Two cultural entrepreneurs joined us at the table in March: product designer Bertjan Pot and spatial designer Ruud Reutelingsperger.


Bertjan Pot is a designer, probably best known for his Random Light (1999). The light started as a material research, which is basically the starting point of each product created by Bertjan Pot. The outcome is usually an interior product showing a fascination for techniques, structures, patterns and colors. Most experiments start quite impulsively by a certain curiosity for how things would function or how something would look. From there Pot takes on challenges with manufacturers to explore possibilities and push the boundaries a bit. The reward for each challenge is a new one.

Ruud Reutelingsperger is part of the Observatorium group, a studio for art in public space and place-making in Rotterdam, founded in 1997. The partners are Geert van de Camp, André Dekker, Lieven Poutsma and Ruud Reutelingsperger, living and working in Rotterdam with backgrounds in visual art, architecture, literature and education. Through iconic architectural works of art and participatory processes, they provide new meanings and appropriate use to squares, parks, industrial estates or city ruins in transformation.
The portfolio of both designers is impressive. But the evening was remarkably enough about entrepreneurship. So good designers and a business attitude go together.