handmade in wallonia

Transcription

magazine
winter 2015/2016
HANDMADE
IN WALLONIA
THE LOCAL ARTISAN
SCENE IS THRIVING
Become an ambassador
for Wallonia
Discover the region’s latest
medical innovation
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CONTENTS
Editor Sarah Crew
Deputy editor Sally Tipper
Reporters Leo Cendrowicz, Jon Eldridge
Oonagh Gannon, Alan Hope, Karen McHugh
Saffina Rana, Senne Starckx
Art director Patricia Brossel
Managing director Hans De Loore
magazine
winter 2015/2016
AWEX/WBI and Ackroyd Publications
Pascale Delcomminette – AWEX/WBI
Marie-Catherine Duchêne
AWEX, Place Sainctelette 2
1080 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: 00.32(0)2.421.85.76
Fax: 00.32(0)2.421.83.93
email: mc.duchene@awex.be
Calling everyone who is proud of Wallonia! Expats and Walloons alike - like
Milan-based Liège designer Laurence Humier, pictured here - are invited
to sign up for the new Wallonia ambassador programme. Launched by the
Walloon government and run by AWEX and WBI, it promotes the business
and lifestyle advantages of living and working here. Read all about it on
page 8.
Many of Wallonia’s successful artisans are already serving as ambassadors
abroad, and the thriving arts and crafts community is one of the region’s
many success stories. In this issue we look at the renaissance of artisans in
Wallonia and Brussels. From jewellers to sculptors, the range of their skills
is astounding. We present a selection from each province.
HANDMADE
IN WALLONIA
THE LOCAL ARTISAN
SCENE IS THRIVING
Become an ambassador
for Wallonia
Discover the region’s latest
medical innovation
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Editorial
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Jewellery design
by artisan Louise Kopij
2
wallonia and brussels magazine
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04 BIG PICTURE
Take a ride to the Train World museum
06 NEWS
Headlines from around the region
08 WALLONIA
The region launches its ambassador
programme
12 INNOVATION
12
Discover cancer diagnosis specialists
VolitionRx
14 INVESTMENT
Boosting research in stem cell therapy
19
17 BUSINESS
VPK Packaging opens new site in
Hainaut
19 FILE
Arts and crafts in Brussels and
Wallonia
24 PORTRAIT
26
ATELIER VAN TESCH
Meet businessman Pierre Rion
26 GASTRONOMY
Taking the biscuit: Belgian brand
Maison Dandoy goes global
29 CULTURE
Charleroi’s BPS22 re-opens as
province’s own art museum
32 PANORAMA
Singer Alice on the Roof is ready to
release her first album
34 AGENDA
Winter highlights around Wallonia and
Brussels
WINTER 2015/2016
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WORK
BIG PICTURE
Ticket to ride
4
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B
centuries. Old uniforms, personal
recollections, station memorabilia and
lovingly restored carriages bring to life
the history and future of train travel at
home and abroad.
 WWW.TRAINWORLD.BE
© SNCB/NMBS PHOTOGRAPHE : MARIE-FRANÇOISE PLISSART
russels’ newest museum, opened
by King Philippe in September, is
a hymn to the country’s railways
and all who’ve travelled on them.
Starting in the refurbished ticket hall
at Schaerbeek station, moving along
the modern-day platform to a giant
train shed and opening out into an
airy split-level gallery, Train World
pays tribute to the local engineers
who played their part in developing
Europe’s railways over almost two
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NEWS
PATRICIA WILLOCQ 2015
WORK
Tournai photographer wins peace prize
Tournai photographer Patricia Willocq has been awarded the Alfred Fried prize for 2015 for the world’s best photo on the
theme of peace, a prize given each year by the Austrian parliament. The prize was handed over by Kailash Satyarthi, the
Indian children’s rights activist who shared the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize with Malala Yousafzai. The winning photo is part
of a photo-project called “Look at me, I am beautiful” depicting female victims of sexual violence in Goma in the eastern
Congo, a project supported by the HOLD DRC.
6
Canada and Wallonia
drug agreement
Whiskey lovers go for
new Biercée rye
The government of Wallonia and R&D
cluster Biowin have signed a cooperation
agreement with the Quebec Consortium
for Medical Discovery, which will allow
Canadian university researchers and small
and medium-sized enterprises to collaborate in drugs research with their counterparts in Wallonia. The agreement will
strengthen biomedical research in the two
regions by allowing partners to align their
fields of expertise and their scientific resources. Projects accepted for funding can
receive up to 7 0,000 for a maximum period of two years.
100% Belgian and made from pure organic
Belgian malt: the 3,200 numbered half-litre
bottles of the new rye whiskey from Biercée Distillery were snapped up in record
time on the first distillation in eptember.
The distillery has specialised in eaux de
vie, liqueurs and premium gins since it was
founded in 1946. Master distillers Christophe Mulatin and Pierre Gérard have respected the company’s traditions while adding a modern touch to stay abreast of the
times. But customers will have to be patient:
the whiskey won’t be available to take home
until the end of 2017.
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Charleroi links up with Copenhagen
yanair has added a new candinavian city to its list of destinations, with a 0 minute flight
to openhagen. yanair inaugurated the route six years after it started flying from harleroi
to Oslo ygge in Norway and tockholm kavsta in weden. To mark the occasion, Brussels
outh harleroi irport organised a number of candinavia flavoured activities in the airport. “Whether you’re travelling for business, tourism or to get away from it all, Oslo, tockholm and openhagen have a great deal to offer,” airport
O ean ac ues lo uet said.
“These cities’ cultural and historic heritage is fascinating, and they are delightful places to
explore and admire their uni ue architecture.”
Eco-neighbourhood ready for take-off
New museum at
Atomium
The Art & Design Atomium Museum
(ADAM) opens on the site of the famous
monument on 11 December. The museum
consists of a permanent collection known as
the Plasticarium, a unique collection of more
than 2,000 plastic objects, including both
works of art and everyday objects, as well as
space for temporary exhibitions, workshops,
lectures and private events, and a shop and
cafe. Temporary exhibitions already booked
for 2016 include a private collection of contemporary art, a photo exhibition as part of
Bo ar’s ummer of Photography, and an exhibition of Belgian design.
Construction can begin on the new Court Village eco-neighbourhood, now that all relevant
permits have been obtained from the authorities, the pro ect’s organisers uilis said. On a
10-hectare site, Court Village will include 8,600 square metres of commercial premises and
0 homes. The first phase consists of 1 apartments and , 00 s uare metres of retail
space. Two further phases of apartments of various sizes will follow, with the project due for
completion in 017. The site is close to Ottignies station, Wallonia’s main railway unction,
and is 10 minutes from ouvain la Neuve, close to main roads 11, N , N and 1 , as well
as the future ourt aint tienne
station.
 WWW.COURT-VILLAGE.BE
 WWW.ADAMUSEUM.BE
Sick buildings – call
on Sami
Residents of Walloon Brabant who are suffering from health problems like asthma, allergies or chronic headaches can call on the
services of ami the service for the analysis
of interior environments. The free service
can be ordered by any doctor and involves
an in-depth analysis of the patient’s home, to
determine the cause of their health problem,
which could be moulds, bacteria, chemical
substances or parasites. “Our aim is to identify the pollutants present in the home’s atmosphere and provide patients with advice
on how to reduce or solve the problem,” said
Nathalie Popovic of ami. Three out of four
people said they felt better after the consultation. ami has visited 00 homes since the
service was launched in 2007.
Orthanc gives birth to Osimis
i ge niversity ospital has launched its first spin off Osimis, a spin off of the Orthanc software developed by the young researcher bastien odogne, which classifies and manages
medical images. Orthanc won a pri e in pril from the ree oftware oundation at IT in
the . The software saves users the cost of sending s loaded with medical images, many of
which may never be looked at, by making all transfers online. Osimis is the first spin off from
the
iege, and has already attracted the interest of private investors. The plan for Osimis,
where odogne is oined by colleagues r d ric ambrechts as O and lain a y, is now to
make Orthanc and other software packages available to the largest number possible, in various
fields of application.
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WORK
WALLONIA
Spread the word
Wallonia’s team of brand ambassadors are promoting
the region worldwide
BY OONAGH GANNON
A
re you familiar with Wallonia’s
brand identity, wallonia.be,
with its distinctive logo and
tagline ‘Feel inspired’? It’s not just a
visual expression: there is a wealth of
activity behind wallonia.be, encompassing everything the region has to
offer, from its natural beauty and its
high-ranking universities and institutes to its significant export business.
One of the brand’s main aims is to
demonstrate Wallonia’s openness to
the world, reaching out beyond its
borders to promote the development
of the region with an emphasis on
its competitive strengths and its
outstanding features in terms of
economy, culture and tourism. It’s
no surprise, then, that the five dots
making up the letter W of the logo
represent the five continents, with
Wallonia at the intersection. To help
connect the dots to Wallonia and fulfil
the brand’s mission, AWEX, Wallonia’s
Export-Investment Agency, is building
a network of wallonia.be brand
ambassadors.
Anyone who has knowledge and
experience of Wallonia can apply
to become an ambassador. You may
be an expat living in Wallonia, an
international enterprise operating in
the region, a Walloon living abroad
or a non-Walloon living abroad who
is familiar with the region. Jacques
Jadoul, ICT manager at AWEX,
reports on progress so far: “The
8
The kindness,
openness, sense of
humour and humanity
of the Walloons,
together with the
natural beauty of the
region, have brought
Wallonia closer to
my heart
VASSIL KOLAROV, ABOVE
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programme is well under way across
the continents, with some encouraging
results, and we hope to multiply the
effects with more recruits. With an
intake of 38,000 foreign students in
Wallonia’s universities each year, we
believe university graduates have huge
potential to increase the network.”
Brand ambassadors in action
Ambassadors share a common goal,
which is to promote the strengths
and the differentiating aspects of
Wallonia symbolised through the four
pillars of the brand: sense of sharing,
accessibility, technical know-how
and quality of life. Their mission is
to promote Wallonia and its assets
through their professional or private
contacts and bring the brand to life
through social media or the blog on
the wallonia.be platform. The blog also
enables them to share their experience
of Wallonia and success stories and
promote their own activities.
Belgian-born Guy Olivier Vanackeren
has lived in Peru for more than 20
years. Decorated with the Order of
the Crown and with many Belgian
strings to his bow, he is a permanent
showcase for Wallonia and Brussels.
He runs a travel agency in Lima, is
the founder and managing director of
Belgo Club, an association for Belgians
living in Peru, and is president of the
From Lima to Budapest, three ambassadors give us a
glimpse of their activities in promoting the region.
Wallonia and Peru
Chamber of Commerce and Culture
for Belgium and Luxembourg until
2019. An active ambassador of
wallonia.be, he recently took part in
Festival Belga, held in Lima to mark
the 50th anniversary of Belgian
Technical Cooperation with Peru
and comprising a host of stands
representing Belgian interests such
as AWEX, wallonia.be, the Belgian
“Being a brand ambassador has a winwin effect,” Jadoul explains. “The
region benefits from wide visibility
while ambassadors can gain from the
region’s reputation and the bonus of
expanding their own network. While
there is no financial cost or gain for
either party, AWEX offers incentives to
ambassadors such as rewarding their
blog contributions with promotional
materials and invitations to cultural or
touristic events.”

WWW.WALLONIA.BE
 Guy Olivier Vanackeren, founder of Peru’s Belgo Club, at the Festival Belga in Lima
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WORK
WALLONIA
Design Without Borders
Originally from Liège, Laurence
Humier has lived in Italy for 13 years
and is known on the international
design scene for her many
contributions to innovation. he first
made her mark as a Belgian designer
back in 2010 when her creation
Meeting Chairs was selected for the
permanent collection at the New
York Museum of Modern Art, where
it remains today, as well as at the
Vitra Design Museum in Germany,
where it has been on show since
2014. Humier’s taste for industrial
design has resulted in some highly
innovative projects including an
e-book, Cooking Material, through
which she explores the link between
edible and non-edible materials, and
Alchemist Matter, an educational
kit for children based on the
same theme. A true 21st-century
entrepreneur, she largely finances
her projects through crowdfunding,
and under the banner ‘Design
without Borders’ she takes them
on tour. She has given conferences
and conducted workshops for adults
and children across Europe and the
US, including in Barcelona, Rome,
Paris and New York. Her most recent
workshops took place at Expo2015
in Milan and the RECIPROCITY
2015 Design Triennial in Liège.
Humier was among the prominent
personalities to receive a Chevalier
du Mérite Wallon at this year’s
Festival of Wallonia, a distinction that
MICHELE SILVESTRO
Embassy and the Belgian Chamber
of Commerce. “Historically, Wallonia
has strong economic ties with Peru,”
Vanackeren says, “and in a country that
is currently experiencing economic
downturn after a decade of sound
economic growth, now is the time for
it to open its doors to foreign investors
and leverage the huge potential that a
region such as Wallonia has to offer.
Festival Belga saw a stream of visitors
and significant interest during and
after the event in importing Belgian
products with a strong emphasis on
beer, exporting local farm produce,
studying in Belgium, tourism and
even conditions for getting married in
Belgium.” Read Guy Vanackeren’s blog
at wallonia.be
 Liège designer Laurence Humier is proud to put the spotlight on her home region
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 Pascal Biras from France lives in Hungary, where he teaches his students about Wallonia
recognises exceptional contribution
to the region. Commenting on
her achievement, Humier said,
“I am extremely proud to have
contributed to putting the spotlight
on our region, which alongside the
economic opportunities has more
and more to offer in terms of design
and creativity.” Follow Laurence
Humier on Twitter at @humier
From Budapest to Mons
Pascal Biras from Nîmes in France
has lived in Budapest, Hungary, since
2010. A French teacher at the AKG
Alternative Secondary School for
Economics, he believes in breaking
the mould of using clichés such as
the Eiffel Tower and Paris in the
classroom by introducing students
to a wider scope of French-speaking
communities such as Wallonia, of
which he is particularly fond. Part of
his French course comprises a weekly
workshop in creative writing, which
leads to the publication of a short
novel in French and Hungarian. This
year, he based the workshop on Mons
2015, opening his students’ eyes to
the city’s geography and its status
as European Capital of Culture.
The resulting novel, PS:et toi?, is a
compilation of letters making up a
fiction that takes place in the streets
of ons. fter completion, he flew
his students to Mons to get a taste
of the real thing. “The kids came
back with lots to tell and even left
copies of their novel in Wallonia as a
testimony of their trip. Summarising
the experience, they described Mons
as a beautiful city – albeit smaller
than they had imagined when writing
the novel – friendly and highly
recommended for a weekend.” Find
out more about PS:et toi? at www.
facebook.com/PSettoiAKG and read
Pascal Biras’ blog at wallonia.be
Ambassadors
share a common
goal: to promote
the strengths and
the differentiating
aspects of
Wallonia
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WORK
INNOVATION
It’s in the blood
A small Namur-based company is set to revolutionise the way cancers
are diagnosed
BY SAFFINA RANA
C
olorectal cancers are the third
most common in the world. Of
the 20 countries with the highest incidence, 13 are in Europe, and
Belgium is one of them. If caught at an
early stage, the five year survival rate
for these cancers is high, in the region of
0 percent. owever, they are typically
detected as late-stage cancers after the
onset of symptoms, when the survival
rate has dropped to as low as 7 percent
in some countries.
Endoscopic procedures such as
colonoscopy provide a high rate of early
detection, but these are invasive and
expensive, and in many countries are
not offered in the first instance. The
preferred techniques in countries with
screening programmes involve stool
tests, but depending where you go in in
Europe, only 20 to 52 percent of adults
targeted have been willing to take them.
The Namur based operations facility of
epigenetics company VolitionRx Limited
is well positioned to make a big impact
on improving the early detection of
colorectal cancers as early as 2016, with
its development of diagnostic blood
tests. panel of blood tests developed
by the company is being tested in a largescale independent clinical trial of 4,800
sub ects in enmark, who have already
undergone a colonoscopy. Preliminary
results released in September 2015
show that the blood tests have detected
81 percent of colorectal cancers at a
specificity of 7 percent, e ually well
for both early- and late-stage cancers. In
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addition, the tests detected 63 percent of
potentially pre-cancerous adenomas (or
polyps) including, most importantly, 67
percent of high risk adenomas, the most
likely to become cancerous.
The tests distinguish healthy patients
from those with cancers, and the type of
cancer that the patient has, by capturing
and measuring cancer signals. The N
in every human cell is wound around
a complex of proteins in a structure
resembling beads on a string. Each
individual bead is called a nucleosome.
When a cell dies, the body breaks the N
string up into individual nucleosomes
which are then released into the blood
to be naturally recycled. Cancers are
characterised by an uncontrolled and
rapid cell turnover. s the body can’t
recycle such large amounts of cell
debris, the nucleosome level rises in a
cancer patient’s blood, making it a good
marker for cancer detection. ach test,
or assay, captures an intact nucleosome
and identifies a specific feature that acts
as a biomarker for a particular cancer or
disease. ombining individual assays
into a multiple panel of tests increases
the accuracy. Only a single drop of blood
is needed for the tests.
In essence, the technology has the
ability to detect all sorts of other hardto-diagnose cancers and conditions.
VolitionRx has been granted European,
US and worldwide patents to protect
its proprietary technology, known as
Nucleosomics, and tests, trademarked
as Nu assays.
We started with two
people, one lab
bench and one office
GAETAN MICHEL
The work on colorectal cancers is
close to commercialisation, and one
of the assays has already been CE
marked, certifying that it complies with
legislation on diagnostic device
requirements. “We are in the process of
finding the best combination of assays
to define a panel that will diagnose
colorectal cancer,” explains Belgian
olition
O Gaetan
ichel. “The
final panel will consist of between four
and six assays. The strategy is to get a
mark for all the individual assays
and for the final panel test in 01 .
We envisage it will be ready to launch
in Europe after the second quarter of
2016.”
The company was set up in Namur
in 2010 with the help of a Walloon
government assistance grant worth
€1.05 million. “We started with two
people, one lab bench and one office at
the niversity of Namur,” says ichel,
a Namur graduate with a doctorate in
biochemistry. “Thanks to the Walloon
government grant, we were able to set
up our technology and validate it,” he
says.
To accelerate work on the detection
of other cancers, the parent company
olition x NY
T N
, was
listed on the New York stock exchange
in 01 . It currently has a market value
of about $70 million.
The move has fuelled another
, 00 sub ect study at the niversity
of Bonn in Germany, to evaluate assays
for the early detection of the 27 most
prevalent cancers and the differences
in nucleosome structures between
cancers. Other ongoing studies include
a 1 ,000 patient prospective screening
study for colorectal cancer in enmark
and smaller separate clinical studies
in Belgium, Germany, the
, the
and Singapore on diagnostic tests for
lung, ovarian, pancreatic and prostate
cancers and endometriosis.
The company is planning further
investment. “We need to hire more
people, and structure the organisation
to take on the new developments,” says
ichel. “We are talking to the Wallonia
government and it is going to help us
meet some of these challenges.” He is
excited by the prospects. “The tests will
be much easier and much friendlier
than those currently available,
especially for colorectal cancer, where
people are so averse to taking the test.
The aim is especially to target the large
numbers of these non-compliant people
to get the test done as soon as possible,
because with cancer, the earlier you
detect it, the more effectively you can
remove it.”
 WWW.VOLITIONRX.COM
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WORK
INVESTMENT
The hard cell
Walloon government funding is helping two companies make regenerative
medicine a widespread reality
BY SENNE STARCKX
S
tem cell therapy, the heart of regenerative medicine, has long been
a promising but difficult discipline.
To give
in this field a boost and to
help companies reach the final commercialisation phase the Walloon government is investing heavily in a platform
with specialised production facilities.
Stem cell research has long been
surrounded by controversy. That’s
mainly due to the fact that until
recently, the only way scientists could
work with stem cells was by using tissue
from embryos, a process that’s banned
in most countries. But that problem
was overcome by Shinya Yamanaka,
a Japanese cell biologist who won the
Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2012, when
he discovered a non-controversial
technique to make pluripotent stem
cells
cells that can propagate
indefinitely and also give rise to every
other cell type in the body. Yamanaka
showed how adult somatic or normal
tissue cells could be transformed into
these pluripotent stem cells, without
the need to touch a human embryo.
14
Thanks to his work, pluripotent stem
cells represent a single source of tissue
material that can be used to replace
cells lost to damage or disease.
The future and the
addressed markets
of regenerative
medicine will be
critical for the
pharmaceutical
sector
DR PASCALE HERMANT
Cell therapy has been applied for
years. The best known is probably
the transplantation of bone marrow
in leukaemia and myeloma patients,
in which healthy stem cells are drawn
from the bone marrow of the patient’s
spine or a donor’s hip bone and in ected
into the blood stream. nother therapy,
much less used, is the transplantation
of umbilical cord blood.
But there’s a difference between this
classical’ form of cell therapy and
real regenerative medicine. In a bone
marrow transplant, the stem cells are
not treated or reprogrammed before
they’re put back in the patient’s body.
The dream of regenerative medicine
goes much wider. Its goal is to replace,
regenerate and even augment human
organs and tissues through stem cell
engineering. This holds the promise
of engineering damaged tissues and
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 Promethera Biociences
organs by stimulating the body’s own
repair mechanism to functionally heal
previously irreparable tissues or organs.
2012, cell therapy products generated
more than $900 million, with 160,000
patients receiving treatments.
funding from Sambrinvest and the
Walloon government as well as private
finance.
urrently, the vast ma ority of
conventional treatments for chronic and
life threatening diseases are palliative.
Others delay disease progression and
the onset of complications. ery few
therapies in use today are capable of
curing or significantly changing the
course of disease. or diseases like
diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders,
stroke and cardiovascular disease,
more effective treatments are needed.
Regenerative medicine is uniquely
capable of altering the fundamental
mechanisms of disease.
egenerative medicine is a field in
which small but highly innovative
companies
can
really
force
breakthroughs and bring cell therapy
to another level. Wallonia has, mainly
due to the presence of the Université
Catholique de Louvain (UCL) and the
ree niversity of Brussels
B ,
become a home base for several such
companies. The regional government
acknowledges this. That’s why it has
increased its investment in the sector,
by creating a new infrastructure called
the Cellular Therapy Platform, or
PWT . The aim of the platform, which
opened in pril and is managed by
Wallonia’s Biowin cluster the health
competitiveness cluster which is part
of the region’s arshall Plan is to
give a boost to companies that have
already progressed to the final clinical
phase or even the commercialisation
stage of their cell therapy products.
The platform is supported by public
The PWT is based at Gosselies Biopark
near Charleroi, and brings together
the facilities of two companies:
Bone Therapeutics and Promethera
Biociences. “Thanks to the platform we
can oin forces with partners in the field
and share common resources,” says
Promethera spokesperson Dr Pascale
ermant. “This will boost market
scale production of our stem cell-based
therapies.”
It’s not so well known, but regenerative
medicine is already a commercial
reality. urrently, 7 approved and
marketed products are available
worldwide
however, many are
approved only in specific regions and
countries.
eanwhile, 71 clinical
trials are under way. The lliance of
Regenerative Medicine estimates that in
The mission of UCL spin-off
Promethera is to discover, develop
and commercialise cell therapies to
treat liver diseases, using stem cells
harvested in healthy human livers.
Two cell therapy products are under
development, epa tem and
tem.
These cells could be used to treat a wide
variety of liver diseases, by bringing
healthy functional cells into the body thus avoiding radical surgery like liver
transplantation. epa tem has recently
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WORK
INVESTMENT
completed a phase-1/2 clinical study in
urea cycle disorders and rigler Na ar
syndrome. It has already received
orphan drug designation from the
uropean edicines gency and the
ood and rug dministration for
both indications.
Promethera’s products are not yet
commercially available; HepaStem
is currently the sub ect of a phase
test. Besides that, the company aims
to extend its pipeline to larger markets
such as acute-on chronic liver failure
and liver fibrosis. “We believe the
future and the addressed markets of
regenerative medicine will be critical
for the pharmaceutical sector,” says Dr
ermant. “ any diseases have unmet
medical needs, making cell therapy
a treatment of choice for several of
them.”
Our ambition is to
become a leader
in cell therapy
applications in
the field of bone
problems
ENRICO BASTIANELLI, CEO
The company, which employs 90 people
and raised 7 million in an initial public
flotation in 01 , is convinced that the
future for regenerative medicine, as
well as its own future, is bright. “Our
ambition is to become a leader in cell
therapy applications in the field of
bone problems,” says Bastianelli. “In
this respect we aim to leverage our cell
differentiation platform to address
additional indications in this field in the
future.”
Promethera employs 32 people and has
collected more than €60 million from
private and public investors over the
years. What’s the secret of its success
“We are developing an off the shelf
product based on allogenic liver cells
cells from other, healthy people.
The production, logistics and product
delivery are therefore much simpler in
comparison to other business models,
which usually work with stem cells
from the patient themselves, requiring
individualised engineering for each
patient.”
The other company involved in the
PWT , Bone Therapeutics, specialises
in the development of cell treatments
of fractures. “In the repair domain we
focus on indications such as non-union
fractures, delayed-union fractures and
interventions such as spinal fusion and
revision of spinal fusion,” says CEO
nrico Bastianelli. “In the prevention
domain we focus on indications such
as osteonecrosis, a painful disorder of
the hip, and severe osteoporosis.”
16
Bone Therapeutics uses differentiated
bone creating cells
known as
osteoblasts
that can be applied
in a minimally invasive manner
with a needle. urrently, standard
treatments still involve ma or surgical
interventions and long recovery
periods. The company has two
therapies that are still being evaluated
and therefore not yet commercially
available: P OB and
OB. The
first takes bone marrow cells from a
patient that are programmed’ in the
lab to become bone-creating tissue and
inserts them inside the same patient.
P OB is currently being evaluated in
two decisive phase-3 studies and one
phase study.
OB is made of bone
marrow cells from healthy adult donors
and is currently sub ect to three phase
studies.
The overall aim of the Cellular Therapy
Platform is to scale up production
of the cell therapy products of both
Bone Therapeutics and Promethera
Biosciences to commercial uantities.
Bastianelli “The PWT is within the
heart of a unique and innovative hightech cluster, which is very well placed to
meet the needs of an increasing number
of cell therapy companies popping up in
the Walloon region.”
 WWW.PROMETHERA.COM
 Bone Therapeutics
 WWW.BONETHERAPEUTICS.COM
WINTER 2015/2016
3/12/15 16:45
Under wraps
VPK Packaging launches unique €6.5m subsidiary in Courcelles
BY JON ELDRIDGE
V
principle that will allow it to combine
“ultra-fast delivery times with a unique
flexibility in desired volumes”. The
feature is unique to its Belgian sites.
The group says the new subsidiary
will introduce a new “stock and serve”
Combined with high-end digital
printing and converting equipment,
Cartonneries de Wallonie will be able
to offer its clients particular flexibility
in terms of minimum desired quantities.
“New businesses often need smaller
volumes of packaging. Yet we can also
PK Packaging Group is investing
€6.5 million to launch operations in Courcelles, near Charleroi. The new subsidiary will operate
under the dedicated brand Cartonneries de Wallonie from the international
group’s first site in Wallonia. It will focus
on the production and distribution of
high-quality corrugated packaging.
guarantee continuity and service for
larger volumes thanks to the back-up
of a large, integrated group. For us, this
goes hand in hand with the philosophy
of staying close to your customers.
This is an important asset,” said VPK
spokesperson Liesbeth Roelandt.
VPK believes the site at Courcelles is an
excellent operating base, offering direct
access to major highways and being
near a range of industrial activities.
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3/12/15 16:47
WORK
BUSINESS
“Our group has a successful history
of local entrepreneurship. The startup in Wallonia is fully in line with
our proven corporate strategy. We’re
looking forward to expanding our local
market presence as well as enlarging our
services towards existing customers,”
said CEO Pierre Macharis.
The group estimates that once
production is up and running, the
site will bring 30 new jobs to the area.
These operational, technical, logistical
and commercial positions will be filled
locally.
“Wallonia offers interesting business
opportunities,” says Roelandt. “The
economic fabric consists of both large
corporations and smaller and mediumsi ed companies. If you want to make
your business profitable, you need to
customise product offer and services
and adapt them to the local markets.
Combined with logistical advantages, it
makes fertile ground for investments.”
The investment in Wallonia follows
significant investments in the expansion
of VPK’s activities in southwest Poland
last year. The group extended one of
Our long-term goal
is to continue on our
path of sustainable
growth
LIESBETH ROELANDT
its existing sites and set up a greenfield
pro ect near the town of Br eg. “It has
allowed us to take up a leading position
in the sheet-feeding business,” says
Roelandt. Earlier this year, the group
also opened its first site in Ireland. “We
are continuously looking to perpetuate
our leading market position by further
improving our geographical coverage as
well as the quality of our services.”
Established in 1935, VPK Packaging
Group has expanded from small
beginnings to operating more than
35 plants in 12 countries. The group’s
growth strategy is built on fully
integrated production processes, a solid
financial structure and a strong focus
on establishing long-term relationships
with its customers
VPK’s product range includes tailormade solutions for corrugated board
and solid board packaging, tubes, cores
and edge protectors. All these products
are fully recyclable. The group has also
been active in paper production since
its beginning, and its paper is made
exclusively from recycled fibres.
“Our long-term goal is to continue on
our path of sustainable growth. And you
can only achieve this by being open to
opportunities and partnerships,” says
Roelandt
The group says it is supportive of local
entrepreneurship, which creates an
inspiring environment for staff and
fertile ground for innovation. “Together
these contribute to satisfying the
toughest demands of our customers.
Indeed, staying close to our customers is
a key characteristic of P . It’s what has
led to our success over the past eighty
years, and will continue to drive us
forwards into the future.”
 WWW.CARTONNERIESDEWALLONIE.BE
18
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 Francoise Lesage
Creative thinking
Meet the artisans who are reviving arts and crafts in the region
BY KAREN MCHUGH AND SARAH CREW
T
hey are the unsung heroes of
the local economy. Inspired
by their creativity, drive and
passion, these artists benefit everyone
in the community. Wallonia has long
had a history of traditional skills,
and in recent years there has been
a remarkable renaissance of handcrafted and locally made products.
This awakening interest in provenance
and authenticity challenges consumers
to think more about what they buy.
Another motivation for acquiring highquality crafts is the stories behind
individual pieces. All these artisans love
their craft and the privileged reputation
they have with their clients, who are
increasingly coming from abroad. The
future of traditional crafts in Wallonia is
looking healthy.
HAINAUT
Eric Parmentier
With Angelina Jolie among his celebrity
clients and an order book full for the
next two years, pocket knife craftsman
Eric Parmentier has no need to advertise.
s one of the finest artisans in his field,
he uses only quality materials – mother
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FILE
ART AND CRAFT
of pearl, steel, mammoth ivory – to
create exclusive and elegant objects that
feature his own patented opening and
closing mechanism. “They are not at
all aggressive,” he says. “They appeal to
those with an adventurous spirit.”
WALLOON
BRABANT
Malakine
Each of Caroline Crunelle’s colourful
handmade bags is an exclusive
creation. After years of doing
patchwork as a hobby, the mother-offour from Mons launched her business
after encouragement from family and
friends. “I’m passionate about fabric
and I love working with such a diversity
of materials. Each bag is unique.”
Crunelle sells her “chic, yet practical
bags” via fairs, private sales and online.
In Malakine, Catherine Malvaux aims
to create a jewellery line that stands
out from the tradition of everyday
wearable jewels. “My sources of
inspiration are nature, animals. Each
piece tells a joyful and colourful story.”
Currently with a presence in Belgium
and St Tropez, Malakine intends to
expand to Paris and London in the near
future, and tends toward individual
styling. “We privilege a private
clientele, with the idea of creating
tailor-made jewels.”
 TINYURL.COM/EMILIENNE-ET-PAULA
 WWW.MALAKINE-JOAILLERIE.COM
Pascal Jeanjean
Atelier Van Tesch
The bibliophile and master papermaker designs and makes personalised
paper for companies and institutions
such the Louvre in Paris. “Orders
are so diverse that I like to meet the
client first,” he says. “The reflection,
vision and conception required is
similar to that of a chef inventing a
dish. It requires personality,” says the
craftsman, considered one the best
handmade paper-makers in the world.
Magali Tesch set up her atelier in 2007,
making high-end jewellery that can
be worn every day. Inspired by the
architecture of Bruges, she remains
faithful to traditional techniques;
everything is handmade. “I dream of
seeing my jewellery in the windows
of big jewellery shops; of working in
Paris and London,” she says. To launch
her designs abroad, Tesch takes on
the UK market at the Spring Fair in
Birmingham next February.
Emilienne et Paula  WWW.PAPETIER.BE
 WWW.VANTESCH.BE
Et Si…
20
Jeweller Géraldine Raulier describes
herself as an artisan because she doesn’t
feel like she works every day. “What I
particularly love is creating an object out
of raw material,” she says. In her case this
is fairtrade silver and gold. “Alongside
my collection, I make pendants engraved
with names and messages for special
occasions.” Raulier’s work is available
from select boutiques and her workshop
in Solre-sur-Sambre. She is also
developing her brand abroad.
Maison Bernard Depoorter
 WWW.ETSI.BE
 WWW.BERNARDDEPOORTER.COM
For Bernard Depoorter, fashion is a
vocation. He was inspired in childhood
by a collection of designer dresses
discovered in his attic, and by his stylish
mother: “a lady who liked wearing
beautiful clothes.” He specialises in
haute couture, with a dramatic yet
timeless style, and has been worn by
Princess athilde on an official trip
abroad. He is now also developing his
ready-to-wear line.
BRUSSELS
Tamawa
The Bakelite ball’s shape was what
attracted Hubert Verstraeten to it as
a source material for jewellery and
design. “It’s a universal form, it belongs
to every kind of culture,” he says. Made
from the hard plastic used for snooker
balls, each sphere is manufactured in
Belgium and then incorporated into
designs for his jewellery – rings and
necklaces, but also watches, coatstands and peppermills.
 WWW.TAMAWA.BE
Lilù
Lilù operate from their atelier, from
which they sell their handbags on Rue
du Bailli. “We offer tailor-made options
to clients – they can pick a design for
a bag and we make it in the leather
they choose.” They’re not after world
domination; rather, their ideal evolution
is “to keep creation in our workshops:
one or two more points of sales and
to keep the direct contact with our
clientele.”
 WWW.LILU.BE
Niyona
Based in the centre of Brussels in Rue
Dansaert, Niyona styles itself as a concept
store as well as creator of leather goods.
“We had a desire to return to the source,
towards local expertise and production,”
says owner Jonathan Wieme. They also
offer workshops, courses and repairs at
the premises. And the meaning behind
ello ames, their flagship store Named
simply for their son.
 WWW.NIYONA.BE
WINTER 2015/2016
3/12/15 16:51
 Malakine
 Tamawa
 Maison Bernard Depoorter
 Lilù
WINTER 2015/2016
21
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FILE
ART AND CRAFT
NAMUR
LUXEMBOURG
LIEGE
A fleur d’Ame
Françoise Lesage
Philippe Ongena
As a florist, Isabelle Marloye was
inspired by seeing how clients
expressed their emotions in selecting
flowers. After studying as a herbalist
in Canada, she discovered floral
elixirs and has since developed a
therapeutic business in Namur that
explores the link between flowers
and well-being. As well as personal
coaching and workshops, she shows
corporate clients how “creating
a natural perfume is a fun way of
boosting self-confidence.”
The Ardennes-based ceramic artist
draws on her background as an
engraver to mix techniques, whether
it be for designing lamps, working
with porcelain, creating decorative
children’s furniture or making original
floor tiles for architect designed homes.
The latter dominates her schedule.
“I don’t have time to go looking for
business,” she says, “so professional
fairs such as Maison & Objets in Paris
are really important.”
Stone sculptor Philippe Ongena’s
creations range from the decorative
to the practical, comprising barbeques
and garden tables as well as sculptures
and fountains. “The inspiration for me
is the movement of the water on the
stone,” he says. His works appear in
gardens and parks across the country.
Now approaching retirement, Ongena
will continue his trade but plans to
spend more time on creative pieces.
 WWW.FONTAINES-PIERRE-ONGENA.BE
 WWW.FRANCOISELESAGE.BE
Louise Kopij
 WWW.AFLEURDAME.COM
La Boîte à Papa
Mosaic Studio
From his Dinant workshop, Marq
Rawls crafts original handmade
mosaics for interiors and exteriors.
Combining Roman and Byzantine
tradition with contemporary designs,
he creates unique panels, walls and
floors in crystal glass for clients in
France, Russia, Poland, the Baltic
states and South Korea. “We are not
in the business of quantity but quality
and durability,” he says, “as well as the
beauty and exceptional nature of our
projects.”
When Stéphanie Mathu was inspired
to give her husband a surprise present
after the birth of their daughter, the
seed of a business idea was planted.
The couple launched an online
business compiling original gift boxes
for births - for all members of the
family - and any celebratory event. A
shop now adjoins their village home
from where her mother, sister and
two other dressmakers make all the
textile elements. “We’re a real family
business,” she says.
 WWW.MOSAICSTUDIO.EU
Albert Hardiquest
22
 WWW.LOUISEKOPIJ-SHOP.COM
Pauquet
 WWW.LABOITEAPAPA.BE
Lady Moon
For Louise Kopij, starting her own
jewellery atelier was a creative path
towards freedom and knowledge: “I
love working with my hands, translating
the images that come into my head,”
she says. Among her signature styles is
the use of feathers in her designs. With
two points of sale already in New York,
Kopij will also be presenting her work
at the national popup store this winter
in Hong Kong.
Monthie Mulquin, aka Moon, swapped
life as a teacher for that of a stylist. As
well as her own range of 100% Made in
Belgium clothing for women, men and
children, she runs creative workshops
and collaborates with other artists
in the region. “It’s important for me
to have a label that is also a lifestyle
concept; made-to-measure clothes in
limited series and bright and subdued
colours.”
niting anti ue lovers with a specific
piece of furniture, painting or object is
the motivation for Albert Hardiquest,
based in Vielsalm and Brussels.
Depending on the object’s age and
condition, his team of specialists
renovate from start to finish. “I would
like to develop a professional network
to share different techniques with other
businesses,” he says. He is inspired
“by imagining the previous life of an
object”.
 TINYURL.COM/LADY-MOON-NAMUR
 WWW.POURDECOUVRIR.COM
The son of a jeweller, Olivier Pauquet
showed an early interest in his father’s
trade and studied as a gemologist,
culminating in a coveted Lauréat
du Travail. “I am heir to careful
craftsmanship, but I’m also constantly
seeking new ideas,” he says. Pearls
are Pauquet’s forte, and his collection
includes
necklaces,
rings
and
pendants, with a preference for opals.
All are on display at his shop in Liège.
 WWW.PAUQUET.COM
WINTER 2015/2016
3/12/15 16:51
 Atelier Van Tesch
 Louise Kopij
 Philippe Ongena
 Olivier Pauquet
WINTER 2015/2016
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LIFE
PORTRAIT
Pierre Rion
Pierre Rion, 56, is a well-known name in Wallonia’s business world. Born in Charleroi and holder of a master’s degree in electronic and computer engineering from
the University of Liège, he has hopped from opportunity to opportunity to end up
on the board of directors of some 15 companies based in Wallonia. As a reputable
business angel, his engagement in helping SMEs to grow has played a major role
in boosting the local economy. This year he has been recognised by the regional
government with the distinction of Officier du
rite Wallon. t the same time, the
government has made use of Rion’s expertise in the digital economy by appointing him to preside over the regional governmental advisory committee for digital
development.
 DIGITALWALLONIA.BE
24
One of my
greatest drivers
is my energy,
alongside my thirst
for diversity
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Where did you start out?
I started working in 1973 at the early
age of 14, and paid my way through
university. Fresh out of university, it
was during my military service, which
at the time was still compulsory, with
the Gendarmerie that I created my first
company, Dedrion, which specialised in
PCs and PC networks. The company did
well, winning contracts with Japanese
banks and the likes of IBM. After
selling Dedrion I joined the Flemish
company Prodata, which specialised
in electronic point-of-sale systems and
ticketing, and it was here that I saw my
first opportunity to grow a company
through a merger.
IRIS, known only at the time for
optical character recognition, was
experiencing financial difficulties, and
on my recommendation merged with
one of Prodata’s divisions. The merger
was a success and Prodata appointed
me as CEO. Shortly after, I joined
forces with Pierre De Meulenaere, one
of the co-founders of IRIS, to carry out
a management buyout, buying IRIS
from Prodata and creating what is
known today as the IRIS Group. After
expanding the company’s remit and
turning it around financially, we were
ready to put it on the stock market in
1999. I left the IRIS Group in 2001 but
remained on its board of directors for
the following 10 years. As I gradually
divested my shares, I prepared to
spread my wings as a business angel.
You have a wide portfolio as a
business angel. What drives this
variety?
I consider myself lucky to have had
the opportunity to be involved in some
of Wallonia’s high profile business
developments that have flourished into
successful enterprises. That’s why I
feel the need to go out and help other
entrepreneurs both as an investor and
as a consultant. One of my greatest
drivers is my energy, alongside my thirst
for diversity. It’s therefore no mystery
that you see my name on the board of
directors or as a shareholder of such
a broad spectrum of businesses: Pairi
Daiza, Banque CPH, PR consultants
akkanto, Belrobotics, to name but a few.
My core interest in electronics is also
very prominent in the businesses I
am or have been involved in, notably
DCinex, the European leader in
digital equipment for movie theatres,
EVS Broadcast Equipment and IDDI,
specialists in data for clinical trials.
My most recent appointment as an
external mandate is with the SA IPM
Group, owners of the French-language
newspapers La Libre and La Dernière
Heure.
I am also driven by my passion for flying
as a trained pilot, being involved in the
business of business travel is important
to me. As a result, I have founded an
aviation company that flies Wallonia’s
SME owners all over Europe. And my
scope stretches to the export business:
I am the vice president of the Agence
pour le ommerce xt rieur, whose
mission is to oversee all of Belgium’s
foreign trade operations.
What are your ambitions for
Wallonia’s digital future?
The regional government has pledged
to invest in giving the region and the
economy a digital makeover. After
numerous discussions with key players
and consultants in the field, we’ve
put forward 50 recommendations
aimed at transforming the region’s
infrastructure in terms of intelligence
and connectivity. The recommendations
are based on making digital expertise
available to companies to increase their
digital intensity and accelerate growth,
making them more competitive and
using digital innovation as a driver
for better standards in education,
greater efficiency in public services
and enhanced well-being of citizens.
I intend to create a dialogue with the
government to ensure that the majority
of these recommendations are put into
practice.
What do you do in your spare
time?
Apart from enjoying time with my
family, one of my greatest passions is
winemaking. Back in 1993, I co-founded
the Domaine de Mellemont, one of
Wallonia’s major vineyards. I am keen
to bring back wine growing in Wallonia
and to promote the many wines we
can already boast in the region. I was
recently elected president of Wallonia’s
association of wine growers and plan to
use my contacts and influence in seeing
that regional wines are served during
regional and federal cabinet meetings
and at official events.
What are the main ingredients
of your success?
I believe in making the most of each
day, which for me means early to bed
and early to rise. Thanks to my Catholic
upbringing, I’ve always adhered to a
certain sense of duty and – maybe my
not-so-Catholic side – I rarely take no
for an answer.
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LIFE
GASTRONOMY
Smart cookies
Clever rebranding and a return to its roots have helped Maison Dandoy reclaim
its place in the biscuit market
©LYDIENESVADBA
BY LEO CENDROWICZ
26
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T
here
is
something
both
reassuringly
familiar
and
strangely quirky about Maison
Dandoy, the 186-year-old bakery that is
coolly reinventing itself. Their boutiques
in Brussels, Waterloo and Tokyo are
arranged with the slick precision of
Apple stores. Yet the warm, exquisite
flavours of their speculoos biscuits,
lemon cakes, gingerbread and other
delicacies are enough to transport sweettoothed visitors back to their childhood
kitchen.
This is part of a scheme that has
successfully reinvigorated the illustrious
biscuit- and cake-maker as it approaches
its third century. After years in which
it risked drifting into stuffiness and
obscurity, aison andoy is now firmly
back in Brussels as one of the city’s –
and the country’s – many delicious food
purveyors.
Much of the credit for the update lies
with one of the scions of the Dandoy
family,
Alexandre
Helson.
“We
relaunched in 2012, and it was really
a big, big move for us. Our aim was to
transform a local family business into a
global family brand,” he says.
elson is officially andoy’s business
development manager, reporting to
his father, CEO Bernard. However,
it is Alexandre, just 29, who is the
driving creative force behind Dandoy’s
marketing.
e glides around the new offices and
production plant in Woluwe-SaintLambert as he explains the heritage and
the baking process. As well as revamping
its brand, Dandoy uprooted in 2014 from
its former home near Rue Dansaert in
central Brussels. This is where they had
been for 40 years, in an old print works
with apartments, where Helson himself
was born. Before that, Dandoy was
based in Rue au Beurre, the address near
the Grand’ Place that still features on the
packaging.
Our aim was to
transform a local
family business into a
global family brand
ALEXANDRE HELSON
The new factory has much more space,
with easy-to-maintain plastic and metal
surfaces. Ingredients are stored in large
tubs. The main trinity is flour, sugar
and butter, all from Belgium. Others
include powdered ginger, cinnamon,
vanilla, cloves, pistachios and chocolate.
Marzipan is made on site, mixing
powdered almonds with sugar.
In the centre of the kitchen is Dandoy’s
chef alem, a man with a finely
manicured beard who has been there for
24 years. But he’s far from the longestserving member of staff: that would be
Daniel, a production supervisor who
started when he was just 15 and has
been there for 43 years.
elson is laid back as he tours the floor.
He points to the new biscuit making
machines, which are very similar to
those from over a century ago, only with
electric power and resin drum moulds.
And the traditional carved wooden
moulds are still used for large speculoos
biscuits, some of which are over a metre
long. Some of the newer moulds are
specifically commissioned for clients
like Delvaux and ING. “Saint-Nicolas is
the biggest day of the year for Dandoy,”
Helson says, noting that they produce
a tonne of speculoos a day during that
period.
With lines including the Earl Grey, the
Florentine, langue de chat (cat tongue),
feuilles de palmier (palm leaves) and
pain à la grecque (literally Greek bread,
or bread pudding with cinnamon)
Dandoy makes 50 products. One of the
oldest and most famous, the biscotte
– or rusk – was so popular that it was
the only product Dandoy was allowed
to make during the rationing era of the
1930s and World War Two.
But while their products are as delicious
as they were when they first emerged
from Jean-Baptiste Dandoy’s oven
in 1829, the image of the brand has
seemed stale in recent years. The
previous packaging had classical gold
lettering over a maroon label, but there
were many confusing exceptions, with
different types of packaging. None of
this did much to win new customers,
who knew little about the bakery’s
illustrious background. “It was too old
before. It felt it was aimed just at old
grandmothers. It needed to feel more
alive,” Helson says.
Helson, whose master’s thesis was on his
family’s firm, felt it failed to connect with
younger generations, and he enlisted a
design agency to help revive it. “I knew
we had to put in place a marketing
strategy, but didn’t realise how big it
would be,” he says. The resulting strategy
overhauled the entire look of the bakery,
from its packaging and its boutiques to
its branding and slogans. It is respectful
of the past, while showing an endearing
cheekiness, retaining Maison Dandoy’s
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LIFE
GASTRONOMY
legacy while updating it. “We looked at
brands like Ladurée and Hermés to learn
about consistency, Helson says. For us,
the golden dot is our signature.
Dandoy’s central product is the
speculoos, Belgium’s most traditional
biscuit, but one Helson wanted to claim
for his own. He argued that Maison
Dandoy’s long history of baking the
delicacy meant it could identify with
speculoos as much as Dijon’s Maille
could with French mustard.
Another homecoming was the original
company name, Maison Dandoy,
harking back to its humble origins
and unique family history in the
heart of Brussels. “We looked back to
our heritage when we changed our
branding from Dandoy to Maison
Dandoy,” says Helson. “We date back to
1829, after all. We’re a year older than
Belgium itself.”
The results were emphatic: sales rose 20
percent after the 2012 rebrand, to €5.6
million. But Helson is far from done in
repositioning Dandoy.
One aim, in line with the theme of
oddball sophistication, is associating
Dandoy with art and culture. It has
already been a supplier for Belgian
fashion designer Ann Demeulemeester,
and ultra-hip Parisian store Collette is
also asking to stock its products.
And there are special links with luxury
leather goods maker Delvaux, which was
also founded in 1829 and had a factory
in the same Dansaert neighbourhood.
Delvaux made a single special bag for
Dandoy, covered in gold dots, when they
celebrated their 185th birthday together
in 2014: it was won by a lucky buyer
of the Dandoy 185 package that hid a
golden ticket.
There are other ventures, too. Dandoy’s
latest boutique on Place Stéphanie in
Brussels is testing a €5 coffee and biscuit
pack, as the bakery dips its toes into the
takeaway coffee market. Meanwhile,
Helson is pondering exports, and how
to sell to retailers. “Dandoy is not suited
to be stacked on shelves,” he says. “We
have our identity, and want people to
encounter our products in the right
way.”
 WWW.DANDOY.BE
©LYDIENESVADBA
But the resulting slogans were
deliberately playful, as Helson felt the
tone needed to reflect aison andoy’s
warm, generous and human character.
“Dandoy is about people, about
Brussels, about smiles. For us, biscuits
should be for everyone,” he says. This
offset the subtle high-end branding of
the products as the most sumptuous of
biscuits – the quirkiness would undercut
any pricing concerns. “It has humour.
It’s not pretentious, not bling bling. Is it
luxury? Who cares! Maison Dandoy is
fun. It’s about pleasure.”
The rebranding also brought back the
original Dandoy logo, a windmill. “The
logo reflects the N of the brand,”
Helson says, adding that even he is
unsure of its origins, but assumes it has
something to do with the traditional
flour mills.
28
WINTER 2015/2016
3/12/15 16:54
©LESLIE ARTAMONOW
 Kelley SS Future Primitive, BPS22
Art attack
Charleroi’s cultural revolution continues as contemporary art space BPS22
re-opens after renovation
BY SARAH CREW
A
fter 18 months of renovation,
Charleroi’s visual art beacon has
re-opened as the Art Museum of
the Province of Hainaut. Promoted to
museum status with responsibility for
the province’s 6,000-work collection,
BPS22 is now one of the largest art
museums in Wallonia and Brussels, as
well as one of the most audacious.
striking industrial edifice in the
upper quarter of the city, it was built to
house the fine arts pavilion of the 1 11
commercial and industrial exhibition.
Testament to Charleroi’s 19th-century
economic wealth, it was inspired by
religious architecture and the cathedrallike building subsequently became a
site for industrial workshops under
the name Batîment Provincial Solvay,
at 22 Boulevard Solvay. After falling
into neglect during the 1990s, it was
converted to exhibit contemporary art in
2000, and abbreviated to BPS22.
Under director Pierre-Olivier Rollin it has
forged a reputation for bold exhibitions.
From the singular universe of Charleroiborn sculptor Johan Muyle to punk
culture in Europe and contemporary
art in the world of football, the unifying
theme continues to be local and popular
culture. Rollin has also been committed
to transforming the industrial hangar
into a site that meets modern museum
standards.
He is relieved and not without pride that
the building has finally been elevated to
museum status. “It’s now a tool and an
efficient one,” he says. “The renovation
has been a real success and not simply
an architectural gesture. We are very
happy with it.” ollin confronts the
reality that Charleroi epitomises the
region’s ongoing recovery from the postindustrial downturn. “We don’t have
enormous budgets and we need to have
a different point of view, so we always
try and show something that cannot be
seen elsewhere in Belgium.”
BPS22’s 2,500m2 space is a place where
art can be experienced on a large and
a small scale, while the integrity and
WINTER 2015/2016
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29
4/12/15 12:08
CULTURE
2003, COMMANDÉE PAR LE MUSÉE D’ART AFRICAIN, LONG ISLAND CITY, NY, COLLECTION PINNELL, DALLAS
2015, PRODUCTION BPS22, COURTESY GALERIE RODOLPHE JANSSEN, BRUSSELS © LESLIE ARTAMONOW
CREATE
 Yinka Shonibare, Scramble for Africa, and Marcel Berlanger, Arlequin
singularity of the architectural heritage
has been preserved. The raw space of
the 1,200m2 Grand Hall lends itself to
experimental art, while the new 800m2
white box is a modernist area that better
suits museum exhibits. Combined with
more intimate spaces, including a small
projection room, the hybrid building
provides a totally modern museum
environment both for visitors and the
works it displays.
Led by Archiscénographie Roland, the
renovation was completed on time and
within its €4 million budget (excluding
VAT and fees). Finance was forthcoming
from the Brussels and Wallonia
Federation, the Walloon region, Hainaut
province and the city of Charleroi. The
grand re-opening in September fell
under the patronage of Mons 2015
European Capital of Culture. “This
was a great opportunity as it gave the
inauguration great energy,” says ollin.
At the core of BPS22’s artistic and
educational heritage and mission is
a commitment to shine a light on the
world. Rollin describes this objective as
30
We always try and
show something
that cannot be
seen elsewhere in
Belgium
PIERRE-OLIVIER ROLLIN
“having one’s feet on the ground with
eyes looking up to the stars”. is view
is that encouraging contemporary
culture in its widest sense is necessary to
meet the challenges of a future society.
This means other artistic disciplines
will be invited to use the museum, but
always with a link to visual arts. The
contemporary art vocation is expanded.
Rollin: “We will also diversify to show
classical and modern art as we now have
the province’s collections that date from
the 1 th century.” The collection was
started in the 1980s and consists of more
than 6,000 works. It covers artists with a
connection to the region or the Surrealist
movement, such as Constantin Meunier,
Pol Bury, Marcel Broodthaers, Anna
Boch and Wim Delvoye. In addition,
there are trusted international names
who explore the relationship between
art and power, among them Andy
Warhol, Cindy Sherman and Banks
Violette, plus an archive of documents
on punk art.
The opening exhibition, The World
Turned Upside Down, pursues the
dialogue between contemporary art and
WINTER 2015/2016
4/12/15 12:09
2001, COLL DE LA PROVINCE DE HAINAUT. DÉPÔT AU BPS22,
COURTESY GALERIE YOKO UHODA, LIÈGE ©LESLIE ARTAMONOW
2011, COURTESY GALLERIA CONTINUA, SAN GIMIGNANO - BEIJING - LES MOULINS ©LESLIE ARTAMONOW
 Johan Muyle, Q(c)hi mangerà, vivrà
 Pascale Marthine Tayou, Home Sweet Home
popular culture. The title is drawn from
a 17th-century British protest ballad,
adopted by historian Christopher Hill for
a study of the origins of revolutionary
ideas that would overthrow the
monarchy or the old established world.
Each of the 40 artists contributes to this
exchange, drawing on folklore, ancestral
traditions and artisan techniques.
During a festival, the usual rules of
society are turned upside down. So
familiar local folklore events are among
the subjects that greet visitors when
they enter the new white box. Marcel
Berlanger’s triptych on Binche carnival
is one work commissioned for the
exhibition. The three large paintings
are a series of carnival images which,
as the viewer draws closer, reveal
an insight into the Belgian artist’s
process and technique. German artist
Carsten Höller’s decorative carousel
is nostalgically familiar yet eerie in its
silent slow movement. In Scramble for
Africa by British-born Nigerian Yinka
Shonibare, 14 headless mannequins
dressed in vibrantly coloured African
batik fabric sit around a wooden table.
A map of Africa in 1855 is drawn on the
table, the date of the Berlin conference
when colonial powers carved up the
continent.
In the vast industrial space, which
retains its original flooring and stripped
walls, large-scale installations dominate.
Pascale Marthine Tayou’s Home Sweet
Home is a sculptural and sensory nest
of bird cages dotted with upside-down
statuettes of frican figures produced for
the tourist market. The Cameroon artist
who lives in Belgium questions notions
of home and identity. Statues wrapped
in danger-warning red-and-white plastic
are another eye-catching exhibit by
South African Kendell Geers. The longtime BPS22 collaborator has placed his
asexual figures on shelves, facing inwards
in a symbolic, mysterious stance.
The exhibition showcases the full
potential of the site. In the lofty and
light filled Grand all, the contextual
works can be viewed from varying
perspectives and yet combine seamlessly
with the new areas. Rollin, who curated
the inaugural show, is delighted with the
results and the public’s reaction. “There
is an abundance of works and subject
matter. It’s fun and it takes you into a
festival atmosphere with the idea of a
carnival.”
It also deliberately reinforces the
international positioning of BPS22.
The museum’s future programming
reflects this international stance while
promoting local creativity. “We will
continue to develop a maximum of
international pro ects,” says ollin.
Next year, BPS22 will turn to its own
collection to stage a major retrospective
of the work of the late Belgian artist
Marthe Wéry and in 2017, a solo show
of skateboards by the Frenchman
Raphaël Zarka. The latter promises to
be another playful experience with a
sculpture park and place for youngsters
to skate. A skate park may not have
been on the architect’s specifications,
but it’s likely to be one of many surprise
elements in the future of BPS22 as a
dynamic player in the region’s cultural
and social fabric.
 WWW.BPS22.BE
WINTER 2015/2016
31
4/12/15 12:09
CREATE
32
PANORAMA
WINTER 2015/2016
032_033_Panorama_Winter_2015.indd 32
3/12/15 16:56
The Adventures
of Alice
W
ith the air of an ingénue and
the voice of an angel, singersongwriter Alice on the Roof is
living up to her name. Since the 21-yearold from Mons released her debut electropop single, Easy Come, Easy Go, in spring
2015, her career has skyrocketed. After
dominating radio waves all summer, she
is currently touring Belgium and Europe
ahead of her first album release in
January. Despite her youth, Alice Dutoit
has always been serious about her music.
After studying piano at the local
conservatory, she spent a year at school
in the US, where she sang in a choir. On
returning home she signed up for The
Voice Belgium, reaching the semi finals
with Suarez band member Marc Pinilla
as her coach. Fellow Montois Pinilla
signed her up to his record company
and a worldwide contract with Sony
and Pias Belgium followed. For her
first album, lice sent her songs to
British producer and mixer Tim Bran,
who boasts London Grammar and La
Roux among his recent international
successes. Playing on her fragile voice
and sensual, melancholic lyrics, the
resulting album, Higher, promises
more of her bittersweet journey from
adolescence to adulthood.
JULIE CALBERT
WWW.ALICEONTHEROOF.COM
WINTER 2015/2016
032_033_Panorama_Winter_2015.indd 33
33
3/12/15 16:56
AGENDA
SEASONAL EVENTS
CHRISTMAS MARKETS
BINCHE CARNIVAL
KIMBEMBELE IHUNGA © BODYS ISEK KINGELEZ
CREATE
Recognised by Unesco as a Masterpiece of the
Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, the
annual carnival at Binche draws thousands of
visitors every year. Festivities begin on Sunday
but Shrove Tuesday is the main event, as people
come to watch almost 1,000 Gilles parade
through town with their elaborate feathered
headpieces, throwing oranges into the crowd.
For three days the town is gripped with carnival
fever, with preparations beginning months in
advance.
A winter staple not to be missed, the Christmas
market heralds the start of the festive season.
Drawing tourists from all around Europe, Plaisirs
d’Hiver in Brussels has expanded this year,
taking in the new pedestrian zone which is to
be illuminated by a thousand lights. The ice rink
will be at Place de le Monnaie, with the Grand’
Place playing host to its biggest ever tree and the
always-impressive sound and light show. Other
markets of note across the region include those
of Liège and Namur, and for something really
different, head to the Grottes de Wonck near the
border with Holland – an artisanal market held
in a labyrinth of caves, on the second weekend of
December.
2050: A BRIEF HISTORY OF
THE FUTURE
WHAT? CARNIVAL
WHEN? 7-9 FEBRUARY
WHERE? BINCHE
Based on the prospective history book A Brief
History of the Future, this contemporary art
exhibition – shared with the Louvre in Paris
– focuses on the nine ‘hearts’ of the world in
terms of evolution and revolution: looking
at certain cities and how they have propelled
us into the future. While exploring the major
issues of our time such as over-consumption
and inequality, it also looks at the role played by
utopianism in influencing changes in our future.
A must for those who like to ponder time and its
implications.
www.carnavaldebinche.be
EXHIBITION
WHAT? CHRISTMAS MARKETS
WHEN? THROUGHOUT DECEMBER
WHERE? ACROSS BRUSSELS &
WALLONIA
WHAT? 2050: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE
FUTURE
WHEN? UNTIL 24 JANUARY
WHERE? ROYAL MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS,
BRUSSELS
www.expo-2050.be
It can be tricky to find the best vantage point and
not end up with a tall building in front of you,
but the fireworks display in Brussels is worth the
effort. This year’s spectacle takes place at Place de
Brouckère, which, with the whole area car-free
for the first time, should benefit from a relaxed
and festive atmosphere. You can also ring in the
New Year at the various fireworks displays taking
place across Wallonia, including in Tournai and
Liège.
WHAT? NEW YEAR’S EVE FIREWORKS
WHEN? 31 DECEMBER
WHERE? ACROSS BRUSSELS &
WALLONIA
34
EUROPALIA: THE ABSENCE
OF A PERMANENT I
As part of the Europalia festival, Le Grand
Hornu in Hainaut will host the work of young
Belgian artist Gauthier Oushoorn. Centred on his
residence in Turkey, the exhibition will explore
religious architecture in Islamic countries through
the media of video, sculpture and photography.
If this exhibition piques your interest, you can
continue into Brussels for the rest of Europalia at
Bozar.
AXEL PICS
NEW YEAR’S EVE
GAUTHIER OUSHOORN
© WU WEI/XINHUA PRESS/CORBIS
MUSIC
TRANSARDENTES
One of the biggest electronic music events in
Belgium, Transardentes is the ‘little brother’ of its
summer counterpart, Les Ardentes. The one-day
festival hosts acts from all across Europe, with
notable former headliners including Rudimental,
Lost Frequencies and Laurent Garnier. Be there
for your first musical fix of the new year.
WHAT? THE ABSENCE OF A PERMANENT I
WHEN? UNTIL 21 FEBRUARY
WHERE? GRAND HORNU
WHAT? LES TRANSARDENTES
WHEN? 23 JANUARY
WHERE? HALLES DES FOIRES, LIEGE
europalia.eu
www.lestransardentes.be
WINTER 2015/2016
034_035_Agenda_Winter_2015.indd 34
3/12/15 16:58
LE GARCON ET LE MONDE © LE PARC DISTRIBUTION
FILM
ANIMA
Now in its 35th edition, Anima will celebrate
animation films over 10 days in Brussels this
spring. With short films and features as well
as workshops, exhibitions and talks from
filmmakers, there’s a full programme to be
enjoyed. This year there will be a special focus on
animation from Japan and the UK, and certain
films will be also shown in cities in Wallonia.
WHAT? ANIMA FESTIVAL
WHEN? 5-14 FEBRUARY
WHERE? FLAGEY, BRUSSELS
www.animafestival.be
THE REAL GILLE
Gautier Dewinter is the head of the Association pour la Défense du Folklore in Binche,
and has also been a Gille since the age of six, dressing up and taking part in the town’s
traditional Carnival celebrations each year. “It stays in the memory; it came from my
father from generation to generation,” he says.
BE FILM FESTIVAL
For those in Brussels over the festive period, the
Be Film Festival is a good alternative to spending
Christmas on the couch and an opportunity
to see the stars of Belgian cinema. Five days of
features includes sneak peeks at next year’s
movies and a chance to see the Belgian films you
may have missed throughout the year. This year’s
programme includes Le Tout Nouveau Testament
(pictured) as well as short productions.
WHAT? BE FILM FESTIVAL
WHEN? 26-31 DECEMBER
WHERE? BOZAR & CINEMATEK,
BRUSSELS
befilmfestival.be
“Being a Gille is something unique, I’m extremely proud. It represents a culture, a
tradition, and Belgium.” The night before Mardi Gras he doesn’t sleep much and gets very
nervous, eventually getting up around 3.30 to get ready for the parade. The Gille’s wife,
mother or daughter dresses him in his costume. The parade begins an hour later with
family, then at around 9.00 the tourists arrive. In the six weeks that precede Carnival,
there are preparations for all the Gilles. “The hat is not comfortable at all,” he says. “We
practise so that on the day, we’re prepared.”
Typically a Gille will continue participating while they have the strength to support the
heavy costume, usually until around the age of 70. “Physically it’s very difficult when you
get old. I’ll continue while I have the fitness.”
Dewinter says it’s a magical atmosphere being among the families and spectators,
especially since the Gilles are all friends. And it’s not just for that day – they talk about
carnival all year. “Once it’s finished, we start work on the next.” The Gilles spend a lot of
time together, organising dinners and activities so they see each other and stay connected.
“All the families live for that – it’s extraordinary, unique in the world. That’s why it’s
recognised by Unesco. It’s something magic. It’s my job. It’s my life; it’s my whole life.”
WINTER 2015/2016
034_035_Agenda_Winter_2015.indd 35
35
3/12/15 16:58
1250
Very high density of
UNIVERSITIES and higher
education establishments
Highly skilled
AVAILABLE
WORKFORCE
036_036_BackCover_Winter_2015.indd 1
FOREIGN
INVESTMENTS
in 14 years
400 M
CONSUMERS
reachable
WITHIN ONE DAY
6
COMPETITIVENESS
CLUSTERS in
LEADING-EDGE sectors
70%
an exceptional
QUALITY
OF LIFE
of business
turnover comes
from EXPORTS
3/12/15 16:59

handmade in wallonia

Transcription

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