BE9 by Design

The brand name "be9" is short for "benign" and signifies being harmless, gentle, safe and even favorable.

Logo on a green background
The logo was designed by Studio Bassa.

A.J. Velthuizen graduated from H.K.U. Art Academy in Utrecht (BA) in 1994 and from the Design Academy in Eindhoven (MA) in 1997.


Vision & Mission

The mission of be9 is the creation of everyday products applying bio-based materials and green manufacturing techniques. Bio-based materials can be sourced from surpluses from agriculture, or residual flows from gardens, forests and food industry or can be sourced from plants especially grown for non-food purposes ("agrification"). Although wood is also considered to be bio-based, the use of timber should be reduced. Ideally biobased products should be "tree-free". We need trees for carbon absorption and they should be planted instead of harvested. However rapid growing trees like Poplar could be grown directly into usable products.

The focus is not on styling, which is considered to belong to the 20th century, but rather on the beauty and benefits of natural materials. The only "ism" from that era which is considered useful is Minimalism, because it saves materials. Materials such as metals, plastics, cement and ceramics are considered unsustainable for use in interiors. Interiors are not machines for living, but should provide healthy and inspiring conditions to its occupants and include more wabi-sabi.