enter, which is currently being restored. It felt right to link this natural area with our Living Beauty collection close by and together with Jasper Abels we created captivating visual content where our fabrics match seamlessly into the nature of the Reggedal and therefore into our design philosophy.”
Coulisse strongly believes in reducing its carbon footprint and trying to make the world a better place. Catherina explains, “We feel this is the last call to take care of the world and this is the reason we create products which make less of an impact on the environment. At Coulisse, we look at where we produce our products. Making sure they are produced in a sustainable way. We have also introduced a new textile collection made with recycled yarns. We always take great care in the design process of our fabrics and components. Taking care of the people and the planet is key to our design.”
