Meet the designer | Jeroen van Leur

For The Record - Vinyl Storage 

The roots of our For The Record - vinyl storage lay in a former shipyard in the north of Amsterdam. ‘It was completely empty when I moved in’ says Jeroen van Leur, the designer of For the Record. There wasn’t any electricity, or toilets. I had to build the studio from the ground up.  

Dutch designer Jeroen van Leur studied Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Product Design before he moved into this yard. He started his career as a Product Developer, but noticed very soon he was a talented designer. His products are characterized by their simplicity. He likes to find smart solutions to keep the design as minimalistic as possible. His designs stand out, but never too obvious. 

His inspiration doesn’t particularly come from other designers, but rather from buildings and other big constructions. His favorite design is De Zeelandbrug, a 5KM bridge in between two dutch peninsulas. At the completion of the bridge in 1965, it was the longest bridge in Europe. ‘It’s a rhythmic concatenation of one design. The effect is beautiful’.

The materials Jeroen often uses are a combination of wood and metal. They create a beautiful contrast between the warm, natural wood and the cold, sterile metal. This makes the grain of the wood stand out, for example, more than if a piece of furniture consisted entirely of wood. “One material shows the quality of the other.

His inspiration for the For The Record - vinyl storage is the old-fashioned archive folder. ‘Record collectors often have large and personal record collections. Everybody has their own styles or genres, which made me think about archiving. It’s important to find records easily. 

He designed the middle panels of the For The Record - vinyl storage with a protruding tab. The tab allows you to place alphabetical or genre categorization stickers in order to archive your growing collection. He also understood the passion for collecting records that many have. When one layer of the storage is complete you can purchase and add a new layer, meaning your furniture grows with your record collection.

 Jeroen is most proud of the lightweight design. Vinyl is a very heavy product. When the For the Record -  vinyl storage is completely filled it weighs over the 100kg, but still creates the effect that the vinyl is floating on the wooden planks. Dividing several thin panels side by side creates the same strength as a thick frame around the cabinet would, but with a much more elegant look.